Undernet
Encyclopedia
The Undernet is the fourth-largest publicly-monitored Internet Relay Chat
(IRC) network circa 2011, with about 12 client servers serving 60,000 users in 11,000 channels at any given time.
IRC clients can connect to Undernet via the global round robin
irc.undernet.org, the region-specific round robins us.undernet.org and eu.undernet.org, or a specific server from the server list.
irc2.7 IRCd
software, created in an attempt to make it less bandwidth consumptive and less chaotic, as netsplit
s and takeovers
were starting to plague EFnet. The Undernet IRC daemon became known as "ircu
". Undernet was formed at a time when many small IRC networks were being started and subsequently disappearing; however, it managed to grow into one of the largest and oldest IRC networks despite some initial in-fighting and setbacks. For a period in 1994, Undernet was wracked by an ongoing series of flame wars. Again in 2001, it was threatened by automated heavy spamming of its users for potential commercial gain. Undernet survived these periods relatively intact and its popularity continues to the present day.
It is notable as being the first network to utilize timestamping, originally made by Carlo "Run" Wood, in the IRC server protocol as a means to curb abuse.
. X operates on a username basis; a username is independent from a nickname, which cannot be registered on Undernet.
As Undernet limits channel registration to "established channels" or channels with an active userbase, Undernet introduced a version of ChanFix (under the nickname C) designed to work like EFNet's ChanFix. Its use is to protect unregistered channels. ChanFix tracks channel op usage by username basis and restores ops if channels become opless or are taken over
.
Undernet also runs an open proxy
scanner. This scans users currently connecting to the network for open WinGate
, SOCKS
version 4/5, and HTTP proxy servers. IP addresses hosting open proxy servers are automatically G-lined from the network. These changes were put in place after the 2001 Denial-of-service attack
s almost destroyed the network and left Undernet without the registered channel service bot for months. In 2010, Undernet also started to g-line Tor exit nodes
, instead of assigning those users a cloak like e.g. Quakenet
.
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
(IRC) network circa 2011, with about 12 client servers serving 60,000 users in 11,000 channels at any given time.
IRC clients can connect to Undernet via the global round robin
Round robin DNS
Round robin DNSis a technique of load distribution, load balancing, or fault-tolerance provisioning multiple, redundant Internet Protocol service hosts, e.g., Web servers, FTP servers, by managing the Domain Name System's responses to address requests from client computers according to an...
irc.undernet.org, the region-specific round robins us.undernet.org and eu.undernet.org, or a specific server from the server list.
History
Undernet was established in October 1992 by Danny "WildThang" Mitchell, Donald "WHIZZARD" Lambert, and Laurent "_dl" Demally as an experimental network running a modified version of the EFnetEFnet
EFnet or Eris Free network is a major IRC network, with more than 35,000 users. It is the modern-day descendant of the original IRC network.- History :...
irc2.7 IRCd
IRCd
An IRCd, short for Internet Relay Chat daemon, is server software that implements the IRC protocol, enabling people to talk to each other via the Internet . It is distinct from an IRC bot that connects outbound to an IRC channel.The server listens to connections from IRC clients on a set of TCP ports...
software, created in an attempt to make it less bandwidth consumptive and less chaotic, as netsplit
Netsplit
In computer networking, specifically Internet Relay Chat , netsplit is the disconnection of a given node from the previously established network or between two nodes. As an IRC network is an undirected acyclic graph, a split between any two nodes splits the entire network into two pieces.Consider...
s and takeovers
IRC takeover
An IRC channel takeover is an acquisition of IRC channel operator status by someone other than the channel's owner. It has largely been eliminated due to the increased use of services on IRC networks.-Riding the split:...
were starting to plague EFnet. The Undernet IRC daemon became known as "ircu
Ircu
ircu is the name of the IRC daemon software written for and used on the Undernet IRC network.ircu is one of the few servers that is based on the irc2.7 codebase of the original IRCd....
". Undernet was formed at a time when many small IRC networks were being started and subsequently disappearing; however, it managed to grow into one of the largest and oldest IRC networks despite some initial in-fighting and setbacks. For a period in 1994, Undernet was wracked by an ongoing series of flame wars. Again in 2001, it was threatened by automated heavy spamming of its users for potential commercial gain. Undernet survived these periods relatively intact and its popularity continues to the present day.
It is notable as being the first network to utilize timestamping, originally made by Carlo "Run" Wood, in the IRC server protocol as a means to curb abuse.
Services
Undernet uses GNUworld to provide X, its channel service botInternet bot
Internet bots, also known as web robots, WWW robots or simply bots, are software applications that run automated tasks over the Internet. Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone...
. X operates on a username basis; a username is independent from a nickname, which cannot be registered on Undernet.
As Undernet limits channel registration to "established channels" or channels with an active userbase, Undernet introduced a version of ChanFix (under the nickname C) designed to work like EFNet's ChanFix. Its use is to protect unregistered channels. ChanFix tracks channel op usage by username basis and restores ops if channels become opless or are taken over
IRC takeover
An IRC channel takeover is an acquisition of IRC channel operator status by someone other than the channel's owner. It has largely been eliminated due to the increased use of services on IRC networks.-Riding the split:...
.
Undernet also runs an open proxy
Open proxy
An open proxy is a proxy server that is accessible by any Internet user. Generally, a proxy server allows users within a network group to store and forward Internet services such as DNS or web pages to reduce and control the bandwidth used by the group...
scanner. This scans users currently connecting to the network for open WinGate
WinGate (computing)
WinGate is an Integrated Gateway Management system for Microsoft Windows, providing firewall and NAT services, along with a number of integrated proxy servers and also email services ....
, SOCKS
SOCKS
SOCKS is an Internet protocol that routes network packets between a client and server through a proxy server. SOCKS5 additionally provides authentication so only authorized users may access a server...
version 4/5, and HTTP proxy servers. IP addresses hosting open proxy servers are automatically G-lined from the network. These changes were put in place after the 2001 Denial-of-service attack
Denial-of-service attack
A denial-of-service attack or distributed denial-of-service attack is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users...
s almost destroyed the network and left Undernet without the registered channel service bot for months. In 2010, Undernet also started to g-line Tor exit nodes
Tor (anonymity network)
Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
, instead of assigning those users a cloak like e.g. Quakenet
QuakeNet
QuakeNet is currently the largest Internet Relay Chat network, with a peak average of about 135,000 users and 100,000 channels. The network was founded in 1997 by Garfield and Oli as a new home for their respective countries' Quake channels...
.