Welcome!

Whether you've just connected to GameSurge or are merely browsing our website, welcome to the GameSurge IRC Network!

GameSurge is made up of individual servers donated to us by kind organizations and individuals. These individual servers are linked together to form the GameSurge IRC network. GameSurge codes and maintains its very own set of network services. These services are here to benefit you and make your stay on our network as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

There are basically two services that you will interact with while you are on GameSurge. These services are known as AuthServ and ChanServ. AuthServ and ChanServ are computer programs that run on the network and are not real people.

AuthServ

AuthServ is the authentication service, thus why it is called AuthServ. It is the gateway service to all other network services. Users register accounts with AuthServ that they authenticate to upon connection to the network. Without a registered AuthServ account you will not be able to use any other GameSurge service. Accounts contain all of the ChanServ access information for a user thus it is very important to have an account.

Registration

GameSurge does not support nickname ownership at this time. So please remember that you are not registering a nickname by registering with AuthServ. Your account name is an arbitrary name independent of your nickname.

The only way to register an account is on the GameSurge website. To do this simply visit:

http://www.gamesurge.net/createaccount/

• Fill in your account name (it can be almost whatever you want it to be)
• Fill in your e-mail address and the e-mail address confirmation
• Fill in the human input validation box by typing the word in the box on the line below

After completing this form your account will be registered and your authentication password will be e-mailed to you. Please allow some time for the delivery of this e-mail.

Authentication

The next step is authenticating with AuthServ. Remember you must authenticate with AuthServ every time you connect to GameSurge. Authentication is very simple and straight-forward. The command to authenticate with AuthServ is:

/authserv AUTH <account name> <password>

If you execute the command correctly AuthServ will notice you with the message “-AuthServ- I recognize you.” For users who registered through the website you will probably want to change your password. To change your password:

/authserv PASS <old password> <new password>

Most IRC clients including mIRC have auto-run command sections that will execute commands on connection to a network. In mIRC this is called “perform.” To make authentication easier and hassle free you can add the authentication command to your perform. For people using the later versions of mIRC the perform section can be found in mIRC options (alt+o) à connect à options à perform (button). Simply add the command to this window and make sure that “enable perform on connect” is enabled.

Troubleshooting

There are several issues that you may run across while using AuthServ. By far the most common one is the “invalid hostmask” error message. To understand this error message you must first understand what a “hostmask” is.

A host mask is a series of values that make up your identity on IRC. All IRC users have a host mask and at least part of them will always be unique. No two users will ever have exactly the same one. A host mask takes the form of:

nickname!username@hostname

Nickname = your nickname on IRC
Username = username is a value defined by the e-mail address you choose in options if you are using mIRC or if you are running IDENTD it will be the username for that
Hostname = the host address assigned to you by your internet service provider, an example of this is Toronto-HSE-ppp3457123.sympatico.ca

A example of a host mask would be “NoLimits!nolimit@Toronto-HSE-ppp3857435.sympatico.ca”

Hopefully we now understand what a “hostmask” is. Now we have to understand how AuthServ recognizes users. When you authenticate with AuthServ it checks for several things. There are 3 security checks that must be passed to successfully authenticate with AuthServ.

1. Your password must be correct
2. Your hostmask must match a hostmask listed on the account
3. You must not exceed the “maxlogins” setting

Problem 1.) If you do not know your password you have two options. If you have an e-mail address set on your account you can request your password changed through the RESETPASS command. The format of this command is:

/authserv RESETPASS <account name> <new password>

You will be e-mailed a cookie that will allow you to authenticate and will confirm the password change. If you do not have an e-mail set you can join #support and depending on circumstances you may or may not be able to get your password reset. Odds are if you do not have an e-mail set you will be out of luck. This means do not lose your password.

Problem 2.) AuthServ checks the username@hostname fields of your host mask against ones listed on the account. If they match you will be able to authenticate normally, if they do not you will receive the dreaded “invalid hostmask” error. Reasons for this error are numerous and include changing of internet providers, disfunctional DNS that do not resolve your hostname or IP address, change of username by the user, ect. If you have an e-mail on your account you can request a cookie be sent to your e-mail that will allow you to authenticate. The syntax for this command is:

/authserv AUTHCOOKIE <account name>

Once you receive the e-mail authenticate using the cookie command from above. After you authenticate type /authserv ADDMASK with no other arguments to add your current hostmask to your account. If you do not have an e-mail set you can visit #support and you will be assisted with authenticating.

Problem 3.) Your account has a maximum number of logins set on it. Once that number of people is logged onto your account simultaneously, no more will be allowed to authenticate. The default setting is 2. To raise or lower maxlogins the command is:

/authserv SET MAXLOGINS <value>

The maximum value settable by users is 4.

If you are still experiencing problems with registration or authentication please visit #support for assistance.

Chanserv

ChanServ is a channel management bot that sits in registered channels and allows the bot users to manage their channels more effectively. ChanServ has many commands, settings, and options that allow the channel operators to tweak various things about their channels to their liking. Channels must be registered by the GameSurge network staff. To register a channel with ChanServ you can either visit #support on the GameSurge IRC network by typing /join #support or by using the web registration utility located at http://www.gamesurge.net/utils/chanreg2/. For a complete listing and guide to ChanServ’s commands please visit the channel commands overview page.

Thankyou for using GameSurge!

Last Revision: 06/21/2009