GENWiki

Premier IT Outsourcing and Support Services within the UK

User Tools

Site Tools


rfc:rfc2811

Network Working Group C. Kalt Request for Comments: 2811 April 2000 Updates: 1459 Category: Informational

              Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management

Status of this Memo

 This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
 not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
 memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

 One of the most notable characteristics of the IRC (Internet Relay
 Chat) protocol is to allow for users to be grouped in forums, called
 channels, providing a mean for multiple users to communicate
 together.
 There was originally a unique type of channels, but with the years,
 new types appeared either as a response to a need, or for
 experimental purposes.
 This document specifies how channels, their characteristics and
 properties are managed by IRC servers.

Table of Contents

 1.  Introduction ...............................................   2
 2.  Channel Characteristics ....................................   3
    2.1  Namespace ..............................................   3
    2.2  Channel Scope ..........................................   3
    2.3  Channel Properties .....................................   4
    2.4  Privileged Channel Members .............................   4
       2.4.1  Channel Operators .................................   5
       2.4.2  Channel Creator ...................................   5
 3.  Channel lifetime ...........................................   5
    3.1  Standard channels ......................................   5
    3.2  Safe Channels ..........................................   6
 4.  Channel Modes ..............................................   7
    4.1  Member Status ..........................................   7
       4.1.1  "Channel Creator" Status ..........................   7

Kalt Informational [Page 1] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

       4.1.2  Channel Operator Status ...........................   8
       4.1.3  Voice Privilege ...................................   8
    4.2  Channel Flags ..........................................   8
       4.2.1  Anonymous Flag ....................................   8
       4.2.2  Invite Only Flag ..................................   8
       4.2.3  Moderated Channel Flag ............................   9
       4.2.4  No Messages To Channel From Clients On The Outside    9
       4.2.5  Quiet Channel .....................................   9
       4.2.6  Private and Secret Channels .......................   9
       4.2.7  Server Reop Flag ..................................  10
       4.2.8  Topic .............................................  10
       4.2.9  User Limit ........................................  10
       4.2.10  Channel Key ......................................  10
    4.3  Channel Access Control .................................  10
       4.3.1  Channel Ban and Exception .........................  11
       4.3.2  Channel Invitation ................................  11
 5.  Current Implementations ....................................  11
    5.1  Tracking Recently Used Channels ........................  11
    5.2  Safe Channels ..........................................  12
       5.2.1  Channel Identifier ................................  12
       5.2.2  Channel Delay .....................................  12
       5.2.3  Abuse Window ......................................  13
       5.2.4  Preserving Sanity In The Name Space ...............  13
       5.2.5  Server Reop Mechanism .............................  13
 6.  Current problems ...........................................  14
    6.1  Labels .................................................  14
       6.1.1  Channel Delay .....................................  14
       6.1.2  Safe Channels .....................................  15
    6.2  Mode Propagation Delays ................................  15
    6.3  Collisions And Channel Modes ...........................  15
    6.4  Resource Exhaustion ....................................  16
 7.  Security Considerations ....................................  16
    7.1  Access Control .........................................  16
    7.2  Channel Privacy ........................................  16
    7.3 Anonymity ...............................................  17
 8.  Current support and availability ...........................  17
 9.  Acknowledgements ...........................................  17
 10. References ................................................   18
 11. Author's Address ..........................................   18
 12. Full Copyright Statement ...................................  19

1. Introduction

 This document defines in detail on how channels are managed by the
 IRC servers and will be mostly useful to people working on
 implementing an IRC server.

Kalt Informational [Page 2] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 While the concepts defined here are an important part of IRC, they
 remain non essential for implementing clients.  While the trend seems
 to be towards more and more complex and "intelligent" clients which
 are able to take advantage of knowing the internal workings of
 channels to provide the users with a more friendly interface, simple
 clients can be implemented without reading this document.
 Many of the concepts defined here were designed with the IRC
 architecture [IRC-ARCH] in mind and mostly make sense in this
 context.  However, many others could be applied to other
 architectures in order to provide forums for a conferencing system.
 Finally, it is to be noted that IRC users may find some of the
 following sections of interest, in particular sections 2 (Channel
 Characteristics) and 4 (Channel Modes).

2. Channel Characteristics

 A channel is a named group of one or more users which will all
 receive messages addressed to that channel.  A channel is
 characterized by its name, properties and current members.

2.1 Namespace

 Channels names are strings (beginning with a '&', '#', '+' or '!'
 character) of length up to fifty (50) characters.  Channel names are
 case insensitive.
 Apart from the the requirement that the first character being either
 '&', '#', '+' or '!' (hereafter called "channel prefix"). The only
 restriction on a channel name is that it SHALL NOT contain any spaces
 (' '), a control G (^G or ASCII 7), a comma (',' which is used as a
 list item separator by the protocol).  Also, a colon (':') is used as
 a delimiter for the channel mask.  The exact syntax of a channel name
 is defined in "IRC Server Protocol" [IRC-SERVER].
 The use of different prefixes effectively creates four (4) distinct
 namespaces for channel names.  This is important because of the
 protocol limitations regarding namespaces (in general).  See section
 6.1 (Labels) for more details on these limitations.

2.2 Channel Scope

 A channel entity is known by one or more servers on the IRC network.
 A user can only become member of a channel known by the server to
 which the user is directly connected.  The list of servers which know

Kalt Informational [Page 3] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 of the existence of a particular channel MUST be a contiguous part of
 the IRC network, in order for the messages addressed to the channel
 to be sent to all the channel members.
 Channels with '&' as prefix are local to the server where they are
 created.
 Other channels are known to one (1) or more servers that are
 connected to the network, depending on the channel mask:
    If there is no channel mask, then the channel is known to all
    the servers.
    If there is a channel mask, then the channel MUST only be known
    to servers which has a local user on the channel, and to its
    neighbours if the mask matches both the local and neighbouring
    server names.  Since other servers have absolutely no knowledge of
    the existence of such a channel, the area formed by the servers
    having a name matching the mask has to be contiguous for the
    channel to be known by all these servers.  Channel masks are best
    used in conjunction with server hostmasking [IRC-SERVER].

2.3 Channel Properties

 Each channel has its own properties, which are defined by channel
 modes.  Channel modes can be manipulated by the channel members.  The
 modes affect the way servers manage the channels.
 Channels with '+' as prefix do not support channel modes.  This means
 that all the modes are unset, with the exception of the 't' channel
 flag which is set.

2.4 Privileged Channel Members

 In order for the channel members to keep some control over a channel,
 and some kind of sanity, some channel members are privileged.  Only
 these members are allowed to perform the following actions on the
 channel:
      INVITE  - Invite a client to an invite-only channel (mode +i)
      KICK    - Eject a client from the channel
      MODE    - Change the channel's mode, as well as
                members' privileges
      PRIVMSG - Sending messages to the channel (mode +n, +m, +v)
      TOPIC   - Change the channel topic in a mode +t channel

Kalt Informational [Page 4] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

2.4.1 Channel Operators

 The channel operators (also referred to as a "chop" or "chanop") on a
 given channel are considered to 'own' that channel.  Ownership of a
 channel is shared among channel operators.
 Channel operators are identified by the '@' symbol next to their
 nickname whenever it is associated with a channel (i.e., replies to
 the NAMES, WHO and WHOIS commands).
 Since channels starting with the character '+' as prefix do not
 support channel modes, no member can therefore have the status of
 channel operator.

2.4.2 Channel Creator

 A user who creates a channel with the character '!' as prefix is
 identified as the "channel creator".  Upon creation of the channel,
 this user is also given channel operator status.
 In recognition of this status, the channel creators are endowed with
 the ability to toggle certain modes of the channel which channel
 operators may not manipulate.
 A "channel creator" can be distinguished from a channel operator by
 issuing the proper MODE command.  See the "IRC Client Protocol"
 [IRC-CLIENT] for more information on this topic.

3. Channel lifetime

 In regard to the lifetime of a channel, there are typically two
 groups of channels: standard channels which prefix is either '&', '#'
 or '+', and "safe channels" which prefix is '!'.

3.1 Standard channels

 These channels are created implicitly when the first user joins it,
 and cease to exist when the last user leaves it.  While the channel
 exists, any client can reference the channel using the name of the
 channel.
 The user creating a channel automatically becomes channel operator
 with the notable exception of channels which name is prefixed by the
 character '+', see section 4 (Channel modes).  See section 2.4.1
 (Channel Operators) for more details on this title.

Kalt Informational [Page 5] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 In order to avoid the creation of duplicate channels (typically when
 the IRC network becomes disjoint because of a split between two
 servers), channel names SHOULD NOT be allowed to be reused by a user
 if a channel operator (See Section 2.4.1 (Channel Operators)) has
 recently left the channel because of a network split.  If this
 happens, the channel name is temporarily unavailable.  The duration
 while a channel remains unavailable should be tuned on a per IRC
 network basis.  It is important to note that this prevents local
 users from creating a channel using the same name, but does not
 prevent the channel to be recreated by a remote user. The latter
 typically happens when the IRC network rejoins.  Obviously, this
 mechanism only makes sense for channels which name begins with the
 character '#', but MAY be used for channels which name begins with
 the character '+'.  This mechanism is commonly known as "Channel
 Delay".

3.2 Safe Channels

 Unlike other channels, "safe channels" are not implicitly created.  A
 user wishing to create such a channel MUST request the creation by
 sending a special JOIN command to the server in which the channel
 identifier (then unknown) is replaced by the character '!'.  The
 creation process for this type of channel is strictly controlled.
 The user only chooses part of the channel name (known as the channel
 "short name"), the server automatically prepends the user provided
 name with a channel identifier consisting of five (5) characters.
 The channel name resulting from the combination of these two elements
 is unique, making the channel safe from abuses based on network
 splits.
 The user who creates such a channel automatically becomes "channel
 creator".  See section 2.4.2 (Channel Creator) for more details on
 this title.
 A server MUST NOT allow the creation of a new channel if another
 channel with the same short name exists; or if another channel with
 the same short name existed recently AND any of its member(s) left
 because of a network split.  Such channel ceases to exist after last
 user leaves AND no other member recently left the channel because of
 a network split.
 Unlike the mechanism described in section 5.2.2 (Channel Delay), in
 this case, channel names do not become unavailable: these channels
 may continue to exist after the last user left.  Only the user
 creating the channel becomes "channel creator", users joining an
 existing empty channel do not automatically become "channel creator"
 nor "channel operator".

Kalt Informational [Page 6] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 To ensure the uniqueness of the channel names, the channel identifier
 created by the server MUST follow specific rules.  For more details
 on this, see section 5.2.1 (Channel Identifier).

4. Channel Modes

 The various modes available for channels are as follows:
      O - give "channel creator" status;
      o - give/take channel operator privilege;
      v - give/take the voice privilege;
      a - toggle the anonymous channel flag;
      i - toggle the invite-only channel flag;
      m - toggle the moderated channel;
      n - toggle the no messages to channel from clients on the
          outside;
      q - toggle the quiet channel flag;
      p - toggle the private channel flag;
      s - toggle the secret channel flag;
      r - toggle the server reop channel flag;
      t - toggle the topic settable by channel operator only flag;
      k - set/remove the channel key (password);
      l - set/remove the user limit to channel;
      b - set/remove ban mask to keep users out;
      e - set/remove an exception mask to override a ban mask;
      I - set/remove an invitation mask to automatically override
          the invite-only flag;
 Unless mentioned otherwise below, all these modes can be manipulated
 by "channel operators" by using the MODE command defined in "IRC
 Client Protocol" [IRC-CLIENT].

4.1 Member Status

 The modes in this category take a channel member nickname as argument
 and affect the privileges given to this user.

4.1.1 "Channel Creator" Status

 The mode 'O' is only used in conjunction with "safe channels" and
 SHALL NOT be manipulated by users.  Servers use it to give the user
 creating the channel the status of "channel creator".

Kalt Informational [Page 7] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

4.1.2 Channel Operator Status

 The mode 'o' is used to toggle the operator status of a channel
 member.

4.1.3 Voice Privilege

 The mode 'v' is used to give and take voice privilege to/from a
 channel member.  Users with this privilege can talk on moderated
 channels.  (See section 4.2.3 (Moderated Channel Flag).

4.2 Channel Flags

 The modes in this category are used to define properties which
 affects how channels operate.

4.2.1 Anonymous Flag

 The channel flag 'a' defines an anonymous channel.  This means that
 when a message sent to the channel is sent by the server to users,
 and the origin is a user, then it MUST be masked.  To mask the
 message, the origin is changed to "anonymous!anonymous@anonymous."
 (e.g., a user with the nickname "anonymous", the username "anonymous"
 and from a host called "anonymous.").  Because of this, servers MUST
 forbid users from using the nickname "anonymous".  Servers MUST also
 NOT send QUIT messages for users leaving such channels to the other
 channel members but generate a PART message instead.
 On channels with the character '&' as prefix, this flag MAY be
 toggled by channel operators, but on channels with the character '!'
 as prefix, this flag can be set (but SHALL NOT be unset) by the
 "channel creator" only.  This flag MUST NOT be made available on
 other types of channels.
 Replies to the WHOIS, WHO and NAMES commands MUST NOT reveal the
 presence of other users on channels for which the anonymous flag is
 set.

4.2.2 Invite Only Flag

 When the channel flag 'i' is set, new members are only accepted if
 their mask matches Invite-list (See section 4.3.2) or they have been
 invited by a channel operator.  This flag also restricts the usage of
 the INVITE command (See "IRC Client Protocol" [IRC-CLIENT]) to
 channel operators.

Kalt Informational [Page 8] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

4.2.3 Moderated Channel Flag

 The channel flag 'm' is used to control who may speak on a channel.
 When it is set, only channel operators, and members who have been
 given the voice privilege may send messages to the channel.
    This flag only affects users.

4.2.4 No Messages To Channel From Clients On The Outside

 When the channel flag 'n' is set, only channel members MAY send
 messages to the channel.
    This flag only affects users.

4.2.5 Quiet Channel

 The channel flag 'q' is for use by servers only.  When set, it
 restricts the type of data sent to users about the channel
 operations: other user joins, parts and nick changes are not sent.
 From a user's point of view, the channel contains only one user.
 This is typically used to create special local channels on which the
 server sends notices related to its operations.  This was used as a
 more efficient and flexible way to replace the user mode 's' defined
 in RFC 1459 [IRC].

4.2.6 Private and Secret Channels

 The channel flag 'p' is used to mark a channel "private" and the
 channel flag 's' to mark a channel "secret".  Both properties are
 similar and conceal the existence of the channel from other users.
 This means that there is no way of getting this channel's name from
 the server without being a member.  In other words, these channels
 MUST be omitted from replies to queries like the WHOIS command.
 When a channel is "secret", in addition to the restriction above, the
 server will act as if the channel does not exist for queries like the
 TOPIC, LIST, NAMES commands.  Note that there is one exception to
 this rule: servers will correctly reply to the MODE command.
 Finally, secret channels are not accounted for in the reply to the
 LUSERS command (See "Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol" [IRC-
 CLIENT]) when the <mask> parameter is specified.

Kalt Informational [Page 9] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 The channel flags 'p' and 's' MUST NOT both be set at the same time.
 If a MODE message originating from a server sets the flag 'p' and the
 flag 's' is already set for the channel, the change is silently
 ignored.  This should only happen during a split healing phase
 (mentioned in the "IRC Server Protocol" document [IRC-SERVER]).

4.2.7 Server Reop Flag

 The channel flag 'r' is only available on channels which name begins
 with the character '!' and MAY only be toggled by the "channel
 creator".
 This flag is used to prevent a channel from having no channel
 operator for an extended period of time.  When this flag is set, any
 channel that has lost all its channel operators for longer than the
 "reop delay" period triggers a mechanism in servers to reop some or
 all of the channel inhabitants.  This mechanism is described more in
 detail in section 5.2.4 (Channel Reop Mechanism).

4.2.8 Topic

 The channel flag 't' is used to restrict the usage of the TOPIC
 command to channel operators.

4.2.9 User Limit

 A user limit may be set on channels by using the channel flag 'l'.
 When the limit is reached, servers MUST forbid their local users to
 join the channel.
 The value of the limit MUST only be made available to the channel
 members in the reply sent by the server to a MODE query.

4.2.10 Channel Key

 When a channel key is set (by using the mode 'k'), servers MUST
 reject their local users request to join the channel unless this key
 is given.
 The channel key MUST only be made visible to the channel members in
 the reply sent by the server to a MODE query.

4.3 Channel Access Control

 The last category of modes is used to control access to the channel,
 they take a mask as argument.

Kalt Informational [Page 10] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 In order to reduce the size of the global database for control access
 modes set for channels, servers MAY put a maximum limit on the number
 of such modes set for a particular channel.  If such restriction is
 imposed, it MUST only affect user requests.  The limit SHOULD be
 homogeneous on a per IRC network basis.

4.3.1 Channel Ban and Exception

 When a user requests to join a channel, his local server checks if
 the user's address matches any of the ban masks set for the channel.
 If a match is found, the user request is denied unless the address
 also matches an exception mask set for the channel.
 Servers MUST NOT allow a channel member who is banned from the
 channel to speak on the channel, unless this member is a channel
 operator or has voice privilege. (See Section 4.1.3 (Voice
 Privilege)).
 A user who is banned from a channel and who carries an invitation
 sent by a channel operator is allowed to join the channel.

4.3.2 Channel Invitation

 For channels which have the invite-only flag set (See Section 4.2.2
 (Invite Only Flag)), users whose address matches an invitation mask
 set for the channel are allowed to join the channel without any
 invitation.

5. Current Implementations

 The only current implementation of these rules as part of the IRC
 protocol is the IRC server, version 2.10.
 The rest of this section deals with issues that are mostly of
 importance to those who wish to implement a server but some parts may
 also be of interest for client writers.

5.1 Tracking Recently Used Channels

 This mechanism is commonly known as "Channel Delay" and generally
 only applies to channels which names is prefixed with the character
 '#' (See Section 3.1 "Standard channels").
 When a network split occurs, servers SHOULD keep track of which
 channels lost a "channel operator" as the result of the break.  These
 channels are then in a special state which lasts for a certain period
 of time.  In this particular state, the channels cannot cease to

Kalt Informational [Page 11] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 exist.  If all the channel members leave the channel, the channel
 becomes unavailable: the server local clients cannot join the channel
 as long as it is empty.
 Once a channel is unavailable, it will become available again either
 because a remote user has joined the channel (most likely because the
 network is healing), or because the delay period has expired (in
 which case the channel ceases to exist and may be re-created).
 The duration for which a channel death is delayed SHOULD be set
 considering many factors among which are the size (user wise) of the
 IRC network, and the usual duration of network splits.  It SHOULD be
 uniform on all servers for a given IRC network.

5.2 Safe Channels

 This document introduces the notion of "safe channels".  These
 channels have a name prefixed with the character '!' and great effort
 is made to avoid collisions in this name space.  Collisions are not
 impossible, however they are very unlikely.

5.2.1 Channel Identifier

 The channel identifier is a function of the time.  The current time
 (as defined under UNIX by the number of seconds elapsed since
 00:00:00 GMT, January 1, 1970) is converted in a string of five (5)
 characters using the following base:
 "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890" (each character has a decimal
 value starting from 0 for 'A' to 35 for '0').
 The channel identifier therefore has a periodicity of 36^5 seconds
 (about 700 days).

5.2.2 Channel Delay

 These channels MUST be subject to the "channel delay" mechanism
 described in section 5.1 (Channel Delay).  However, the mechanism is
 slightly adapted to fit better.
 Servers MUST keep track of all such channels which lose members as
 the result of a network split, no matter whether the user is a
 "channel operator" or not.
 However, these channels do NOT ever become unavailable, it is always
 possible to join them even when they are empty.

Kalt Informational [Page 12] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

5.2.3 Abuse Window

 Because the periodicity is so long, attacks on a particular channel
 (name) may only occur once in a very long while.  However, with luck
 and patience, it is still possible for a user to cause a channel
 collision.  In order to avoid this, servers MUST "look in the future"
 and keep a list of channel names which identifier is about to be used
 (in the coming few days for example). Such list should remain small,
 not be a burden for servers to maintain and be used to avoid channel
 collisions by preventing the re-creation of such channel for a longer
 period of time than channel delay does.
 Eventually a server MAY choose to extend this procedure to forbid
 creation of channels with the same shortname only (then ignoring the
 channel identifier).

5.2.4 Preserving Sanity In The Name Space

 The combination of the mechanisms described in sections 5.2.2 and
 5.2.3 makes it quite difficult for a user to create a channel
 collision. However, another type of abuse consists of creating many
 channels having the same shortname, but different identifiers.  To
 prevent this from happening, servers MUST forbid the creation of a
 new channel which has the same shortname of a channel currently
 existing.

5.2.5 Server Reop Mechanism

 When a channel has been opless for longer than the "reop delay"
 period and has the channel flag 'r' set (See Section 4.2.7 (Server
 Reop Flag)), IRC servers are responsible for giving the channel
 operator status randomly to some of the members.
 The exact logic used for this mechanism by the current implementation
 is described below.  Servers MAY use a different logic, but that it
 is strongly RECOMMENDED that all servers use the same logic on a
 particular IRC network to maintain coherence as well as fairness.
 For the same reason, the "reop delay" SHOULD be uniform on all
 servers for a given IRC network.  As for the "channel delay", the
 value of the "reop delay" SHOULD be set considering many factors
 among which are the size (user wise) of the IRC network, and the
 usual duration of network splits.
 a) the reop mechanism is triggered after a random time following the
    expiration of the "reop delay".  This should limit the eventuality
    of the mechanism being triggered at the same time (for the same
    channel) on two separate servers.

Kalt Informational [Page 13] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 b) If the channel is small (five (5) users or less), and the "channel
    delay" for this channel has expired,
      Then reop all channel members if at least one member is local to
      the server.
 c) If the channel is small (five (5) users or less), and the "channel
    delay" for this channel has expired, and the "reop delay" has
    expired for longer than its value,
      Then reop all channel members.
 d) For other cases, reop at most one member on the channel, based on
    some method build into the server. If you don't reop a member, the
    method should be such that another server will probably op
    someone. The method SHOULD be the same over the whole network. A
    good heuristic could be just random reop.
    (The current implementation actually tries to choose a member
    local to the server who has not been idle for too long, eventually
    postponing action, therefore letting other servers have a chance
    to find a "not too idle" member.  This is over complicated due to
    the fact that servers only know the "idle" time of their local
    users)

6. Current problems

 There are a number of recognized problems with the way IRC channels
 are managed.  Some of these can be directly attributed to the rules
 defined in this document, while others are the result of the
 underlying "IRC Server Protocol" [IRC-SERVER].  Although derived from
 RFC 1459 [IRC], this document introduces several novelties in an
 attempt to solve some of the known problems.

6.1 Labels

 This document defines one of the many labels used by the IRC
 protocol.  Although there are several distinct namespaces (based on
 the channel name prefix), duplicates inside each of these are not
 allowed.  Currently, it is possible for users on different servers to
 pick the label which may result in collisions (with the exception of
 channels known to only one server where they can be averted).

6.1.1 Channel Delay

 The channel delay mechanism described in section 5.1 (Tracking
 Recently Used Channels) and used for channels prefixed with the
 character '#' is a simple attempt at preventing collisions from
 happening.  Experience has shown that, under normal circumstances, it

Kalt Informational [Page 14] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 is very efficient; however, it obviously has severe limitations
 keeping it from being an adequate solution to the problem discussed
 here.

6.1.2 Safe Channels

 "Safe channels" described in section 3.2 (Safe Channels) are a better
 way to prevent collisions from happening as it prevents users from
 having total control over the label they choose.  The obvious
 drawback for such labels is that they are not user friendly.
 However, it is fairly trivial for a client program to improve on
 this.

6.2 Mode Propagation Delays

 Because of network delays induced by the network, and because each
 server on the path is REQUIRED to check the validity of mode changes
 (e.g., user exists and has the right privileges), it is not unusual
 for a MODE message to only affect part of the network, often creating
 a discrepancy between servers on the current state of a channel.
 While this may seem easy to fix (by having only the original server
 check the validity of mode changes), it was decided not to do so for
 various reasons.  One concern is that servers cannot trust each
 other, and that a misbehaving servers can easily be detected.  This
 way of doing so also stops wave effects on channels which are out of
 synch when mode changes are issued from different directions.

6.3 Collisions And Channel Modes

 The "Internet Relay Chat: Server Protocol" document [IRC-SERVER]
 describes how channel data is exchanged when two servers connect to
 each other.  Channel collisions (either legitimate or not) are
 treated as inclusive events, meaning that the resulting channel has
 for members all the users who are members of the channel on either
 server prior to the connection.
 Similarly, each server sends the channel modes to the other one.
 Therefore, each server also receives these channel modes.  There are
 three types of modes for a given channel: flags, masks, and data.
 The first two types are easy to deal with as they are either set or
 unset.  If such a mode is set on one server, it MUST be set on the
 other server as a result of the connection.

Kalt Informational [Page 15] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

 As topics are not sent as part of this exchange, they are not a
 problem.  However, channel modes 'l' and 'k' are exchanged, and if
 they are set on both servers prior to the connection, there is no
 mechanism to decide which of the two values takes precedence.  It is
 left up to the users to fix the resulting discrepancy.

6.4 Resource Exhaustion

 The mode based on masks defined in section 4.3 make the IRC servers
 (and network) vulnerable to a simple abuse of the system: a single
 channel operator can set as many different masks as possible on a
 particular channel.  This can easily cause the server to waste
 memory, as well as network bandwidth (since the info is propagated to
 other servers).  For this reason it is RECOMMENDED that a limit be
 put on the number of such masks per channels as mentioned in section
 4.3.
 Moreover, more complex mechanisms MAY be used to avoid having
 redundant masks set for the same channel.

7. Security Considerations

7.1 Access Control

 One of the main ways to control access to a channel is to use masks
 which are based on the username and hostname of the user connections.
 This mechanism can only be efficient and safe if the IRC servers have
 an accurate way of authenticating user connections, and if users
 cannot easily get around it.  While it is in theory possible to
 implement such a strict authentication mechanism, most IRC networks
 (especially public networks) do not have anything like this in place
 and provide little guaranty about the accuracy of the username and
 hostname for a particular client connection.
 Another way to control access is to use a channel key, but since this
 key is sent in plaintext, it is vulnerable to traditional man in the
 middle attacks.

7.2 Channel Privacy

 Because channel collisions are treated as inclusive events (See
 Section 6.3), it is possible for users to join a channel overriding
 its access control settings.  This method has long been used by
 individuals to "take over" channels by "illegitimately" gaining
 channel operator status on the channel.  The same method can be used
 to find out the exact list of members of a channel, as well as to
 eventually receive some of the messages sent to the channel.

Kalt Informational [Page 16] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

7.3 Anonymity

 The anonymous channel flag (See Section 4.2.1) can be used to render
 all users on such channel "anonymous" by presenting all messages to
 the channel as originating from a pseudo user which nickname is
 "anonymous".  This is done at the client-server level, and no
 anonymity is provided at the server-server level.
 It should be obvious to readers, that the level of anonymity offered
 is quite poor and insecure, and that clients SHOULD display strong
 warnings for users joining such channels.

8. Current support and availability

   Mailing lists for IRC related discussion:
     General discussion: ircd-users@irc.org
     Protocol development: ircd-dev@irc.org
   Software implementations:
     ftp://ftp.irc.org/irc/server
     ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/unix/irc
     ftp://coombs.anu.edu.au/pub/irc
   Newsgroup: alt.irc

9. Acknowledgements

 Parts of this document were copied from the RFC 1459 [IRC] which
 first formally documented the IRC Protocol.  It has also benefited
 from many rounds of review and comments.  In particular, the
 following people have made significant contributions to this
 document:
 Matthew Green, Michael Neumayer, Volker Paulsen, Kurt Roeckx, Vesa
 Ruokonen, Magnus Tjernstrom, Stefan Zehl.

Kalt Informational [Page 17] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

10. References

 [KEYWORDS]   Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
 [IRC]        Oikarinen, J. and D. Reed, "Internet Relay Chat
              Protocol", RFC 1459, May 1993.
 [IRC-ARCH]   Kalt, C., "Internet Relay Chat: Architecture", RFC 2810,
              April 2000.
 [IRC-CLIENT] Kalt, C., "Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol", RFC
              2812, April 2000.
 [IRC-SERVER] Kalt, C., "Internet Relay Chat: Server Protocol", RFC
              2813, April 2000.

11. Author's Address

 Christophe Kalt
 99 Teaneck Rd, Apt #117
 Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
 USA
 EMail: kalt@stealth.net

Kalt Informational [Page 18] RFC 2811 Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management April 2000

12. Full Copyright Statement

 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000).  All Rights Reserved.
 This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
 others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
 or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
 and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
 kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
 included on all such copies and derivative works.  However, this
 document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
 the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
 Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
 developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
 copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
 followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
 English.
 The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
 revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
 This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
 "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
 TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
 BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
 HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
 MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Acknowledgement

 Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
 Internet Society.

Kalt Informational [Page 19]

/data/webs/external/dokuwiki/data/pages/rfc/rfc2811.txt · Last modified: 2000/04/27 21:28 by 127.0.0.1

Donate Powered by PHP Valid HTML5 Valid CSS Driven by DokuWiki