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rfc:rfc2812

Network Working Group C. Kalt Request for Comments: 2812 April 2000 Updates: 1459 Category: Informational

                Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol

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.

IESG NOTE:

 The IRC protocol itself enables several possibilities of transferring
 data between clients, and just like with other transfer mechanisms
 like email, the receiver of the data has to be careful about how the
 data is handled. For more information on security issues with the IRC
 protocol, see for example http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/security/.

Abstract

 The IRC (Internet Relay Chat) protocol is for use with text based
 conferencing; the simplest client being any socket program capable of
 connecting to the server.
 This document defines the Client Protocol, and assumes that the
 reader is familiar with the IRC Architecture [IRC-ARCH].

Table of Contents

 1.  Labels .....................................................   3
    1.1  Servers ................................................   3
    1.2  Clients ................................................   3
       1.2.1  Users .............................................   4
          1.2.1.1  Operators ....................................   4
       1.2.2  Services ..........................................   4
    1.3  Channels ...............................................   4
 2.  The IRC Client Specification ...............................   5
    2.1  Overview ...............................................   5
    2.2  Character codes ........................................   5
    2.3  Messages ...............................................   5

Kalt Informational [Page 1] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

       2.3.1  Message format in Augmented BNF ...................   6
    2.4  Numeric replies ........................................   8
    2.5  Wildcard expressions ...................................   9
 3.  Message Details ............................................   9
    3.1  Connection Registration ................................  10
       3.1.1  Password message ..................................  10
       3.1.2  Nick message ......................................  10
       3.1.3  User message ......................................  11
       3.1.4  Oper message ......................................  12
       3.1.5  User mode message .................................  12
       3.1.6  Service message ...................................  13
       3.1.7  Quit ..............................................  14
       3.1.8  Squit .............................................  15
    3.2  Channel operations .....................................  15
       3.2.1  Join message ......................................  16
       3.2.2  Part message ......................................  17
       3.2.3  Channel mode message ..............................  18
       3.2.4  Topic message .....................................  19
       3.2.5  Names message .....................................  20
       3.2.6  List message ......................................  21
       3.2.7  Invite message ....................................  21
       3.2.8  Kick command ......................................  22
    3.3  Sending messages .......................................  23
       3.3.1  Private messages ..................................  23
       3.3.2  Notice ............................................  24
    3.4  Server queries and commands ............................  25
       3.4.1  Motd message ......................................  25
       3.4.2  Lusers message ....................................  25
       3.4.3  Version message ...................................  26
       3.4.4  Stats message .....................................  26
       3.4.5  Links message .....................................  27
       3.4.6  Time message ......................................  28
       3.4.7  Connect message ...................................  28
       3.4.8  Trace message .....................................  29
       3.4.9  Admin command .....................................  30
       3.4.10 Info command ......................................  31
    3.5  Service Query and Commands .............................  31
       3.5.1  Servlist message ..................................  31
       3.5.2  Squery ............................................  32
    3.6  User based queries .....................................  32
       3.6.1  Who query .........................................  32
       3.6.2  Whois query .......................................  33
       3.6.3  Whowas ............................................  34
    3.7  Miscellaneous messages .................................  34
       3.7.1  Kill message ......................................  35
       3.7.2  Ping message ......................................  36
       3.7.3  Pong message ......................................  37
       3.7.4  Error .............................................  37

Kalt Informational [Page 2] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 4.  Optional features ..........................................  38
    4.1  Away ...................................................  38
    4.2  Rehash message .........................................  39
    4.3  Die message ............................................  39
    4.4  Restart message ........................................  40
    4.5  Summon message .........................................  40
    4.6  Users ..................................................  41
    4.7  Operwall message .......................................  41
    4.8  Userhost message .......................................  42
    4.9  Ison message ...........................................  42
 5.  Replies ....................................................  43
    5.1  Command responses ......................................  43
    5.2  Error Replies ..........................................  53
    5.3  Reserved numerics ......................................  59
 6.  Current implementations ....................................  60
 7.  Current problems ...........................................  60
    7.1  Nicknames ..............................................  60
    7.2  Limitation of wildcards ................................  61
    7.3  Security considerations ................................  61
 8.  Current support and availability ...........................  61
 9.  Acknowledgements ...........................................  61
 10.  References ................................................  62
 11.  Author's Address ..........................................  62
 12.  Full Copyright Statement ..................................  63

1. Labels

 This section defines the identifiers used for the various components
 of the IRC protocol.

1.1 Servers

 Servers are uniquely identified by their name, which has a maximum
 length of sixty three (63) characters.  See the protocol grammar
 rules (section 2.3.1) for what may and may not be used in a server
 name.

1.2 Clients

 For each client all servers MUST have the following information: a
 netwide unique identifier (whose format depends on the type of
 client) and the server which introduced the client.

Kalt Informational [Page 3] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

1.2.1 Users

 Each user is distinguished from other users by a unique nickname
 having a maximum length of nine (9) characters.  See the protocol
 grammar rules (section 2.3.1) for what may and may not be used in a
 nickname.
 While the maximum length is limited to nine characters, clients
 SHOULD accept longer strings as they may become used in future
 evolutions of the protocol.

1.2.1.1 Operators

 To allow a reasonable amount of order to be kept within the IRC
 network, a special class of users (operators) is allowed to perform
 general maintenance functions on the network.  Although the powers
 granted to an operator can be considered as 'dangerous', they are
 nonetheless often necessary.  Operators SHOULD be able to perform
 basic network tasks such as disconnecting and reconnecting servers as
 needed.  In recognition of this need, the protocol discussed herein
 provides for operators only to be able to perform such functions.
 See sections 3.1.8 (SQUIT) and 3.4.7 (CONNECT).
 A more controversial power of operators is the ability to remove a
 user from the connected network by 'force', i.e., operators are able
 to close the connection between any client and server.  The
 justification for this is very delicate since its abuse is both
 destructive and annoying, and its benefits close to inexistent.  For
 further details on this type of action, see section 3.7.1 (KILL).

1.2.2 Services

 Each service is distinguished from other services by a service name
 composed of a nickname and a server name.  As for users, the nickname
 has a maximum length of nine (9) characters.  See the protocol
 grammar rules (section 2.3.1) for what may and may not be used in a
 nickname.

1.3 Channels

 Channels names are strings (beginning with a '&', '#', '+' or '!'
 character) of length up to fifty (50) characters.  Apart from the
 requirement that the first character is either '&', '#', '+' or '!',
 the only restriction on a channel name is that it SHALL NOT contain
 any spaces (' '), a control G (^G or ASCII 7), a comma (',').  Space
 is used as parameter separator and command is used as a list item
 separator by the protocol).  A colon (':') can also be used as a
 delimiter for the channel mask.  Channel names are case insensitive.

Kalt Informational [Page 4] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 See the protocol grammar rules (section 2.3.1) for the exact syntax
 of a channel name.
 Each prefix characterizes a different channel type.  The definition
 of the channel types is not relevant to the client-server protocol
 and thus it is beyond the scope of this document.  More details can
 be found in "Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management" [IRC-CHAN].

2. The IRC Client Specification

2.1 Overview

 The protocol as described herein is for use only with client to
 server connections when the client registers as a user.

2.2 Character codes

 No specific character set is specified. The protocol is based on a
 set of codes which are composed of eight (8) bits, making up an
 octet.  Each message may be composed of any number of these octets;
 however, some octet values are used for control codes, which act as
 message delimiters.
 Regardless of being an 8-bit protocol, the delimiters and keywords
 are such that protocol is mostly usable from US-ASCII terminal and a
 telnet connection.
 Because of IRC's Scandinavian origin, the characters {}|^ are
 considered to be the lower case equivalents of the characters []\~,
 respectively. This is a critical issue when determining the
 equivalence of two nicknames or channel names.

2.3 Messages

 Servers and clients send each other messages, which may or may not
 generate a reply.  If the message contains a valid command, as
 described in later sections, the client should expect a reply as
 specified but it is not advised to wait forever for the reply; client
 to server and server to server communication is essentially
 asynchronous by nature.
 Each IRC message may consist of up to three main parts: the prefix
 (OPTIONAL), the command, and the command parameters (maximum of
 fifteen (15)).  The prefix, command, and all parameters are separated
 by one ASCII space character (0x20) each.

Kalt Informational [Page 5] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 The presence of a prefix is indicated with a single leading ASCII
 colon character (':', 0x3b), which MUST be the first character of the
 message itself.  There MUST be NO gap (whitespace) between the colon
 and the prefix.  The prefix is used by servers to indicate the true
 origin of the message.  If the prefix is missing from the message, it
 is assumed to have originated from the connection from which it was
 received from.  Clients SHOULD NOT use a prefix when sending a
 message; if they use one, the only valid prefix is the registered
 nickname associated with the client.
 The command MUST either be a valid IRC command or a three (3) digit
 number represented in ASCII text.
 IRC messages are always lines of characters terminated with a CR-LF
 (Carriage Return - Line Feed) pair, and these messages SHALL NOT
 exceed 512 characters in length, counting all characters including
 the trailing CR-LF. Thus, there are 510 characters maximum allowed
 for the command and its parameters.  There is no provision for
 continuation of message lines.  See section 6 for more details about
 current implementations.

2.3.1 Message format in Augmented BNF

 The protocol messages must be extracted from the contiguous stream of
 octets.  The current solution is to designate two characters, CR and
 LF, as message separators.  Empty messages are silently ignored,
 which permits use of the sequence CR-LF between messages without
 extra problems.
 The extracted message is parsed into the components <prefix>,
 <command> and list of parameters (<params>).
  The Augmented BNF representation for this is:
  message    =  [ ":" prefix SPACE ] command [ params ] crlf
  prefix     =  servername / ( nickname [ [ "!" user ] "@" host ] )
  command    =  1*letter / 3digit
  params     =  *14( SPACE middle ) [ SPACE ":" trailing ]
             =/ 14( SPACE middle ) [ SPACE [ ":" ] trailing ]
  nospcrlfcl =  %x01-09 / %x0B-0C / %x0E-1F / %x21-39 / %x3B-FF
                  ; any octet except NUL, CR, LF, " " and ":"
  middle     =  nospcrlfcl *( ":" / nospcrlfcl )
  trailing   =  *( ":" / " " / nospcrlfcl )
  SPACE      =  %x20        ; space character
  crlf       =  %x0D %x0A   ; "carriage return" "linefeed"

Kalt Informational [Page 6] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 NOTES:
    1) After extracting the parameter list, all parameters are equal
       whether matched by <middle> or <trailing>. <trailing> is just a
       syntactic trick to allow SPACE within the parameter.
    2) The NUL (%x00) character is not special in message framing, and
       basically could end up inside a parameter, but it would cause
       extra complexities in normal C string handling. Therefore, NUL
       is not allowed within messages.
 Most protocol messages specify additional semantics and syntax for
 the extracted parameter strings dictated by their position in the
 list.  For example, many server commands will assume that the first
 parameter after the command is the list of targets, which can be
 described with:
target     =  nickname / server
msgtarget  =  msgto *( "," msgto )
msgto      =  channel / ( user [ "%" host ] "@" servername )
msgto      =/ ( user "%" host ) / targetmask
msgto      =/ nickname / ( nickname "!" user "@" host )
channel    =  ( "#" / "+" / ( "!" channelid ) / "&" ) chanstring
              [ ":" chanstring ]
servername =  hostname
host       =  hostname / hostaddr
hostname   =  shortname *( "." shortname )
shortname  =  ( letter / digit ) *( letter / digit / "-" )
              *( letter / digit )
                ; as specified in RFC 1123 [HNAME]
hostaddr   =  ip4addr / ip6addr
ip4addr    =  1*3digit "." 1*3digit "." 1*3digit "." 1*3digit
ip6addr    =  1*hexdigit 7( ":" 1*hexdigit )
ip6addr    =/ "0:0:0:0:0:" ( "0" / "FFFF" ) ":" ip4addr
nickname   =  ( letter / special ) *8( letter / digit / special / "-" )
targetmask =  ( "$" / "#" ) mask
                ; see details on allowed masks in section 3.3.1
chanstring =  %x01-07 / %x08-09 / %x0B-0C / %x0E-1F / %x21-2B
chanstring =/ %x2D-39 / %x3B-FF
                ; any octet except NUL, BELL, CR, LF, " ", "," and ":"
channelid  = 5( %x41-5A / digit )   ; 5( A-Z / 0-9 )

Kalt Informational [Page 7] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

Other parameter syntaxes are:
user       =  1*( %x01-09 / %x0B-0C / %x0E-1F / %x21-3F / %x41-FF )
                ; any octet except NUL, CR, LF, " " and "@"
key        =  1*23( %x01-05 / %x07-08 / %x0C / %x0E-1F / %x21-7F )
                ; any 7-bit US_ASCII character,
                ; except NUL, CR, LF, FF, h/v TABs, and " "
letter     =  %x41-5A / %x61-7A       ; A-Z / a-z
digit      =  %x30-39                 ; 0-9
hexdigit   =  digit / "A" / "B" / "C" / "D" / "E" / "F"
special    =  %x5B-60 / %x7B-7D
                 ; "[", "]", "\", "`", "_", "^", "{", "|", "}"
NOTES:
    1) The <hostaddr> syntax is given here for the sole purpose of
       indicating the format to follow for IP addresses.  This
       reflects the fact that the only available implementations of
       this protocol uses TCP/IP as underlying network protocol but is
       not meant to prevent other protocols to be used.
    2) <hostname> has a maximum length of 63 characters.  This is a
       limitation of the protocol as internet hostnames (in
       particular) can be longer.  Such restriction is necessary
       because IRC messages are limited to 512 characters in length.
       Clients connecting from a host which name is longer than 63
       characters are registered using the host (numeric) address
       instead of the host name.
    3) Some parameters used in the following sections of this
       documents are not defined here as there is nothing specific
       about them besides the name that is used for convenience.
       These parameters follow the general syntax defined for
       <params>.

2.4 Numeric replies

 Most of the messages sent to the server generate a reply of some
 sort.  The most common reply is the numeric reply, used for both
 errors and normal replies.  The numeric reply MUST be sent as one
 message consisting of the sender prefix, the three-digit numeric, and
 the target of the reply.  A numeric reply is not allowed to originate
 from a client. In all other respects, a numeric reply is just like a
 normal message, except that the keyword is made up of 3 numeric
 digits rather than a string of letters.  A list of different replies
 is supplied in section 5 (Replies).

Kalt Informational [Page 8] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

2.5 Wildcard expressions

 When wildcards are allowed in a string, it is referred as a "mask".
 For string matching purposes, the protocol allows the use of two
 special characters: '?' (%x3F) to match one and only one character,
 and '*' (%x2A) to match any number of any characters.  These two
 characters can be escaped using the character '\' (%x5C).
 The Augmented BNF syntax for this is:
  mask       =  *( nowild / noesc wildone / noesc wildmany )
  wildone    =  %x3F
  wildmany   =  %x2A
  nowild     =  %x01-29 / %x2B-3E / %x40-FF
                  ; any octet except NUL, "*", "?"
  noesc      =  %x01-5B / %x5D-FF
                  ; any octet except NUL and "\"
  matchone   =  %x01-FF
                  ; matches wildone
  matchmany  =  *matchone
                  ; matches wildmany
 Examples:
 a?c         ; Matches any string of 3 characters in length starting
             with "a" and ending with "c"
 a*c         ; Matches any string of at least 2 characters in length
             starting with "a" and ending with "c"

3. Message Details

 On the following pages there are descriptions of each message
 recognized by the IRC server and client.  All commands described in
 this section MUST be implemented by any server for this protocol.
 Where the reply ERR_NOSUCHSERVER is returned, it means that the
 target of the message could not be found.  The server MUST NOT send
 any other replies after this error for that command.
 The server to which a client is connected is required to parse the
 complete message, and return any appropriate errors.
 If multiple parameters is presented, then each MUST be checked for
 validity and appropriate responses MUST be sent back to the client.
 In the case of incorrect messages which use parameter lists with
 comma as an item separator, a reply MUST be sent for each item.

Kalt Informational [Page 9] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

3.1 Connection Registration

 The commands described here are used to register a connection with an
 IRC server as a user as well as to correctly disconnect.
 A "PASS" command is not required for a client connection to be
 registered, but it MUST precede the latter of the NICK/USER
 combination (for a user connection) or the SERVICE command (for a
 service connection). The RECOMMENDED order for a client to register
 is as follows:
                         1. Pass message
         2. Nick message                 2. Service message
         3. User message
 Upon success, the client will receive an RPL_WELCOME (for users) or
 RPL_YOURESERVICE (for services) message indicating that the
 connection is now registered and known the to the entire IRC network.
 The reply message MUST contain the full client identifier upon which
 it was registered.

3.1.1 Password message

    Command: PASS
 Parameters: <password>
 The PASS command is used to set a 'connection password'.  The
 optional password can and MUST be set before any attempt to register
 the connection is made.  Currently this requires that user send a
 PASS command before sending the NICK/USER combination.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              ERR_ALREADYREGISTRED
 Example:
         PASS secretpasswordhere

3.1.2 Nick message

    Command: NICK
 Parameters: <nickname>
 NICK command is used to give user a nickname or change the existing
 one.

Kalt Informational [Page 10] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NONICKNAMEGIVEN             ERR_ERRONEUSNICKNAME
         ERR_NICKNAMEINUSE               ERR_NICKCOLLISION
         ERR_UNAVAILRESOURCE             ERR_RESTRICTED
 Examples:
 NICK Wiz                ; Introducing new nick "Wiz" if session is
                         still unregistered, or user changing his
                         nickname to "Wiz"
 :WiZ!jto@tolsun.oulu.fi NICK Kilroy
                         ; Server telling that WiZ changed his
                         nickname to Kilroy.

3.1.3 User message

    Command: USER
 Parameters: <user> <mode> <unused> <realname>
 The USER command is used at the beginning of connection to specify
 the username, hostname and realname of a new user.
 The <mode> parameter should be a numeric, and can be used to
 automatically set user modes when registering with the server.  This
 parameter is a bitmask, with only 2 bits having any signification: if
 the bit 2 is set, the user mode 'w' will be set and if the bit 3 is
 set, the user mode 'i' will be set.  (See Section 3.1.5 "User
 Modes").
 The <realname> may contain space characters.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              ERR_ALREADYREGISTRED
 Example:
 USER guest 0 * :Ronnie Reagan   ; User registering themselves with a
                                 username of "guest" and real name
                                 "Ronnie Reagan".
 USER guest 8 * :Ronnie Reagan   ; User registering themselves with a
                                 username of "guest" and real name
                                 "Ronnie Reagan", and asking to be set
                                 invisible.

Kalt Informational [Page 11] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

3.1.4 Oper message

    Command: OPER
 Parameters: <name> <password>
 A normal user uses the OPER command to obtain operator privileges.
 The combination of <name> and <password> are REQUIRED to gain
 Operator privileges.  Upon success, the user will receive a MODE
 message (see section 3.1.5) indicating the new user modes.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              RPL_YOUREOPER
         ERR_NOOPERHOST                  ERR_PASSWDMISMATCH
 Example:
 OPER foo bar                    ; Attempt to register as an operator
                                 using a username of "foo" and "bar"
                                 as the password.

3.1.5 User mode message

    Command: MODE
 Parameters: <nickname>
             *( ( "+" / "-" ) *( "i" / "w" / "o" / "O" / "r" ) )
 The user MODE's are typically changes which affect either how the
 client is seen by others or what 'extra' messages the client is sent.
 A user MODE command MUST only be accepted if both the sender of the
 message and the nickname given as a parameter are both the same.  If
 no other parameter is given, then the server will return the current
 settings for the nick.
    The available modes are as follows:
         a - user is flagged as away;
         i - marks a users as invisible;
         w - user receives wallops;
         r - restricted user connection;
         o - operator flag;
         O - local operator flag;
         s - marks a user for receipt of server notices.
 Additional modes may be available later on.

Kalt Informational [Page 12] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 The flag 'a' SHALL NOT be toggled by the user using the MODE command,
 instead use of the AWAY command is REQUIRED.
 If a user attempts to make themselves an operator using the "+o" or
 "+O" flag, the attempt SHOULD be ignored as users could bypass the
 authentication mechanisms of the OPER command.  There is no
 restriction, however, on anyone `deopping' themselves (using "-o" or
 "-O").
 On the other hand, if a user attempts to make themselves unrestricted
 using the "-r" flag, the attempt SHOULD be ignored.  There is no
 restriction, however, on anyone `deopping' themselves (using "+r").
 This flag is typically set by the server upon connection for
 administrative reasons.  While the restrictions imposed are left up
 to the implementation, it is typical that a restricted user not be
 allowed to change nicknames, nor make use of the channel operator
 status on channels.
 The flag 's' is obsolete but MAY still be used.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              ERR_USERSDONTMATCH
         ERR_UMODEUNKNOWNFLAG            RPL_UMODEIS
 Examples:
 MODE WiZ -w                     ; Command by WiZ to turn off
                                 reception of WALLOPS messages.
 MODE Angel +i                   ; Command from Angel to make herself
                                 invisible.
 MODE WiZ -o                     ; WiZ 'deopping' (removing operator
                                 status).

3.1.6 Service message

    Command: SERVICE
 Parameters: <nickname> <reserved> <distribution> <type>
             <reserved> <info>
 The SERVICE command to register a new service.  Command parameters
 specify the service nickname, distribution, type and info of a new
 service.

Kalt Informational [Page 13] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 The <distribution> parameter is used to specify the visibility of a
 service.  The service may only be known to servers which have a name
 matching the distribution.  For a matching server to have knowledge
 of the service, the network path between that server and the server
 on which the service is connected MUST be composed of servers which
 names all match the mask.
 The <type> parameter is currently reserved for future usage.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_ALREADYREGISTRED            ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS
         ERR_ERRONEUSNICKNAME
         RPL_YOURESERVICE                RPL_YOURHOST
         RPL_MYINFO
 Example:
 SERVICE dict * *.fr 0 0 :French Dictionary ; Service registering
                                 itself with a name of "dict".  This
                                 service will only be available on
                                 servers which name matches "*.fr".

3.1.7 Quit

    Command: QUIT
 Parameters: [ <Quit Message> ]
 A client session is terminated with a quit message.  The server
 acknowledges this by sending an ERROR message to the client.
 Numeric Replies:
         None.
 Example:
 QUIT :Gone to have lunch        ; Preferred message format.
 :syrk!kalt@millennium.stealth.net QUIT :Gone to have lunch ; User
                                 syrk has quit IRC to have lunch.

Kalt Informational [Page 14] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

3.1.8 Squit

    Command: SQUIT
 Parameters: <server> <comment>
 The SQUIT command is available only to operators.  It is used to
 disconnect server links.  Also servers can generate SQUIT messages on
 error conditions.  A SQUIT message may also target a remote server
 connection.  In this case, the SQUIT message will simply be sent to
 the remote server without affecting the servers in between the
 operator and the remote server.
 The <comment> SHOULD be supplied by all operators who execute a SQUIT
 for a remote server.  The server ordered to disconnect its peer
 generates a WALLOPS message with <comment> included, so that other
 users may be aware of the reason of this action.
 Numeric replies:
         ERR_NOPRIVILEGES                ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS
 Examples:
 SQUIT tolsun.oulu.fi :Bad Link ?  ; Command to uplink of the server
                                 tolson.oulu.fi to terminate its
                                 connection with comment "Bad Link".
 :Trillian SQUIT cm22.eng.umd.edu :Server out of control ; Command
                                 from Trillian from to disconnect
                                 "cm22.eng.umd.edu" from the net with
                                 comment "Server out of control".

3.2 Channel operations

 This group of messages is concerned with manipulating channels, their
 properties (channel modes), and their contents (typically users).
 For this reason, these messages SHALL NOT be made available to
 services.
 All of these messages are requests which will or will not be granted
 by the server.  The server MUST send a reply informing the user
 whether the request was granted, denied or generated an error.  When
 the server grants the request, the message is typically sent back
 (eventually reformatted) to the user with the prefix set to the user
 itself.

Kalt Informational [Page 15] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 The rules governing how channels are managed are enforced by the
 servers.  These rules are beyond the scope of this document.  More
 details are found in "Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management" [IRC-
 CHAN].

3.2.1 Join message

    Command: JOIN
 Parameters: ( <channel> *( "," <channel> ) [ <key> *( "," <key> ) ] )
             / "0"
 The JOIN command is used by a user to request to start listening to
 the specific channel.  Servers MUST be able to parse arguments in the
 form of a list of target, but SHOULD NOT use lists when sending JOIN
 messages to clients.
 Once a user has joined a channel, he receives information about
 all commands his server receives affecting the channel.  This
 includes JOIN, MODE, KICK, PART, QUIT and of course PRIVMSG/NOTICE.
 This allows channel members to keep track of the other channel
 members, as well as channel modes.
 If a JOIN is successful, the user receives a JOIN message as
 confirmation and is then sent the channel's topic (using RPL_TOPIC) and
 the list of users who are on the channel (using RPL_NAMREPLY), which
 MUST include the user joining.
 Note that this message accepts a special argument ("0"), which is
 a special request to leave all channels the user is currently a member
 of.  The server will process this message as if the user had sent
 a PART command (See Section 3.2.2) for each channel he is a member
 of.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              ERR_BANNEDFROMCHAN
         ERR_INVITEONLYCHAN              ERR_BADCHANNELKEY
         ERR_CHANNELISFULL               ERR_BADCHANMASK
         ERR_NOSUCHCHANNEL               ERR_TOOMANYCHANNELS
         ERR_TOOMANYTARGETS              ERR_UNAVAILRESOURCE
         RPL_TOPIC
 Examples:
 JOIN #foobar                    ; Command to join channel #foobar.
 JOIN &foo fubar                 ; Command to join channel &foo using
                                 key "fubar".

Kalt Informational [Page 16] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 JOIN #foo,&bar fubar            ; Command to join channel #foo using
                                 key "fubar" and &bar using no key.
 JOIN #foo,#bar fubar,foobar     ; Command to join channel #foo using
                                 key "fubar", and channel #bar using
                                 key "foobar".
 JOIN #foo,#bar                  ; Command to join channels #foo and
                                 #bar.
 JOIN 0                          ; Leave all currently joined
                                 channels.
 :WiZ!jto@tolsun.oulu.fi JOIN #Twilight_zone ; JOIN message from WiZ
                                 on channel #Twilight_zone

3.2.2 Part message

    Command: PART
 Parameters: <channel> *( "," <channel> ) [ <Part Message> ]
 The PART command causes the user sending the message to be removed
 from the list of active members for all given channels listed in the
 parameter string.  If a "Part Message" is given, this will be sent
 instead of the default message, the nickname.  This request is always
 granted by the server.
 Servers MUST be able to parse arguments in the form of a list of
 target, but SHOULD NOT use lists when sending PART messages to
 clients.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              ERR_NOSUCHCHANNEL
         ERR_NOTONCHANNEL
 Examples:
 PART #twilight_zone             ; Command to leave channel
                                 "#twilight_zone"
 PART #oz-ops,&group5            ; Command to leave both channels
                                 "&group5" and "#oz-ops".
 :WiZ!jto@tolsun.oulu.fi PART #playzone :I lost
                                 ; User WiZ leaving channel
                                 "#playzone" with the message "I
                                 lost".

Kalt Informational [Page 17] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

3.2.3 Channel mode message

    Command: MODE
 Parameters: <channel> *( ( "-" / "+" ) *<modes> *<modeparams> )
 The MODE command is provided so that users may query and change the
 characteristics of a channel.  For more details on available modes
 and their uses, see "Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management" [IRC-
 CHAN].  Note that there is a maximum limit of three (3) changes per
 command for modes that take a parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              ERR_KEYSET
         ERR_NOCHANMODES                 ERR_CHANOPRIVSNEEDED
         ERR_USERNOTINCHANNEL            ERR_UNKNOWNMODE
         RPL_CHANNELMODEIS
         RPL_BANLIST                     RPL_ENDOFBANLIST
         RPL_EXCEPTLIST                  RPL_ENDOFEXCEPTLIST
         RPL_INVITELIST                  RPL_ENDOFINVITELIST
         RPL_UNIQOPIS
 The following examples are given to help understanding the syntax of
 the MODE command, but refer to modes defined in "Internet Relay Chat:
 Channel Management" [IRC-CHAN].
 Examples:
 MODE #Finnish +imI *!*@*.fi     ; Command to make #Finnish channel
                                 moderated and 'invite-only' with user
                                 with a hostname matching *.fi
                                 automatically invited.
 MODE #Finnish +o Kilroy         ; Command to give 'chanop' privileges
                                 to Kilroy on channel #Finnish.
 MODE #Finnish +v Wiz            ; Command to allow WiZ to speak on
                                 #Finnish.
 MODE #Fins -s                   ; Command to remove 'secret' flag
                                 from channel #Fins.
 MODE #42 +k oulu                ; Command to set the channel key to
                                 "oulu".
 MODE #42 -k oulu                ; Command to remove the "oulu"
                                 channel key on channel "#42".

Kalt Informational [Page 18] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 MODE #eu-opers +l 10            ; Command to set the limit for the
                                 number of users on channel
                                 "#eu-opers" to 10.
 :WiZ!jto@tolsun.oulu.fi MODE #eu-opers -l
                                 ; User "WiZ" removing the limit for
                                 the number of users on channel "#eu-
                                 opers".
 MODE &oulu +b                   ; Command to list ban masks set for
                                 the channel "&oulu".
 MODE &oulu +b *!*@*             ; Command to prevent all users from
                                 joining.
 MODE &oulu +b *!*@*.edu +e *!*@*.bu.edu
                                 ; Command to prevent any user from a
                                 hostname matching *.edu from joining,
                                 except if matching *.bu.edu
 MODE #bu +be *!*@*.edu *!*@*.bu.edu
                                 ; Comment to prevent any user from a
                                 hostname matching *.edu from joining,
                                 except if matching *.bu.edu
 MODE #meditation e              ; Command to list exception masks set
                                 for the channel "#meditation".
 MODE #meditation I              ; Command to list invitations masks
                                 set for the channel "#meditation".
 MODE !12345ircd O               ; Command to ask who the channel
                                 creator for "!12345ircd" is

3.2.4 Topic message

    Command: TOPIC
 Parameters: <channel> [ <topic> ]
 The TOPIC command is used to change or view the topic of a channel.
 The topic for channel <channel> is returned if there is no <topic>
 given.  If the <topic> parameter is present, the topic for that
 channel will be changed, if this action is allowed for the user
 requesting it.  If the <topic> parameter is an empty string, the
 topic for that channel will be removed.

Kalt Informational [Page 19] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              ERR_NOTONCHANNEL
         RPL_NOTOPIC                     RPL_TOPIC
         ERR_CHANOPRIVSNEEDED            ERR_NOCHANMODES
 Examples:
 :WiZ!jto@tolsun.oulu.fi TOPIC #test :New topic ; User Wiz setting the
                                 topic.
 TOPIC #test :another topic      ; Command to set the topic on #test
                                 to "another topic".
 TOPIC #test :                   ; Command to clear the topic on
                                 #test.
 TOPIC #test                     ; Command to check the topic for
                                 #test.

3.2.5 Names message

    Command: NAMES
 Parameters: [ <channel> *( "," <channel> ) [ <target> ] ]
 By using the NAMES command, a user can list all nicknames that are
 visible to him. For more details on what is visible and what is not,
 see "Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management" [IRC-CHAN].  The
 <channel> parameter specifies which channel(s) to return information
 about.  There is no error reply for bad channel names.
 If no <channel> parameter is given, a list of all channels and their
 occupants is returned.  At the end of this list, a list of users who
 are visible but either not on any channel or not on a visible channel
 are listed as being on `channel' "*".
 If the <target> parameter is specified, the request is forwarded to
 that server which will generate the reply.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numerics:
         ERR_TOOMANYMATCHES              ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
         RPL_NAMREPLY                    RPL_ENDOFNAMES

Kalt Informational [Page 20] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 Examples:
 NAMES #twilight_zone,#42        ; Command to list visible users on
                                 #twilight_zone and #42
 NAMES                           ; Command to list all visible
                                 channels and users

3.2.6 List message

    Command: LIST
 Parameters: [ <channel> *( "," <channel> ) [ <target> ] ]
 The list command is used to list channels and their topics.  If the
 <channel> parameter is used, only the status of that channel is
 displayed.
 If the <target> parameter is specified, the request is forwarded to
 that server which will generate the reply.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_TOOMANYMATCHES              ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
         RPL_LIST                        RPL_LISTEND
 Examples:
 LIST                            ; Command to list all channels.
 LIST #twilight_zone,#42         ; Command to list channels
                                 #twilight_zone and #42

3.2.7 Invite message

    Command: INVITE
 Parameters: <nickname> <channel>
 The INVITE command is used to invite a user to a channel.  The
 parameter <nickname> is the nickname of the person to be invited to
 the target channel <channel>.  There is no requirement that the
 channel the target user is being invited to must exist or be a valid
 channel.  However, if the channel exists, only members of the channel
 are allowed to invite other users.  When the channel has invite-only
 flag set, only channel operators may issue INVITE command.

Kalt Informational [Page 21] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 Only the user inviting and the user being invited will receive
 notification of the invitation.  Other channel members are not
 notified.  (This is unlike the MODE changes, and is occasionally the
 source of trouble for users.)
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              ERR_NOSUCHNICK
         ERR_NOTONCHANNEL                ERR_USERONCHANNEL
         ERR_CHANOPRIVSNEEDED
         RPL_INVITING                    RPL_AWAY
 Examples:
 :Angel!wings@irc.org INVITE Wiz #Dust
                                 ; Message to WiZ when he has been
                                 invited by user Angel to channel
                                 #Dust
 INVITE Wiz #Twilight_Zone       ; Command to invite WiZ to
                                 #Twilight_zone

3.2.8 Kick command

    Command: KICK
 Parameters: <channel> *( "," <channel> ) <user> *( "," <user> )
             [<comment>]
 The KICK command can be used to request the forced removal of a user
 from a channel.  It causes the <user> to PART from the <channel> by
 force.  For the message to be syntactically correct, there MUST be
 either one channel parameter and multiple user parameter, or as many
 channel parameters as there are user parameters.  If a "comment" is
 given, this will be sent instead of the default message, the nickname
 of the user issuing the KICK.
 The server MUST NOT send KICK messages with multiple channels or
 users to clients.  This is necessarily to maintain backward
 compatibility with old client software.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS              ERR_NOSUCHCHANNEL
         ERR_BADCHANMASK                 ERR_CHANOPRIVSNEEDED
         ERR_USERNOTINCHANNEL            ERR_NOTONCHANNEL

Kalt Informational [Page 22] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 Examples:
 KICK &Melbourne Matthew         ; Command to kick Matthew from
                                 &Melbourne
 KICK #Finnish John :Speaking English
                                 ; Command to kick John from #Finnish
                                 using "Speaking English" as the
                                 reason (comment).
 :WiZ!jto@tolsun.oulu.fi KICK #Finnish John
                                 ; KICK message on channel #Finnish
                                 from WiZ to remove John from channel

3.3 Sending messages

 The main purpose of the IRC protocol is to provide a base for clients
 to communicate with each other.  PRIVMSG, NOTICE and SQUERY
 (described in Section 3.5 on Service Query and Commands) are the only
 messages available which actually perform delivery of a text message
 from one client to another - the rest just make it possible and try
 to ensure it happens in a reliable and structured manner.

3.3.1 Private messages

    Command: PRIVMSG
 Parameters: <msgtarget> <text to be sent>
 PRIVMSG is used to send private messages between users, as well as to
 send messages to channels.  <msgtarget> is usually the nickname of
 the recipient of the message, or a channel name.
 The <msgtarget> parameter may also be a host mask (#<mask>) or server
 mask ($<mask>).  In both cases the server will only send the PRIVMSG
 to those who have a server or host matching the mask.  The mask MUST
 have at least 1 (one) "." in it and no wildcards following the last
 ".".  This requirement exists to prevent people sending messages to
 "#*" or "$*", which would broadcast to all users.  Wildcards are the
 '*' and '?'  characters.  This extension to the PRIVMSG command is
 only available to operators.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NORECIPIENT                 ERR_NOTEXTTOSEND
         ERR_CANNOTSENDTOCHAN            ERR_NOTOPLEVEL
         ERR_WILDTOPLEVEL                ERR_TOOMANYTARGETS
         ERR_NOSUCHNICK
         RPL_AWAY

Kalt Informational [Page 23] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 Examples:
 :Angel!wings@irc.org PRIVMSG Wiz :Are you receiving this message ?
                                 ; Message from Angel to Wiz.
 PRIVMSG Angel :yes I'm receiving it !
                                 ; Command to send a message to Angel.
 PRIVMSG jto@tolsun.oulu.fi :Hello !
                                 ; Command to send a message to a user
                                 on server tolsun.oulu.fi with
                                 username of "jto".
 PRIVMSG kalt%millennium.stealth.net@irc.stealth.net :Are you a frog?
                                 ; Message to a user on server
                                 irc.stealth.net with username of
                                 "kalt", and connected from the host
                                 millennium.stealth.net.
 PRIVMSG kalt%millennium.stealth.net :Do you like cheese?
                                 ; Message to a user on the local
                                 server with username of "kalt", and
                                 connected from the host
                                 millennium.stealth.net.
 PRIVMSG Wiz!jto@tolsun.oulu.fi :Hello !
                                 ; Message to the user with nickname
                                 Wiz who is connected from the host
                                 tolsun.oulu.fi and has the username
                                 "jto".
 PRIVMSG $*.fi :Server tolsun.oulu.fi rebooting.
                                 ; Message to everyone on a server
                                 which has a name matching *.fi.
 PRIVMSG #*.edu :NSFNet is undergoing work, expect interruptions
                                 ; Message to all users who come from
                                 a host which has a name matching
                                 *.edu.

3.3.2 Notice

    Command: NOTICE
 Parameters: <msgtarget> <text>
 The NOTICE command is used similarly to PRIVMSG.  The difference
 between NOTICE and PRIVMSG is that automatic replies MUST NEVER be
 sent in response to a NOTICE message.  This rule applies to servers

Kalt Informational [Page 24] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 too - they MUST NOT send any error reply back to the client on
 receipt of a notice.  The object of this rule is to avoid loops
 between clients automatically sending something in response to
 something it received.
 This command is available to services as well as users.
 This is typically used by services, and automatons (clients with
 either an AI or other interactive program controlling their actions).
 See PRIVMSG for more details on replies and examples.

3.4 Server queries and commands

 The server query group of commands has been designed to return
 information about any server which is connected to the network.
 In these queries, where a parameter appears as <target>, wildcard
 masks are usually valid.  For each parameter, however, only one query
 and set of replies is to be generated.  In most cases, if a nickname
 is given, it will mean the server to which the user is connected.
 These messages typically have little value for services, it is
 therefore RECOMMENDED to forbid services from using them.

3.4.1 Motd message

    Command: MOTD
 Parameters: [ <target> ]
 The MOTD command is used to get the "Message Of The Day" of the given
 server, or current server if <target> is omitted.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         RPL_MOTDSTART                   RPL_MOTD
         RPL_ENDOFMOTD                   ERR_NOMOTD

3.4.2 Lusers message

    Command: LUSERS
 Parameters: [ <mask> [ <target> ] ]
 The LUSERS command is used to get statistics about the size of the
 IRC network.  If no parameter is given, the reply will be about the
 whole net.  If a <mask> is specified, then the reply will only

Kalt Informational [Page 25] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 concern the part of the network formed by the servers matching the
 mask.  Finally, if the <target> parameter is specified, the request
 is forwarded to that server which will generate the reply.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         RPL_LUSERCLIENT                 RPL_LUSEROP
         RPL_LUSERUNKOWN                 RPL_LUSERCHANNELS
         RPL_LUSERME                     ERR_NOSUCHSERVER

3.4.3 Version message

    Command: VERSION
 Parameters: [ <target> ]
 The VERSION command is used to query the version of the server
 program.  An optional parameter <target> is used to query the version
 of the server program which a client is not directly connected to.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER                RPL_VERSION
 Examples:
 VERSION tolsun.oulu.fi          ; Command to check the version of
                                 server "tolsun.oulu.fi".

3.4.4 Stats message

    Command: STATS
 Parameters: [ <query> [ <target> ] ]
 The stats command is used to query statistics of certain server.  If
 <query> parameter is omitted, only the end of stats reply is sent
 back.
 A query may be given for any single letter which is only checked by
 the destination server and is otherwise passed on by intermediate
 servers, ignored and unaltered.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.

Kalt Informational [Page 26] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 Except for the ones below, the list of valid queries is
 implementation dependent.  The standard queries below SHOULD be
 supported by the server:
          l - returns a list of the server's connections, showing how
              long each connection has been established and the
              traffic over that connection in Kbytes and messages for
              each direction;
          m - returns the usage count for each of commands supported
              by the server; commands for which the usage count is
              zero MAY be omitted;
          o - returns a list of configured privileged users,
              operators;
          u - returns a string showing how long the server has been
              up.
 It is also RECOMMENDED that client and server access configuration be
 published this way.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
         RPL_STATSLINKINFO                RPL_STATSUPTIME
         RPL_STATSCOMMANDS                RPL_STATSOLINE
         RPL_ENDOFSTATS
 Examples:
 STATS m                         ; Command to check the command usage
                                 for the server you are connected to

3.4.5 Links message

    Command: LINKS
 Parameters: [ [ <remote server> ] <server mask> ]
 With LINKS, a user can list all servernames, which are known by the
 server answering the query.  The returned list of servers MUST match
 the mask, or if no mask is given, the full list is returned.
 If <remote server> is given in addition to <server mask>, the LINKS
 command is forwarded to the first server found that matches that name
 (if any), and that server is then required to answer the query.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
         RPL_LINKS                        RPL_ENDOFLINKS

Kalt Informational [Page 27] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 Examples:
 LINKS *.au                      ; Command to list all servers which
                                 have a name that matches *.au;
 LINKS *.edu *.bu.edu            ; Command to list servers matching
                                 *.bu.edu as seen by the first server
                                 matching *.edu.

3.4.6 Time message

    Command: TIME
 Parameters: [ <target> ]
 The time command is used to query local time from the specified
 server. If the <target> parameter is not given, the server receiving
 the command must reply to the query.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER              RPL_TIME
 Examples:
 TIME tolsun.oulu.fi             ; check the time on the server
                                 "tolson.oulu.fi"

3.4.7 Connect message

    Command: CONNECT
 Parameters: <target server> <port> [ <remote server> ]
 The CONNECT command can be used to request a server to try to
 establish a new connection to another server immediately.  CONNECT is
 a privileged command and SHOULD be available only to IRC Operators.
 If a <remote server> is given and its mask doesn't match name of the
 parsing server, the CONNECT attempt is sent to the first match of
 remote server. Otherwise the CONNECT attempt is made by the server
 processing the request.
 The server receiving a remote CONNECT command SHOULD generate a
 WALLOPS message describing the source and target of the request.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER              ERR_NOPRIVILEGES
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS

Kalt Informational [Page 28] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 Examples:
 CONNECT tolsun.oulu.fi 6667     ; Command to attempt to connect local
                                 server to tolsun.oulu.fi on port 6667

3.4.8 Trace message

    Command: TRACE
 Parameters: [ <target> ]
 TRACE command is used to find the route to specific server and
 information about its peers.  Each server that processes this command
 MUST report to the sender about it.  The replies from pass-through
 links form a chain, which shows route to destination.  After sending
 this reply back, the query MUST be sent to the next server until
 given <target> server is reached.
 TRACE command is used to find the route to specific server.  Each
 server that processes this message MUST tell the sender about it by
 sending a reply indicating it is a pass-through link, forming a chain
 of replies.  After sending this reply back, it MUST then send the
 TRACE message to the next server until given server is reached.  If
 the <target> parameter is omitted, it is RECOMMENDED that TRACE
 command sends a message to the sender telling which servers the local
 server has direct connection to.
 If the destination given by <target> is an actual server, the
 destination server is REQUIRED to report all servers, services and
 operators which are connected to it; if the command was issued by an
 operator, the server MAY also report all users which are connected to
 it.  If the destination given by <target> is a nickname, then only a
 reply for that nickname is given.  If the <target> parameter is
 omitted, it is RECOMMENDED that the TRACE command is parsed as
 targeted to the processing server.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
    If the TRACE message is destined for another server, all
    intermediate servers must return a RPL_TRACELINK reply to indicate
    that the TRACE passed through it and where it is going next.
         RPL_TRACELINK

Kalt Informational [Page 29] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

    A TRACE reply may be composed of any number of the following
    numeric replies.
         RPL_TRACECONNECTING           RPL_TRACEHANDSHAKE
         RPL_TRACEUNKNOWN              RPL_TRACEOPERATOR
         RPL_TRACEUSER                 RPL_TRACESERVER
         RPL_TRACESERVICE              RPL_TRACENEWTYPE
         RPL_TRACECLASS                RPL_TRACELOG
         RPL_TRACEEND
 Examples:
 TRACE *.oulu.fi                 ; TRACE to a server matching
                                 *.oulu.fi

3.4.9 Admin command

    Command: ADMIN
 Parameters: [ <target> ]
 The admin command is used to find information about the administrator
 of the given server, or current server if <target> parameter is
 omitted.  Each server MUST have the ability to forward ADMIN messages
 to other servers.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
         RPL_ADMINME                   RPL_ADMINLOC1
         RPL_ADMINLOC2                 RPL_ADMINEMAIL
 Examples:
 ADMIN tolsun.oulu.fi            ; request an ADMIN reply from
                                 tolsun.oulu.fi
 ADMIN syrk                      ; ADMIN request for the server to
                                 which the user syrk is connected

Kalt Informational [Page 30] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

3.4.10 Info command

    Command: INFO
 Parameters: [ <target> ]
 The INFO command is REQUIRED to return information describing the
 server: its version, when it was compiled, the patchlevel, when it
 was started, and any other miscellaneous information which may be
 considered to be relevant.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
         RPL_INFO                      RPL_ENDOFINFO
 Examples:
 INFO csd.bu.edu                 ; request an INFO reply from
                                 csd.bu.edu
 INFO Angel                      ; request info from the server that
                                 Angel is connected to.

3.5 Service Query and Commands

 The service query group of commands has been designed to return
 information about any service which is connected to the network.

3.5.1 Servlist message

    Command: SERVLIST
 Parameters: [ <mask> [ <type> ] ]
 The SERVLIST command is used to list services currently connected to
 the network and visible to the user issuing the command.  The
 optional parameters may be used to restrict the result of the query
 (to matching services names, and services type).
 Numeric Replies:
         RPL_SERVLIST                  RPL_SERVLISTEND

Kalt Informational [Page 31] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

3.5.2 Squery

    Command: SQUERY
 Parameters: <servicename> <text>
 The SQUERY command is used similarly to PRIVMSG.  The only difference
 is that the recipient MUST be a service.  This is the only way for a
 text message to be delivered to a service.
 See PRIVMSG for more details on replies and example.
 Examples:
 SQUERY irchelp :HELP privmsg
                                 ; Message to the service with
                                 nickname irchelp.
 SQUERY dict@irc.fr :fr2en blaireau
                                 ; Message to the service with name
                                 dict@irc.fr.

3.6 User based queries

 User queries are a group of commands which are primarily concerned
 with finding details on a particular user or group users.  When using
 wildcards with any of these commands, if they match, they will only
 return information on users who are 'visible' to you.  The visibility
 of a user is determined as a combination of the user's mode and the
 common set of channels you are both on.
 Although services SHOULD NOT be using this class of message, they are
 allowed to.

3.6.1 Who query

    Command: WHO
 Parameters: [ <mask> [ "o" ] ]
 The WHO command is used by a client to generate a query which returns
 a list of information which 'matches' the <mask> parameter given by
 the client.  In the absence of the <mask> parameter, all visible
 (users who aren't invisible (user mode +i) and who don't have a
 common channel with the requesting client) are listed.  The same
 result can be achieved by using a <mask> of "0" or any wildcard which
 will end up matching every visible user.
 The <mask> passed to WHO is matched against users' host, server, real
 name and nickname if the channel <mask> cannot be found.

Kalt Informational [Page 32] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 If the "o" parameter is passed only operators are returned according
 to the <mask> supplied.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
         RPL_WHOREPLY                  RPL_ENDOFWHO
 Examples:
 WHO *.fi                        ; Command to list all users who match
                                 against "*.fi".
 WHO jto* o                      ; Command to list all users with a
                                 match against "jto*" if they are an
                                 operator.

3.6.2 Whois query

    Command: WHOIS
 Parameters: [ <target> ] <mask> *( "," <mask> )
 This command is used to query information about particular user.
 The server will answer this command with several numeric messages
 indicating different statuses of each user which matches the mask (if
 you are entitled to see them).  If no wildcard is present in the
 <mask>, any information about that nick which you are allowed to see
 is presented.
 If the <target> parameter is specified, it sends the query to a
 specific server.  It is useful if you want to know how long the user
 in question has been idle as only local server (i.e., the server the
 user is directly connected to) knows that information, while
 everything else is globally known.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER              ERR_NONICKNAMEGIVEN
         RPL_WHOISUSER                 RPL_WHOISCHANNELS
         RPL_WHOISCHANNELS             RPL_WHOISSERVER
         RPL_AWAY                      RPL_WHOISOPERATOR
         RPL_WHOISIDLE                 ERR_NOSUCHNICK
         RPL_ENDOFWHOIS

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 Examples:
 WHOIS wiz                       ; return available user information
                                 about nick WiZ
 WHOIS eff.org trillian          ; ask server eff.org for user
                                 information  about trillian

3.6.3 Whowas

    Command: WHOWAS
 Parameters: <nickname> *( "," <nickname> ) [ <count> [ <target> ] ]
 Whowas asks for information about a nickname which no longer exists.
 This may either be due to a nickname change or the user leaving IRC.
 In response to this query, the server searches through its nickname
 history, looking for any nicks which are lexically the same (no wild
 card matching here).  The history is searched backward, returning the
 most recent entry first.  If there are multiple entries, up to
 <count> replies will be returned (or all of them if no <count>
 parameter is given).  If a non-positive number is passed as being
 <count>, then a full search is done.
 Wildcards are allowed in the <target> parameter.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NONICKNAMEGIVEN           ERR_WASNOSUCHNICK
         RPL_WHOWASUSER                RPL_WHOISSERVER
         RPL_ENDOFWHOWAS
 Examples:
 WHOWAS Wiz                      ; return all information in the nick
                                 history about nick "WiZ";
 WHOWAS Mermaid 9                ; return at most, the 9 most recent
                                 entries in the nick history for
                                 "Mermaid";
 WHOWAS Trillian 1 *.edu         ; return the most recent history for
                                 "Trillian" from the first server
                                 found to match "*.edu".

3.7 Miscellaneous messages

 Messages in this category do not fit into any of the above categories
 but are nonetheless still a part of and REQUIRED by the protocol.

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3.7.1 Kill message

    Command: KILL
 Parameters: <nickname> <comment>
 The KILL command is used to cause a client-server connection to be
 closed by the server which has the actual connection.  Servers
 generate KILL messages on nickname collisions.  It MAY also be
 available available to users who have the operator status.
 Clients which have automatic reconnect algorithms effectively make
 this command useless since the disconnection is only brief.  It does
 however break the flow of data and can be used to stop large amounts
 of 'flooding' from abusive users or accidents.  Abusive users usually
 don't care as they will reconnect promptly and resume their abusive
 behaviour.  To prevent this command from being abused, any user may
 elect to receive KILL messages generated for others to keep an 'eye'
 on would be trouble spots.
 In an arena where nicknames are REQUIRED to be globally unique at all
 times, KILL messages are sent whenever 'duplicates' are detected
 (that is an attempt to register two users with the same nickname) in
 the hope that both of them will disappear and only 1 reappear.
 When a client is removed as the result of a KILL message, the server
 SHOULD add the nickname to the list of unavailable nicknames in an
 attempt to avoid clients to reuse this name immediately which is
 usually the pattern of abusive behaviour often leading to useless
 "KILL loops".  See the "IRC Server Protocol" document [IRC-SERVER]
 for more information on this procedure.
 The comment given MUST reflect the actual reason for the KILL.  For
 server-generated KILLs it usually is made up of details concerning
 the origins of the two conflicting nicknames.  For users it is left
 up to them to provide an adequate reason to satisfy others who see
 it.  To prevent/discourage fake KILLs from being generated to hide
 the identify of the KILLer, the comment also shows a 'kill-path'
 which is updated by each server it passes through, each prepending
 its name to the path.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOPRIVILEGES              ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS
         ERR_NOSUCHNICK                ERR_CANTKILLSERVER

Kalt Informational [Page 35] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 NOTE:
 It is RECOMMENDED that only Operators be allowed to kill other users
 with KILL command.  This command has been the subject of many
 controversies over the years, and along with the above
 recommendation, it is also widely recognized that not even operators
 should be allowed to kill users on remote servers.

3.7.2 Ping message

    Command: PING
 Parameters: <server1> [ <server2> ]
 The PING command is used to test the presence of an active client or
 server at the other end of the connection.  Servers send a PING
 message at regular intervals if no other activity detected coming
 from a connection.  If a connection fails to respond to a PING
 message within a set amount of time, that connection is closed.  A
 PING message MAY be sent even if the connection is active.
 When a PING message is received, the appropriate PONG message MUST be
 sent as reply to <server1> (server which sent the PING message out)
 as soon as possible.  If the <server2> parameter is specified, it
 represents the target of the ping, and the message gets forwarded
 there.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOORIGIN                  ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
 Examples:
 PING tolsun.oulu.fi             ; Command to send a PING message to
                                 server
 PING WiZ tolsun.oulu.fi         ; Command from WiZ to send a PING
                                 message to server "tolsun.oulu.fi"
 PING :irc.funet.fi              ; Ping message sent by server
                                 "irc.funet.fi"

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3.7.3 Pong message

    Command: PONG
 Parameters: <server> [ <server2> ]
 PONG message is a reply to ping message.  If parameter <server2> is
 given, this message MUST be forwarded to given target.  The <server>
 parameter is the name of the entity who has responded to PING message
 and generated this message.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOORIGIN                  ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
 Example:
 PONG csd.bu.edu tolsun.oulu.fi  ; PONG message from csd.bu.edu to
                                 tolsun.oulu.fi

3.7.4 Error

    Command: ERROR
 Parameters: <error message>
 The ERROR command is for use by servers when reporting a serious or
 fatal error to its peers.  It may also be sent from one server to
 another but MUST NOT be accepted from any normal unknown clients.
 Only an ERROR message SHOULD be used for reporting errors which occur
 with a server-to-server link.  An ERROR message is sent to the server
 at the other end (which reports it to appropriate local users and
 logs) and to appropriate local users and logs.  It is not to be
 passed onto any other servers by a server if it is received from a
 server.
 The ERROR message is also used before terminating a client
 connection.
 When a server sends a received ERROR message to its operators, the
 message SHOULD be encapsulated inside a NOTICE message, indicating
 that the client was not responsible for the error.
 Numerics:
         None.

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 Examples:
 ERROR :Server *.fi already exists ; ERROR message to the other server
                                 which caused this error.
 NOTICE WiZ :ERROR from csd.bu.edu -- Server *.fi already exists
                                 ; Same ERROR message as above but
                                 sent to user WiZ on the other server.

4. Optional features

 This section describes OPTIONAL messages.  They are not required in a
 working server implementation of the protocol described herein.  In
 the absence of the feature, an error reply message MUST be generated
 or an unknown command error.  If the message is destined for another
 server to answer then it MUST be passed on (elementary parsing
 REQUIRED) The allocated numerics for this are listed with the
 messages below.
 From this section, only the USERHOST and ISON messages are available
 to services.

4.1 Away

    Command: AWAY
 Parameters: [ <text> ]
 With the AWAY command, clients can set an automatic reply string for
 any PRIVMSG commands directed at them (not to a channel they are on).
 The server sends an automatic reply to the client sending the PRIVMSG
 command.  The only replying server is the one to which the sending
 client is connected to.
 The AWAY command is used either with one parameter, to set an AWAY
 message, or with no parameters, to remove the AWAY message.
 Because of its high cost (memory and bandwidth wise), the AWAY
 message SHOULD only be used for client-server communication.  A
 server MAY choose to silently ignore AWAY messages received from
 other servers.  To update the away status of a client across servers,
 the user mode 'a' SHOULD be used instead.  (See Section 3.1.5)
 Numeric Replies:
         RPL_UNAWAY                    RPL_NOWAWAY

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 Example:
 AWAY :Gone to lunch.  Back in 5 ; Command to set away message to
                                 "Gone to lunch.  Back in 5".

4.2 Rehash message

    Command: REHASH
 Parameters: None
 The rehash command is an administrative command which can be used by
 an operator to force the server to re-read and process its
 configuration file.
 Numeric Replies:
         RPL_REHASHING                 ERR_NOPRIVILEGES
 Example:
 REHASH                          ; message from user with operator
                                 status to server asking it to reread
                                 its configuration file.

4.3 Die message

    Command: DIE
 Parameters: None
 An operator can use the DIE command to shutdown the server.  This
 message is optional since it may be viewed as a risk to allow
 arbitrary people to connect to a server as an operator and execute
 this command.
 The DIE command MUST always be fully processed by the server to which
 the sending client is connected and MUST NOT be passed onto other
 connected servers.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOPRIVILEGES
 Example:
 DIE                             ; no parameters required.

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4.4 Restart message

    Command: RESTART
 Parameters: None
 An operator can use the restart command to force the server to
 restart itself.  This message is optional since it may be viewed as a
 risk to allow arbitrary people to connect to a server as an operator
 and execute this command, causing (at least) a disruption to service.
 The RESTART command MUST always be fully processed by the server to
 which the sending client is connected and MUST NOT be passed onto
 other connected servers.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOPRIVILEGES
 Example:
 RESTART                         ; no parameters required.

4.5 Summon message

    Command: SUMMON
 Parameters: <user> [ <target> [ <channel> ] ]
 The SUMMON command can be used to give users who are on a host
 running an IRC server a message asking them to please join IRC.  This
 message is only sent if the target server (a) has SUMMON enabled, (b)
 the user is logged in and (c) the server process can write to the
 user's tty (or similar).
 If no <server> parameter is given it tries to summon <user> from the
 server the client is connected to is assumed as the target.
 If summon is not enabled in a server, it MUST return the
 ERR_SUMMONDISABLED numeric.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NORECIPIENT               ERR_FILEERROR
         ERR_NOLOGIN                   ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
         ERR_SUMMONDISABLED            RPL_SUMMONING

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 Examples:
 SUMMON jto                      ; summon user jto on the server's
                                 host
 SUMMON jto tolsun.oulu.fi       ; summon user jto on the host which a
                                 server named "tolsun.oulu.fi" is
                                 running.

4.6 Users

    Command: USERS
 Parameters: [ <target> ]
 The USERS command returns a list of users logged into the server in a
 format similar to the UNIX commands who(1), rusers(1) and finger(1).
 If disabled, the correct numeric MUST be returned to indicate this.
 Because of the security implications of such a command, it SHOULD be
 disabled by default in server implementations.  Enabling it SHOULD
 require recompiling the server or some equivalent change rather than
 simply toggling an option and restarting the server.  The procedure
 to enable this command SHOULD also include suitable large comments.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NOSUCHSERVER              ERR_FILEERROR
         RPL_USERSSTART                RPL_USERS
         RPL_NOUSERS                   RPL_ENDOFUSERS
         ERR_USERSDISABLED
 Disabled Reply:
         ERR_USERSDISABLED
 Example:
 USERS eff.org                   ; request a list of users logged in
                                 on server eff.org

4.7 Operwall message

    Command: WALLOPS
 Parameters: <Text to be sent>
 The WALLOPS command is used to send a message to all currently
 connected users who have set the 'w' user mode for themselves.  (See
 Section 3.1.5 "User modes").

Kalt Informational [Page 41] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 After implementing WALLOPS as a user command it was found that it was
 often and commonly abused as a means of sending a message to a lot of
 people.  Due to this, it is RECOMMENDED that the implementation of
 WALLOPS allows and recognizes only servers as the originators of
 WALLOPS.
 Numeric Replies:
         ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS
 Example:
 :csd.bu.edu WALLOPS :Connect '*.uiuc.edu 6667' from Joshua ; WALLOPS
                                 message from csd.bu.edu announcing a
                                 CONNECT message it received from
                                 Joshua and acted upon.

4.8 Userhost message

    Command: USERHOST
 Parameters: <nickname> *( SPACE <nickname> )
 The USERHOST command takes a list of up to 5 nicknames, each
 separated by a space character and returns a list of information
 about each nickname that it found.  The returned list has each reply
 separated by a space.
 Numeric Replies:
         RPL_USERHOST                  ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS
 Example:
 USERHOST Wiz Michael syrk       ; USERHOST request for information on
                                 nicks "Wiz", "Michael", and "syrk"
 :ircd.stealth.net 302 yournick :syrk=+syrk@millennium.stealth.net
                                 ; Reply for user syrk

4.9 Ison message

    Command: ISON
 Parameters: <nickname> *( SPACE <nickname> )
 The ISON command was implemented to provide a quick and efficient
 means to get a response about whether a given nickname was currently
 on IRC. ISON only takes one (1) type of parameter: a space-separated
 list of nicks.  For each nickname in the list that is present, the

Kalt Informational [Page 42] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 server adds that to its reply string.  Thus the reply string may
 return empty (none of the given nicks are present), an exact copy of
 the parameter string (all of them present) or any other subset of the
 set of nicks given in the parameter.  The only limit on the number of
 nicks that may be checked is that the combined length MUST NOT be too
 large as to cause the server to chop it off so it fits in 512
 characters.
 ISON is only processed by the server local to the client sending the
 command and thus not passed onto other servers for further
 processing.
 Numeric Replies:
         RPL_ISON                      ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS
 Example:
 ISON phone trillian WiZ jarlek Avalon Angel Monstah syrk
                                 ; Sample ISON request for 7 nicks.

5. Replies

 The following is a list of numeric replies which are generated in
 response to the commands given above.  Each numeric is given with its
 number, name and reply string.

5.1 Command responses

 Numerics in the range from 001 to 099 are used for client-server
 connections only and should never travel between servers.  Replies
 generated in the response to commands are found in the range from 200
 to 399.
     001    RPL_WELCOME
            "Welcome to the Internet Relay Network
             <nick>!<user>@<host>"
     002    RPL_YOURHOST
            "Your host is <servername>, running version <ver>"
     003    RPL_CREATED
            "This server was created <date>"
     004    RPL_MYINFO
            "<servername> <version> <available user modes>
             <available channel modes>"
  1. The server sends Replies 001 to 004 to a user upon

successful registration.

Kalt Informational [Page 43] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     005    RPL_BOUNCE
            "Try server <server name>, port <port number>"
  1. Sent by the server to a user to suggest an alternative

server. This is often used when the connection is

         refused because the server is already full.
     302    RPL_USERHOST
            ":*1<reply> *( " " <reply> )"
  1. Reply format used by USERHOST to list replies to

the query list. The reply string is composed as

         follows:
         reply = nickname [ "*" ] "=" ( "+" / "-" ) hostname
         The '*' indicates whether the client has registered
         as an Operator.  The '-' or '+' characters represent
         whether the client has set an AWAY message or not
         respectively.
     303    RPL_ISON
            ":*1<nick> *( " " <nick> )"
  1. Reply format used by ISON to list replies to the

query list.

     301    RPL_AWAY
            "<nick> :<away message>"
     305    RPL_UNAWAY
            ":You are no longer marked as being away"
     306    RPL_NOWAWAY
            ":You have been marked as being away"
  1. These replies are used with the AWAY command (if

allowed). RPL_AWAY is sent to any client sending a

         PRIVMSG to a client which is away.  RPL_AWAY is only
         sent by the server to which the client is connected.
         Replies RPL_UNAWAY and RPL_NOWAWAY are sent when the
         client removes and sets an AWAY message.
     311    RPL_WHOISUSER
            "<nick> <user> <host> * :<real name>"
     312    RPL_WHOISSERVER
            "<nick> <server> :<server info>"
     313    RPL_WHOISOPERATOR
            "<nick> :is an IRC operator"

Kalt Informational [Page 44] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     317    RPL_WHOISIDLE
            "<nick> <integer> :seconds idle"
     318    RPL_ENDOFWHOIS
            "<nick> :End of WHOIS list"
     319    RPL_WHOISCHANNELS
            "<nick> :*( ( "@" / "+" ) <channel> " " )"
  1. Replies 311 - 313, 317 - 319 are all replies

generated in response to a WHOIS message. Given that

         there are enough parameters present, the answering
         server MUST either formulate a reply out of the above
         numerics (if the query nick is found) or return an
         error reply.  The '*' in RPL_WHOISUSER is there as
         the literal character and not as a wild card.  For
         each reply set, only RPL_WHOISCHANNELS may appear
         more than once (for long lists of channel names).
         The '@' and '+' characters next to the channel name
         indicate whether a client is a channel operator or
         has been granted permission to speak on a moderated
         channel.  The RPL_ENDOFWHOIS reply is used to mark
         the end of processing a WHOIS message.
     314    RPL_WHOWASUSER
            "<nick> <user> <host> * :<real name>"
     369    RPL_ENDOFWHOWAS
            "<nick> :End of WHOWAS"
  1. When replying to a WHOWAS message, a server MUST use

the replies RPL_WHOWASUSER, RPL_WHOISSERVER or

         ERR_WASNOSUCHNICK for each nickname in the presented
         list.  At the end of all reply batches, there MUST
         be RPL_ENDOFWHOWAS (even if there was only one reply
         and it was an error).
     321    RPL_LISTSTART
            Obsolete. Not used.
     322    RPL_LIST
            "<channel> <# visible> :<topic>"
     323    RPL_LISTEND
            ":End of LIST"
  1. Replies RPL_LIST, RPL_LISTEND mark the actual replies

with data and end of the server's response to a LIST

         command.  If there are no channels available to return,
         only the end reply MUST be sent.

Kalt Informational [Page 45] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     325    RPL_UNIQOPIS
            "<channel> <nickname>"
     324    RPL_CHANNELMODEIS
            "<channel> <mode> <mode params>"
     331    RPL_NOTOPIC
            "<channel> :No topic is set"
     332    RPL_TOPIC
            "<channel> :<topic>"
  1. When sending a TOPIC message to determine the

channel topic, one of two replies is sent. If

         the topic is set, RPL_TOPIC is sent back else
         RPL_NOTOPIC.
     341    RPL_INVITING
            "<channel> <nick>"
  1. Returned by the server to indicate that the

attempted INVITE message was successful and is

         being passed onto the end client.
     342    RPL_SUMMONING
            "<user> :Summoning user to IRC"
  1. Returned by a server answering a SUMMON message to

indicate that it is summoning that user.

     346    RPL_INVITELIST
            "<channel> <invitemask>"
     347    RPL_ENDOFINVITELIST
            "<channel> :End of channel invite list"
  1. When listing the 'invitations masks' for a given channel,

a server is required to send the list back using the

         RPL_INVITELIST and RPL_ENDOFINVITELIST messages.  A
         separate RPL_INVITELIST is sent for each active mask.
         After the masks have been listed (or if none present) a
         RPL_ENDOFINVITELIST MUST be sent.
     348    RPL_EXCEPTLIST
            "<channel> <exceptionmask>"
     349    RPL_ENDOFEXCEPTLIST
            "<channel> :End of channel exception list"

Kalt Informational [Page 46] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

  1. When listing the 'exception masks' for a given channel,

a server is required to send the list back using the

         RPL_EXCEPTLIST and RPL_ENDOFEXCEPTLIST messages.  A
         separate RPL_EXCEPTLIST is sent for each active mask.
         After the masks have been listed (or if none present)
         a RPL_ENDOFEXCEPTLIST MUST be sent.
     351    RPL_VERSION
            "<version>.<debuglevel> <server> :<comments>"
  1. Reply by the server showing its version details.

The <version> is the version of the software being

         used (including any patchlevel revisions) and the
         <debuglevel> is used to indicate if the server is
         running in "debug mode".
         The "comments" field may contain any comments about
         the version or further version details.
     352    RPL_WHOREPLY
            "<channel> <user> <host> <server> <nick>
            ( "H" / "G" > ["*"] [ ( "@" / "+" ) ]
            :<hopcount> <real name>"
     315    RPL_ENDOFWHO
            "<name> :End of WHO list"
  1. The RPL_WHOREPLY and RPL_ENDOFWHO pair are used

to answer a WHO message. The RPL_WHOREPLY is only

         sent if there is an appropriate match to the WHO
         query.  If there is a list of parameters supplied
         with a WHO message, a RPL_ENDOFWHO MUST be sent
         after processing each list item with <name> being
         the item.
     353    RPL_NAMREPLY
            "( "=" / "*" / "@" ) <channel>
             :[ "@" / "+" ] <nick> *( " " [ "@" / "+" ] <nick> )
       - "@" is used for secret channels, "*" for private
         channels, and "=" for others (public channels).
     366    RPL_ENDOFNAMES
            "<channel> :End of NAMES list"
  1. To reply to a NAMES message, a reply pair consisting

of RPL_NAMREPLY and RPL_ENDOFNAMES is sent by the

         server back to the client.  If there is no channel
         found as in the query, then only RPL_ENDOFNAMES is

Kalt Informational [Page 47] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

         returned.  The exception to this is when a NAMES
         message is sent with no parameters and all visible
         channels and contents are sent back in a series of
         RPL_NAMEREPLY messages with a RPL_ENDOFNAMES to mark
         the end.
     364    RPL_LINKS
            "<mask> <server> :<hopcount> <server info>"
     365    RPL_ENDOFLINKS
            "<mask> :End of LINKS list"
  1. In replying to the LINKS message, a server MUST send

replies back using the RPL_LINKS numeric and mark the

         end of the list using an RPL_ENDOFLINKS reply.
     367    RPL_BANLIST
            "<channel> <banmask>"
     368    RPL_ENDOFBANLIST
            "<channel> :End of channel ban list"
  1. When listing the active 'bans' for a given channel,

a server is required to send the list back using the

         RPL_BANLIST and RPL_ENDOFBANLIST messages.  A separate
         RPL_BANLIST is sent for each active banmask.  After the
         banmasks have been listed (or if none present) a
         RPL_ENDOFBANLIST MUST be sent.
     371    RPL_INFO
            ":<string>"
     374    RPL_ENDOFINFO
            ":End of INFO list"
  1. A server responding to an INFO message is required to

send all its 'info' in a series of RPL_INFO messages

         with a RPL_ENDOFINFO reply to indicate the end of the
         replies.
     375    RPL_MOTDSTART
            ":- <server> Message of the day - "
     372    RPL_MOTD
            ":- <text>"
     376    RPL_ENDOFMOTD
            ":End of MOTD command"
  1. When responding to the MOTD message and the MOTD file

is found, the file is displayed line by line, with

         each line no longer than 80 characters, using

Kalt Informational [Page 48] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

         RPL_MOTD format replies.  These MUST be surrounded
         by a RPL_MOTDSTART (before the RPL_MOTDs) and an
         RPL_ENDOFMOTD (after).
     381    RPL_YOUREOPER
            ":You are now an IRC operator"
  1. RPL_YOUREOPER is sent back to a client which has

just successfully issued an OPER message and gained

         operator status.
     382    RPL_REHASHING
            "<config file> :Rehashing"
  1. If the REHASH option is used and an operator sends

a REHASH message, an RPL_REHASHING is sent back to

         the operator.
     383    RPL_YOURESERVICE
            "You are service <servicename>"
  1. Sent by the server to a service upon successful

registration.

     391    RPL_TIME
            "<server> :<string showing server's local time>"
  1. When replying to the TIME message, a server MUST send

the reply using the RPL_TIME format above. The string

         showing the time need only contain the correct day and
         time there.  There is no further requirement for the
         time string.
     392    RPL_USERSSTART
            ":UserID   Terminal  Host"
     393    RPL_USERS
            ":<username> <ttyline> <hostname>"
     394    RPL_ENDOFUSERS
            ":End of users"
     395    RPL_NOUSERS
            ":Nobody logged in"
  1. If the USERS message is handled by a server, the

replies RPL_USERSTART, RPL_USERS, RPL_ENDOFUSERS and

         RPL_NOUSERS are used.  RPL_USERSSTART MUST be sent
         first, following by either a sequence of RPL_USERS
         or a single RPL_NOUSER.  Following this is
         RPL_ENDOFUSERS.

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     200    RPL_TRACELINK
            "Link <version & debug level> <destination>
             <next server> V<protocol version>
             <link uptime in seconds> <backstream sendq>
             <upstream sendq>"
     201    RPL_TRACECONNECTING
            "Try. <class> <server>"
     202    RPL_TRACEHANDSHAKE
            "H.S. <class> <server>"
     203    RPL_TRACEUNKNOWN
            "???? <class> [<client IP address in dot form>]"
     204    RPL_TRACEOPERATOR
            "Oper <class> <nick>"
     205    RPL_TRACEUSER
            "User <class> <nick>"
     206    RPL_TRACESERVER
            "Serv <class> <int>S <int>C <server>
             <nick!user|*!*>@<host|server> V<protocol version>"
     207    RPL_TRACESERVICE
            "Service <class> <name> <type> <active type>"
     208    RPL_TRACENEWTYPE
            "<newtype> 0 <client name>"
     209    RPL_TRACECLASS
            "Class <class> <count>"
     210    RPL_TRACERECONNECT
            Unused.
     261    RPL_TRACELOG
            "File <logfile> <debug level>"
     262    RPL_TRACEEND
            "<server name> <version & debug level> :End of TRACE"
  1. The RPL_TRACE* are all returned by the server in

response to the TRACE message. How many are

         returned is dependent on the TRACE message and
         whether it was sent by an operator or not.  There
         is no predefined order for which occurs first.
         Replies RPL_TRACEUNKNOWN, RPL_TRACECONNECTING and
         RPL_TRACEHANDSHAKE are all used for connections
         which have not been fully established and are either
         unknown, still attempting to connect or in the
         process of completing the 'server handshake'.
         RPL_TRACELINK is sent by any server which handles
         a TRACE message and has to pass it on to another
         server.  The list of RPL_TRACELINKs sent in
         response to a TRACE command traversing the IRC
         network should reflect the actual connectivity of
         the servers themselves along that path.

Kalt Informational [Page 50] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

         RPL_TRACENEWTYPE is to be used for any connection
         which does not fit in the other categories but is
         being displayed anyway.
         RPL_TRACEEND is sent to indicate the end of the list.
     211    RPL_STATSLINKINFO
            "<linkname> <sendq> <sent messages>
             <sent Kbytes> <received messages>
             <received Kbytes> <time open>"
  1. reports statistics on a connection. <linkname>

identifies the particular connection, <sendq> is

         the amount of data that is queued and waiting to be
         sent <sent messages> the number of messages sent,
         and <sent Kbytes> the amount of data sent, in
         Kbytes. <received messages> and <received Kbytes>
         are the equivalent of <sent messages> and <sent
         Kbytes> for received data, respectively.  <time
         open> indicates how long ago the connection was
         opened, in seconds.
     212    RPL_STATSCOMMANDS
            "<command> <count> <byte count> <remote count>"
  1. reports statistics on commands usage.
     219    RPL_ENDOFSTATS
            "<stats letter> :End of STATS report"
     242    RPL_STATSUPTIME
            ":Server Up %d days %d:%02d:%02d"
  1. reports the server uptime.
     243    RPL_STATSOLINE
            "O <hostmask> * <name>"
  1. reports the allowed hosts from where user may become IRC

operators.

     221    RPL_UMODEIS
            "<user mode string>"
  1. To answer a query about a client's own mode,

RPL_UMODEIS is sent back.

     234    RPL_SERVLIST
            "<name> <server> <mask> <type> <hopcount> <info>"

Kalt Informational [Page 51] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     235    RPL_SERVLISTEND
            "<mask> <type> :End of service listing"
  1. When listing services in reply to a SERVLIST message,

a server is required to send the list back using the

         RPL_SERVLIST and RPL_SERVLISTEND messages.  A separate
         RPL_SERVLIST is sent for each service.  After the
         services have been listed (or if none present) a
         RPL_SERVLISTEND MUST be sent.
     251    RPL_LUSERCLIENT
            ":There are <integer> users and <integer>
             services on <integer> servers"
     252    RPL_LUSEROP
            "<integer> :operator(s) online"
     253    RPL_LUSERUNKNOWN
            "<integer> :unknown connection(s)"
     254    RPL_LUSERCHANNELS
            "<integer> :channels formed"
     255    RPL_LUSERME
            ":I have <integer> clients and <integer>
              servers"
  1. In processing an LUSERS message, the server

sends a set of replies from RPL_LUSERCLIENT,

         RPL_LUSEROP, RPL_USERUNKNOWN,
         RPL_LUSERCHANNELS and RPL_LUSERME.  When
         replying, a server MUST send back
         RPL_LUSERCLIENT and RPL_LUSERME.  The other
         replies are only sent back if a non-zero count
         is found for them.
     256    RPL_ADMINME
            "<server> :Administrative info"
     257    RPL_ADMINLOC1
            ":<admin info>"
     258    RPL_ADMINLOC2
            ":<admin info>"
     259    RPL_ADMINEMAIL
            ":<admin info>"
  1. When replying to an ADMIN message, a server

is expected to use replies RPL_ADMINME

         through to RPL_ADMINEMAIL and provide a text
         message with each.  For RPL_ADMINLOC1 a
         description of what city, state and country
         the server is in is expected, followed by
         details of the institution (RPL_ADMINLOC2)

Kalt Informational [Page 52] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

         and finally the administrative contact for the
         server (an email address here is REQUIRED)
         in RPL_ADMINEMAIL.
     263    RPL_TRYAGAIN
            "<command> :Please wait a while and try again."
  1. When a server drops a command without processing it,

it MUST use the reply RPL_TRYAGAIN to inform the

         originating client.

5.2 Error Replies

     Error replies are found in the range from 400 to 599.
     401    ERR_NOSUCHNICK
            "<nickname> :No such nick/channel"
  1. Used to indicate the nickname parameter supplied to a

command is currently unused.

     402    ERR_NOSUCHSERVER
            "<server name> :No such server"
  1. Used to indicate the server name given currently

does not exist.

     403    ERR_NOSUCHCHANNEL
            "<channel name> :No such channel"
  1. Used to indicate the given channel name is invalid.
     404    ERR_CANNOTSENDTOCHAN
            "<channel name> :Cannot send to channel"
  1. Sent to a user who is either (a) not on a channel

which is mode +n or (b) not a chanop (or mode +v) on

         a channel which has mode +m set or where the user is
         banned and is trying to send a PRIVMSG message to
         that channel.
     405    ERR_TOOMANYCHANNELS
            "<channel name> :You have joined too many channels"
  1. Sent to a user when they have joined the maximum

number of allowed channels and they try to join

         another channel.

Kalt Informational [Page 53] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     406    ERR_WASNOSUCHNICK
            "<nickname> :There was no such nickname"
  1. Returned by WHOWAS to indicate there is no history

information for that nickname.

     407    ERR_TOOMANYTARGETS
            "<target> :<error code> recipients. <abort message>"
  1. Returned to a client which is attempting to send a

PRIVMSG/NOTICE using the user@host destination format

         and for a user@host which has several occurrences.
  1. Returned to a client which trying to send a

PRIVMSG/NOTICE to too many recipients.

  1. Returned to a client which is attempting to JOIN a safe

channel using the shortname when there are more than one

         such channel.
     408    ERR_NOSUCHSERVICE
            "<service name> :No such service"
  1. Returned to a client which is attempting to send a SQUERY

to a service which does not exist.

     409    ERR_NOORIGIN
            ":No origin specified"
  1. PING or PONG message missing the originator parameter.
     411    ERR_NORECIPIENT
            ":No recipient given (<command>)"
     412    ERR_NOTEXTTOSEND
            ":No text to send"
     413    ERR_NOTOPLEVEL
            "<mask> :No toplevel domain specified"
     414    ERR_WILDTOPLEVEL
            "<mask> :Wildcard in toplevel domain"
     415    ERR_BADMASK
            "<mask> :Bad Server/host mask"
  1. 412 - 415 are returned by PRIVMSG to indicate that

the message wasn't delivered for some reason.

         ERR_NOTOPLEVEL and ERR_WILDTOPLEVEL are errors that
         are returned when an invalid use of
         "PRIVMSG $<server>" or "PRIVMSG #<host>" is attempted.

Kalt Informational [Page 54] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     421    ERR_UNKNOWNCOMMAND
            "<command> :Unknown command"
  1. Returned to a registered client to indicate that the

command sent is unknown by the server.

     422    ERR_NOMOTD
            ":MOTD File is missing"
  1. Server's MOTD file could not be opened by the server.
     423    ERR_NOADMININFO
            "<server> :No administrative info available"
  1. Returned by a server in response to an ADMIN message

when there is an error in finding the appropriate

         information.
     424    ERR_FILEERROR
            ":File error doing <file op> on <file>"
  1. Generic error message used to report a failed file

operation during the processing of a message.

     431    ERR_NONICKNAMEGIVEN
            ":No nickname given"
  1. Returned when a nickname parameter expected for a

command and isn't found.

     432    ERR_ERRONEUSNICKNAME
            "<nick> :Erroneous nickname"
  1. Returned after receiving a NICK message which contains

characters which do not fall in the defined set. See

         section 2.3.1 for details on valid nicknames.
     433    ERR_NICKNAMEINUSE
            "<nick> :Nickname is already in use"
  1. Returned when a NICK message is processed that results

in an attempt to change to a currently existing

         nickname.

Kalt Informational [Page 55] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     436    ERR_NICKCOLLISION
            "<nick> :Nickname collision KILL from <user>@<host>"
  1. Returned by a server to a client when it detects a

nickname collision (registered of a NICK that

         already exists by another server).
     437    ERR_UNAVAILRESOURCE
            "<nick/channel> :Nick/channel is temporarily unavailable"
  1. Returned by a server to a user trying to join a channel

currently blocked by the channel delay mechanism.

  1. Returned by a server to a user trying to change nickname

when the desired nickname is blocked by the nick delay

         mechanism.
     441    ERR_USERNOTINCHANNEL
            "<nick> <channel> :They aren't on that channel"
  1. Returned by the server to indicate that the target

user of the command is not on the given channel.

     442    ERR_NOTONCHANNEL
            "<channel> :You're not on that channel"
  1. Returned by the server whenever a client tries to

perform a channel affecting command for which the

         client isn't a member.
     443    ERR_USERONCHANNEL
            "<user> <channel> :is already on channel"
  1. Returned when a client tries to invite a user to a

channel they are already on.

     444    ERR_NOLOGIN
            "<user> :User not logged in"
  1. Returned by the summon after a SUMMON command for a

user was unable to be performed since they were not

         logged in.

Kalt Informational [Page 56] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     445    ERR_SUMMONDISABLED
            ":SUMMON has been disabled"
  1. Returned as a response to the SUMMON command. MUST be

returned by any server which doesn't implement it.

     446    ERR_USERSDISABLED
            ":USERS has been disabled"
  1. Returned as a response to the USERS command. MUST be

returned by any server which does not implement it.

     451    ERR_NOTREGISTERED
            ":You have not registered"
  1. Returned by the server to indicate that the client

MUST be registered before the server will allow it

         to be parsed in detail.
     461    ERR_NEEDMOREPARAMS
            "<command> :Not enough parameters"
  1. Returned by the server by numerous commands to

indicate to the client that it didn't supply enough

         parameters.
     462    ERR_ALREADYREGISTRED
            ":Unauthorized command (already registered)"
  1. Returned by the server to any link which tries to

change part of the registered details (such as

         password or user details from second USER message).
     463    ERR_NOPERMFORHOST
            ":Your host isn't among the privileged"
  1. Returned to a client which attempts to register with

a server which does not been setup to allow

         connections from the host the attempted connection
         is tried.
     464    ERR_PASSWDMISMATCH
            ":Password incorrect"
  1. Returned to indicate a failed attempt at registering

a connection for which a password was required and

         was either not given or incorrect.

Kalt Informational [Page 57] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     465    ERR_YOUREBANNEDCREEP
            ":You are banned from this server"
  1. Returned after an attempt to connect and register

yourself with a server which has been setup to

         explicitly deny connections to you.
     466    ERR_YOUWILLBEBANNED
  1. Sent by a server to a user to inform that access to the

server will soon be denied.

     467    ERR_KEYSET
            "<channel> :Channel key already set"
     471    ERR_CHANNELISFULL
            "<channel> :Cannot join channel (+l)"
     472    ERR_UNKNOWNMODE
            "<char> :is unknown mode char to me for <channel>"
     473    ERR_INVITEONLYCHAN
            "<channel> :Cannot join channel (+i)"
     474    ERR_BANNEDFROMCHAN
            "<channel> :Cannot join channel (+b)"
     475    ERR_BADCHANNELKEY
            "<channel> :Cannot join channel (+k)"
     476    ERR_BADCHANMASK
            "<channel> :Bad Channel Mask"
     477    ERR_NOCHANMODES
            "<channel> :Channel doesn't support modes"
     478    ERR_BANLISTFULL
            "<channel> <char> :Channel list is full"
     481    ERR_NOPRIVILEGES
            ":Permission Denied- You're not an IRC operator"
  1. Any command requiring operator privileges to operate

MUST return this error to indicate the attempt was

         unsuccessful.
     482    ERR_CHANOPRIVSNEEDED
            "<channel> :You're not channel operator"
  1. Any command requiring 'chanop' privileges (such as

MODE messages) MUST return this error if the client

         making the attempt is not a chanop on the specified
         channel.

Kalt Informational [Page 58] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

     483    ERR_CANTKILLSERVER
            ":You can't kill a server!"
  1. Any attempts to use the KILL command on a server

are to be refused and this error returned directly

         to the client.
     484    ERR_RESTRICTED
            ":Your connection is restricted!"
  1. Sent by the server to a user upon connection to indicate

the restricted nature of the connection (user mode "+r").

     485    ERR_UNIQOPPRIVSNEEDED
            ":You're not the original channel operator"
  1. Any MODE requiring "channel creator" privileges MUST

return this error if the client making the attempt is not

         a chanop on the specified channel.
     491    ERR_NOOPERHOST
            ":No O-lines for your host"
  1. If a client sends an OPER message and the server has

not been configured to allow connections from the

         client's host as an operator, this error MUST be
         returned.
     501    ERR_UMODEUNKNOWNFLAG
            ":Unknown MODE flag"
  1. Returned by the server to indicate that a MODE

message was sent with a nickname parameter and that

         the a mode flag sent was not recognized.
     502    ERR_USERSDONTMATCH
            ":Cannot change mode for other users"
  1. Error sent to any user trying to view or change the

user mode for a user other than themselves.

5.3 Reserved numerics

 These numerics are not described above since they fall into one of
 the following categories:
 1. no longer in use;

Kalt Informational [Page 59] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

 2. reserved for future planned use;
 3. in current use but are part of a non-generic 'feature' of
    the current IRC server.
          231    RPL_SERVICEINFO     232  RPL_ENDOFSERVICES
          233    RPL_SERVICE
          300    RPL_NONE            316  RPL_WHOISCHANOP
          361    RPL_KILLDONE        362  RPL_CLOSING
          363    RPL_CLOSEEND        373  RPL_INFOSTART
          384    RPL_MYPORTIS
          213    RPL_STATSCLINE      214  RPL_STATSNLINE
          215    RPL_STATSILINE      216  RPL_STATSKLINE
          217    RPL_STATSQLINE      218  RPL_STATSYLINE
          240    RPL_STATSVLINE      241  RPL_STATSLLINE
          244    RPL_STATSHLINE      244  RPL_STATSSLINE
          246    RPL_STATSPING       247  RPL_STATSBLINE
          250    RPL_STATSDLINE
          492    ERR_NOSERVICEHOST

6. Current implementations

 The IRC software, version 2.10 is the only complete implementation of
 the IRC protocol (client and server).  Because of the small amount of
 changes in the client protocol since the publication of RFC 1459
 [IRC], implementations that follow it are likely to be compliant with
 this protocol or to require a small amount of changes to reach
 compliance.

7. Current problems

 There are a number of recognized problems with the IRC Client
 Protocol, and more generally with the IRC Server Protocol.  In order
 to preserve backward compatibility with old clients, this protocol
 has almost not evolved since the publication of RFC 1459 [IRC].

7.1 Nicknames

 The idea of the nickname on IRC is very convenient for users to use
 when talking to each other outside of a channel, but there is only a
 finite nickname space and being what they are, it's not uncommon for
 several people to want to use the same nick.  If a nickname is chosen
 by two people using this protocol, either one will not succeed or
 both will removed by use of a server KILL (See Section 3.7.1).

Kalt Informational [Page 60] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

7.2 Limitation of wildcards

 There is no way to escape the escape character "\" (%x5C).  While
 this isn't usually a problem, it makes it impossible to form a mask
 with a backslash character ("\") preceding a wildcard.

7.3 Security considerations

 Security issues related to this protocol are discussed in the "IRC
 Server Protocol" [IRC-SERVER] as they are mostly an issue for the
 server side of the connection.

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://ftp.irc.org/irc/clients
      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 61] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol April 2000

10. References

 [KEYWORDS]   Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
 [ABNF]       Crocker, D. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
              Specifications: ABNF", RFC 2234, November 1997.
 [HNAME]      Braden, R., "Requirements for Internet Hosts --
              Application and Support", STD 3, RFC 1123, October 1989.
 [IRC]        Oikarinen, J. & D. Reed, "Internet Relay Chat Protocol",
              RFC 1459, May 1993.
 [IRC-ARCH]   Kalt, C., "Internet Relay Chat: Architecture", RFC 2810,
              April 2000.
 [IRC-CHAN]   Kalt, C., "Internet Relay Chat: Channel Management", RFC
              2811, 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 62] RFC 2812 Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol 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 63]

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