universal /whois

Logo · Guest

Well, in several ocassions I've had trouble reaching people on one network due to netsplit, the network may be down(Ehr ... Aniverse anyone?) or something. Sometimes I do a /whois on one of the other major networks I'm on, and sometimes the people I'm looking for are actually there. Sometimes they aren't, but I bet that if I did a /whois on some more networks, I would eventually find them(yeah ok, some people are only in one network but ....)

As far as I've understood, SearcIRC has bots on alot of networks, so I would like to suggest a new 'feature': An universal /whois. Like, I type a nick and and then I'm told on which networks that "nick" is on. Of course, two different users on different networks might use the same nick, but most nicks are pretty unique.

I hope you will consider this =)

Jason · Posted: Jun 01, 2003 12:38pm Post subject:

Hi Logo,

Your suggestion is a good one, and one that I've had to respond to previously.

The only reason why this is not done, is not for lack of desire, but due to technical limitations. It's simply not possible to do this across all networks and respond back to the user in a timely manor.

There are at least five types of SearchIRC robots running around IRC. Half of them get the info needed then disconnect. Some reconnect at a fast interval, while others reconnect several hours later.

The goal of SearchIRC isn't to be a toy, but to be a large scalable IRC resource. Simply put, even handling a small number of /whois requests is going to put a cramp into how the robots function.

Several years ago there was a win32 program that connected to a large number of IRC networks and allowed a single user to try to /whois for any nick they wanted. Not sure if that program is still available, or even what it was called...

Anyway, at this point in time, such a feature isn't likely to be implemented.

I can, however, add that MyChannel is a free service, and allows any IRC channel to have a messageboard. If the network is down, you can always post on the messageboard Smile

Jason

Mary · SearchIRC Admin Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 696

Jason is always so negative. Can't do this, can't do that. :p~

I think I have figured out a way. Its going to involve some hamsters, an electric fan, and duct tape.... or maybe its another server, some bots, and user registration.

Of course Jason CAN do it. He just doesn't know he's going to... yet. :D

Jason · Posted: Jun 01, 2003 1:19pm Post subject:

Being overly positive has been known to be hazardous to one's health Razz

Logo · Guest

Well, at least I got an answer Razz

Thanks, I'll try to look for that program you mentioned. And mregit, you can borrow my two cats for you little project if you want Smile

Xavier_Hawthore · Newbie Joined: 10 Jun 2003 Posts: 53 Location: Texas

Jason · Posted: Jun 16, 2003 5:56am Post subject:

The program I was thinking of was IRC Ferret.

I don't think they still make the product, but the homepage for the company is:

http://www.ferretsoft.com/

ed · Posted: Jun 16, 2003 6:58am Post subject:

ed · Posted: Jun 16, 2003 7:02am Post subject:

But, if you dare, a copy can be found at http://www.winarchives.com/workstation/chat_irc_2.html (second down)

Don't know what it is like, I'm not willing to try it Razz

Xavier_Hawthore · Newbie Joined: 10 Jun 2003 Posts: 53 Location: Texas

Mary · SearchIRC Admin Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 696

I have seen it too - in fact, there were two websites. I saw one several years ago that did a /whois on a person on each of the major networks and returned the information of users with that nick. Of course, back then, it was only 4 to 6 nets. I *think* the site then allowed you to send a message to that person. I believe that site was shut down due to abuse - or maybe it just went VERY underground :) as it made it all too easy to find and nuke someone from outside the network.

More recently I've seen another site that was primarily IRC profiles. If you typed in a nickname you would get several responses, ie: God is on DALnet, God is on Undernet, and Godlike is on Anothernet - and they would tell you if that person was actually on IRC or not at the moment. It was limited to a few networks, and I am sure they ran a whois as the page opened.

Jason · Posted: Jun 17, 2003 4:02am Post subject:

Xavier_Hawthore · Newbie Joined: 10 Jun 2003 Posts: 53 Location: Texas

Jason · Posted: Jun 17, 2003 11:19am Post subject:

You haven't proven me wrong.

Quite simply, one network with a psudo server linked for whois output to a website is a whole different ball game than doing it for 700 networks, and being able to scale to 20,000+ users daily. Smile

Xavier_Hawthore · Newbie Joined: 10 Jun 2003 Posts: 53 Location: Texas