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The most important thing to know about being an IRC Operator is that most likely, you don't really want to be one. Being an IRC Operator (also know as IRCop or oper) is not a glamorous position. It takes a great deal of hard work, dedication, and most of all patience. The overall amount of time an operator spends on IRC talking to his/her friends is drastically decreased. To use an analogy, you no-longer get to play in the pool, you are the on who sits on the side watching others have all the fun. Take note, becoming an IRC Operator does not...
- turn you into a vigilante who can ride about in the night taking the law into your own hands
- mean going on mass /killing sprees to rid this world of corruption
- make you a "Cop" or an "IRC Cop"
The job is an IRC Operator - or simply, a janitor.
The Job
You will spend a large proportion of your time answering the same questions over and over again and again. You will be asked all kinds of questions, and for help on many subjects - you are not expected to know the answer to everything, but you are expected to point them in the right direction to help. You must not ignore or refuse to help someone, you are obliged to try. You will spend numerous long sessions of several hours moderating blatantly trivial disputes. You can't just tell them to go away, or to find 'someone else' - an IRC Operator is the 'someone else' and is required to see a dispute (how ever insignificant) to a conclusion that is acceptable to all parties. You will have people try to flood you. You will have people kick/ban you from their channels (you will not unban yourself). People will call you nasty names. People will think you are a creep. People will mailbomb your email account. They will try to hack your shell account. They will even try to impersonate you. You may disregard these scenarios, but you would be surprised what some people can do, or have done.
There will be many thankful people, grateful people, people who actually do something as seemingly unimportant as to say "Thank you". There are those who make it all worthwhile. Being an oper has very little to do with that /kill command (as seemingly attractive as it may be). It is about the skill of appearing to be a perfect human being who takes the time to help everyone.
To recap, an IRC Operator is:
- a janitor
- a dispute mediator
- a source of help
- someone that users whine to about other users
- very polite
- the perfect IRC citizen
The Next Step
If being an IRC Operator still appeals to you, here are a few hints as to how to become one:
- Do not ask - in most cases you will come across as a beggar.
- Know the various IRC clients. Not only mIRC, but the myriad of other clients. Make sure that you are vaguely aware of their basic operation.
- Know the WebMaster Java client inside and out. WebChat has a very large base of java client users, and they need help just as much as the regular IRC users. You should be able immediately identify if a user is on java (userid "JAVA", or "JAVGUEST"), or a normal IRC client.
- Know the basic raw IRC commands.
- Know user modes, channel modes, and very importantly, masks (nick!user@host).
- Know what an Admin is, what "powers" they have that an Oper does not, and how to find one when you need one. (hint: type /admin)
- Help out users as best you can. This does not mean only helping when an IRCop is present. If you help out, chances are you will be noticed. Helping does not involve saying things like "look at me! I am helping MaryJaneUser!"
- You must sincerely want to be an IRCop. If you want to be an IRCop for status or because being an oper is "kewl" it will be obvious.
- Always be courteous, kind and forgiving. Be gentle and peaceful each day. Be warm and human and grateful. And always have a good thing to say. Interpersonal skills are some of the most important qualities of an IRC Operator.
- Try helping out in some of the recommended help channels. You may not be opped right away (or at all), but if you make an honest effort to help out, you will be noticed. #Services and #ircnewbies are always good places to help out.
- Remember: be patient. Eventually an Admin may ask you to be an IRC Operator. However, you may not be asked. Not everyone will be asked to be an oper, no matter how well qualified he/she/it may be.
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