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Basic Technical Stuff for Newbies

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To get into my fserv, type: /ctcp ps !ps
But if you are on Undernet or IRCHighWay, then type: /ctcp ps2 !ps
A window should open. From there you can type dir to get a directory listing,
cd to change directory, get to get a file, or help for further help. You can
also type 1f, 2f, 3f... to get the first, second, third files in the
directory or 1d, 2d... to navigate to various subdirectories. 0d or cd..
will take you to the parent directory of the one you're in.
If you queue a lot of files and want to walk away from your computer as
they're downloading, you can set up mirc to autoaccept files. The specific
instructions for this vary from one irc client to another (see below).
Note that these settings will allow other irc users to send you files even
when you're not at your computer, so be cautious about files that you never
queued. If a file mysteriously shows up, especially if it has a sexually
suggestive name, it's probably malware, and so you should delete it
immediately without even opening it.
If you are still unable to download files even after following the
specific instructions for your irc client, then the problem might be your
firewall. Look at the firewall settings for both your computer as well as
your router. Lower the firewalls to their most relaxed setting and/or
create an exception in each for your irc client so that it can automatically
open the necessary ports to receive incoming files. You may need to
consult http://portforward.com/ for instrutions specific to your router.
Using mirc:
You can set up mirc to autoaccept files, which is very useful, because
otherwise you have to okay each file individually, and if you don't do it
in time, the file transfer will time-out. Go to Tools -> Options -> DCC
and select auto-get file and auto-accept chat. The minimize box on both of
these options can also be checked. Also, in the box that asks what to do
if the incoming file exists, select the "Resume" option. Another thing you
should to do is to verify that your irc client isn't purposely ignoring
certain file types, such as .pdf and such. To do this, snoop around under
tools -> options -> dcc -> folders to see if maybe you can add .pdf (and
any other files types which you want to download, such as .txt, .doc, .rtf,
.htm, .html, .epub, .mobi, .zip, .rar, .cbz, .cbr, .exe, .jpg, .gif, .bmp,
etc.) to the list of recognized files. Also, make sure your "DCC Get"
folders actually exist and aren't merely pointing to some location that has
long since been deleted from your harddrive. Also, under tools -> options ->
dcc -> ignore, set Method to "Disabled" to make sure that no file that is
sent to you will be ignored by your client. Don't forget to uncheck the
"Turn ignore back on" box.
Using Irssi:
If you're using Irssi, you'll need to set the 'dcc_autochat_masks' option to
my nick ('ps2' on undernet or 'ps' elsewhere). For example, you'd use the
command "/set dcc_autochat_masks ps2". You may choose to have dcc_autoget
enabled (/set dcc_autoget on), but note that this will leave you open to
any file from any nick. If you prefer to accept each file manually, use
this command: "/dcc get ps2 File_name_being_sent.ext". Also, the default
queue for irssi is 5, while I allow up to 100 queues, so you may want to
modify the default value in irssi: "/set max_ctcp_queue <new queue value>".
Using Colloquy:
If you're using Colloquy on a Mac, go to file -> preferences -> auto accept
files from: Anyone & if files already exist: Resume, and Save downloaded
files to: Downloads. Also, remove all the prompts unless you want it to
continally ask for permission to do every little thing. Alternately, if you
want to try Snak, see the instructions below, or if you want to try mirc on
a Mac, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJe6gPPvO4s
Using Snak:
Go to Preferences. The fifth option down is DCC. Click on the "Make an Action"
button. You'll get a window, within which you'll have several controls.
"Connection: Any connection will be selected" (leave as is). "Enabled" should be
checked as a tickbox. Below that you'll see a box that says "DCC" and a drop dow
n
list: "DCC Chat offer", "DCC File transfer offer", "DCC file finished offer",
etc. Select the "DCC Chat offer" option; you can fill out a nickname in the
empty box such as "ps2", specifying from whom you will accept a DCC Chat offer,
or you can leave this blank so that you can enter into DCC-Chat with anyone
(allowing you to enter and use other interactive fserves). After making your
selection, hit OK. You should get a pop-up that has your option checked in a lis
t.
Then continue with the "DCC File transfer offer" option, and do the same thing,
making an action. Make actions for "DCC Chat", "Receive File", and "File End" so
that all three of these functions are automated. Alternately, if you want to try
Colloquy, see the instructions above, or if you want to try mirc on a Mac, see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJe6gPPvO4s
Using SeaMonkey:
If you're using SeaMonkey, be sure to enter the following command in the network
:
"/dcc-accept-list-add ps2" (on undernet) or "/dcc-accept-list-add ps" (elsewhere
).
Otherwise, your client will reject any file that my fserve tries to send to you.
Using ChatZilla:
Click ChatZilla, then preferences, then global options, then dcc, and set your
default download directory. Then add me to your autoaccept list:
"/dcc-accept-list-add ps2" (on undernet) or "/dcc-accept-list-add ps" (elsewhere
).
Using Xchat:
XChat has a minimal preference settings, but one thing you need to do is set
the maximum file transfer speed. After doing that, it should work.
Using Nettalk:
Go to Options -> Connections -> then check the DCC Auto Accept Box.
Using IceChat 9:
Go to Options -> Program Settings -> DCC, then Auto Accept DCC chat requests
and Auto Accept DCC file requests.
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Commands You Can Use
--------------------
The first step is to get into my fserve:
From Undernet, type: /ctcp ps2 !ps
Elsewhere, type: /ctcp ps !ps
Once you are in, you can use the following commands:
dir/ls: lists all files and directories in your current directory
pwd: shows your current directory
cd: change your current directory (cd <directory>) [cd by itself will take you b
ack to root]
1d: go to the first subdirectory of the directory you're currently in
2d: go to the second subdirectory...
0d: go back to the parent directory of the directory you're currently in
get: gets file (get <filename>)
1f: get the first file of the directory you're currently in
2f: get the second file...
find/search: searches fileserver. wildcards are supported (find <filename>)
(limited to 100 results and 8 seconds, whichever is less)
my_queues/my_q/myq: lists your queues
clr_queue/del_q/clr_q: deletes one of your queues (clr_queue <number>)
clr_queues: deletes all your queues
time: shows when your session times out
(you have a 30 minutes to look around, but only 5 minutes of idling)
who: shows who else is currently on presumably either queuing files or just look
ing around
queues/q: shows how many files are currently waiting to be sent
sends/s: shows how many files are currently being sent
stats: shows file server statistics
quit/exit/bye: closes this fserve session
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Frequently Asked Questions
--------------------------
(1) How many files can I queue?
Up to 100 a time.
(2) I queued a file, but it's not downloading. What's going wrong?
Various things could be going wrong. The first thing to do is try to isolate the
problem.
First, let's see if the fileserver still has it in its queue. Go into the filese
ver and
type "myq" to see your queues. If the file is still there, then it just hasn't b
een sent yet.
This is a fairly unusual situation, because I've set up the fileserver for un
limited
simultaneous sends (it doesn't care how people queue files; it'll try to send
files to
everyone simultaneously). Hence, even if someone queues a huge number of file
s, they
(generally speaking) won't inadvertantly clog things up for hours on end. At
least,
that's the idea, but it doesn't always work out that way. The main problem ha
s to do
with the filesever software. In order for it to look down the queue list to y
our queues,
it needs a little bit of free time where it's not doing anything else but suc
cessfully
sending files to other users.
One problem that commonly occurs is when someone queues a lot of files and th
en either
drops offline or simply changes their nick. They're no longer there (at least
not under
the nick which queued the file), but the fileserver doesn't know that, so it
tries to
send them each of their files, one at a time, searching for them again and ag
ain and again
as it methodically goes through their queues. Because it's always so busy loo
king for them,
it doesn't have the free time to look down the list to the queues of other us
ers. Hence, the
users who have files queued further down the list have no choice but to wait
until all the
queues of this "missing" user get dumped, one at a time, into the proverbial
bit-bucket.
A similar problem occurs when one of the users is trying to fill the holes in
his or her
collection. Maybe they downloaded files from me before, and so they already h
ave 99% of
the files in a given directory. But, since I'm always adding files, there are
a few new
ones in there, and they want those files too, but they don't want to go to th
e work of
comparing their own filelist with mine in order to determine which specific f
iles they
need to update their collection. Hence, they just requeue the entire director
y contents.
So what happens is that the fileserver connects to them and tries sending the
m the first
file, and their client says, "Hey, I already got the whole file," and so then
the
fileserver moves on to the next file, and this process repeats over and over
for each
file they queued. Once again, the fileserve is so busy connecting and trying
to send
them each file that it doesn't have the spare time to look down the list to t
he queues
of other users. Hence, once again, everybody who queued files after this user
has to
wait, and it can easily take over an hour.
Keep in mind that in both of these cases, the user who is causing the clog do
esn't
realize that he or she is causing any sort of problem. Nobody sets out to clo
g up
fileservers on purpose. The real problem here is with the software. Just be p
atient.
The clog will eventually clear, and then your queued files will start downloa
ding.
If the file's not in the queue, then the filesever tried to send it, and the sen
d failed.
This can happen for any number of reasons. Sometimes it's your fault, and someti
mes it's not.
To make sure it's not your fault, verify that your irc client isn't purposely
ignoring
certain file types, such as .pdf and such. I talked about this above, but I'l
l go
through it again, just in case you didn't read all the way through from the b
eginning.
Snoop around under tools -> options -> dcc -> folders to see if maybe you can
add .pdf
(and any other files types which you want to download, such as .txt, .doc, .r
tf, .htm,
.html, .zip, .rar, .cbz, .cbr, .exe, .jpg, .gif, .bmp, etc.) to the list of r
ecognized
files. Also, make sure your "DCC Get" folders actually exist and aren't merel
y pointing
to some location that doesn't exist. This can very easily be the case if you'
ve moved
your irc client, such as from one harddrive or directory to another. Also, un
der tools ->
options -> dcc -> ignore, set Method to "Disabled" to make sure that no file
that is sent
to you will be ignored by your client. Don't forget to uncheck the "Turn igno
re back on" box.
If this doesn't solve the problem, then it could be a firewall issue. If it's
a firewall
problem, then you probably can't download any files from anyone on IRC. Deali
ng with
filewall issues can get a little technical, but the basic idea is that you ha
ve to put
an exception for your irc client so that it can automatically open the necess
ary ports to
receive incoming files.
If you can download files from some filesevers but not from others, then the
problem
probably isn't on your end but exists somewhere in between you and the filese
rver you're
accessing, in which case you're not likely to ever find it. Do not be alarmed
. Every file
transfer is a roll of the dice. Most make it, but some don't. Generally speak
ing, my file
server will detect transfer failures and put these into a "failqueue", basica
lly a big
list of files that failed to get where they were supposed to go. As long as y
ou log in
within three days, it'll inform you about files that are still waiting for yo
u in this
failqueue, and it'll tell you how to requeue them so it can try sending them
again.
Beware, however, that the failqueue is an imperfect solution to this problem,
and so you
shouldn't totally depend on it. In order to make sure you received what you q
ueued, keep
some sort of log of what files you're queuing so that you can verify that all
the files
you queued actually transferred completely. For those that failed or are inco
mplete,
simply try again later.
(3) How can I serve files?
There are a number of different fileserver programs. I'm using one called UPP (s
ee
http://upp.monkey-pirate.com). I'm running v2.20 under Win-XP. It's not terribly
popular,
but it seems to work.
One of the more popular IRC fileservers is called SysReset. See http://www.sysre
set.com
Another is VPowerServe: http://iterati.org/ebookTools/vPowerServe/Default.aspx
Another is BWI. Walkthrough: http://puttscribe.com/faq/serving_bwi.htm
And you can get it here: http://puttscribe.com/faq/serving.html
There's also an omenserve walkthrough at the above address, but I'd recommend yo
u stay away from
it. I've noticed that it's still a little too buggy for my taste. The specific p
roblem I've
noticed is that sometimes the file it sends is not the file I queued but rather
a file that
somebody else queued, but when it comes to me it bears the same filename as the
file I queued.
Hence, I only notice the problem when I actually open the file after it has down
loaded. I've
noticed this happening with two different fileservers who are running omenserve,
so my guess is
that it's a bug peculiar to this piece of software. (It might be worth noting th
at these
programs are written and made freely available by some very kind and generally o
verworked
techies who have contributed far more to filesharing that most of us will ever d
ream of doing.
Hence, it's really too much to expect that everything will work perfectly all th
e time.)
Talk to the people you like to download files from, and see what they're using,
and find out
the pros and cons of each. Also bear in mind that some may work well with some o
perating
systems but not so well with others, so when you talk to people, ask what OS the
y're running.
(4) How can I get more help?
You can send me a question via private message, but I'm not around all the time,
so it may
be some hours before I see it. If you stay in the channel, I will respond eventu
ally.