Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do I set up Mirc?
A. Read here how to connect to irc using mirc

Q. I've been Kicked/Banned from #GaySA, how can I find out why, and how do I get back into the channel?
A. If you have been Kicked and banned from the Channel, it will be due to you having broken one, or some of the rules. You can scroll back in your status window, and see which one of the Ops kicked you and why. Protocol dictates that the Op that banned you should unban you. Have a chat with them, and they may unban you.
Tip: Be polite, ops are human and have feelings, just like you.

Q. How do I get VOPs in #GaySA?
A. You are nominated and vouched for by a current Chan-op, and an AOP or SOP will add you to the ChanServ list of nicks that can be opped manually upon entry to the channel. Your nick must have been registered for at least 3 months.

Q. How do I get HOPs in #GaySA?
A. You are nominated and vouched for by a current Chan-op, and an AOP or SOP will add you to the ChanServ list of nicks that can be opped manually upon entry to the channel. Your nick must have been registered for at least 6 months with 3 of those months having had VOPS status.

Q. Ok, so how do I get them to nominate me?
A. They nominate you if they think you're an asset to the channel, i.e. you are a responsible, informed regular who knows and will abide by all the channel rules, you chat to the ops like a normal person, never beg for ops, and you demonstrate that you have self-control. Soliciting for nominations is permitted, but in private only.

Q. Someone is really bothering me in private. What can I do to get rid of them?
A. Type /ignore <nickname> and they magically disappear from your life :-)

Q. They're not just bothering me, it's now harassment! Help!
A. There are occasions when /ignore <nickname> won't work (when the abuser continually changes their nick to avoid the /ignore command) and under those circumstances, your next best bet is to /msg a channel op and tell them about your problem.

If someone is continually being a pain and you’d like Atrum to see what it can do something about it, then email support@atrum.org with time-stamped logs of the incident/s in question. Atrum will do what it can to address the problem.

Q. How do I register my nick?
A. Type the following:
/msg NickServ REGISTER “password” (remove the “”; your password can be anything you like) then type
/msg NickServ IDENTIFY “password” (remove the “”; this will identify that you are the valid owner of the nick) then type
/msg NickServ set kill on (this will prevent other people using your nick unless they have your password) then type
/msg NickServ set mail “youremailadrress” (remove the “”; this will link your nick to a valid email address) then type
/msg NickServ set hide email on (this will prevent other users seeing your email address)

Type /msg NickServ help register for more info.

Q. How do I change my password?
A. Type in /msg NickServ set passwd “newpassword” ((remove the “” and enter a new password)

Q. How do I change my nick?
A. Type in /nick newnick

Q. How do I ghost my nick?
A. Type in /msg nickserv ghost yournick yourpassword

Q. I want to see information about someone.
A. For information about a given nickname, such as the nick’s owner, last seen address and time, and nick options, type in /msg NickServ info nickname

Q. Have you seen so-and-so, can you please give them a message for me?
A. No, but if they have registered their nick you can check when they where last online and send them a message yourself.
Type /msg MemoServ help to learn how to do this.

Q. How can I tell if so-and-so is online right now?
A. To see where a person is, type in /whois nickname. If the /whois comes back with "no such nick" it means that user is not currently on Atrum.

Q. I’ve registered a nickname but don’t want it any more and want to de-register it. How do I do that?
A. Type in /msg NickServ drop. In order to use this command, you must first identify with your password. This is done by typing /msg NickServ identify password. If a nick is not used for 30 days, the registration will expire.

Q. How many days before my nick expires?
A. If a nick is not used for 30 days, the registration will expire.

Q. Which Server should I connect to?
A. Generally speaking, you should try to connect to a server that is close to you in terms of which service provider you use. irc.gaysa-irc.co.za will point to cape town & johannesburg servers. For a full list of servers, please go check here.