We want to notify our channel regulars that we have had attacks from troublemakers using open proxies from your ISP.  As a result, clients that are not running identd, that come in from your IP, will no longer be allowed to join #politics. There will be no exceptions. :(    We are sorry we have had to take this action, but it was necessary in order to maintain civil order in the channel. Install identd and you will have no problems coming in.

You need to check to make sure you have enabled identd on your IRC client. mIRC:  Alt-O | Connect | Identd, check all 3 boxes, see this figure. On a UNIX machine:  The system administrator must install identd Mac IRC, Snak, PIRCH, or Ircle:  I know nothing of any of these systems/clients.  You will have to find someone who does or check their websites for information on identd. I did find this interesting post regarding Mac:  http://www.netmug.org/~macman/ident.txt Test to see if these suggestions solved your problem: Shut down your IRC client.  Restart it and rejoin an IRC server.  Do a /whois on yourself   ( /whois MyNick ) If the tilde (~) is still there  (~bob@CPE-60.somplace.net) then you still have a problem.  Continue to #2 below.

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2.  Do you share, or firewall your internet connection (wireless?):

Includes sharing a DSL/cable connection with other computers, a home, school or work network, or connecting through a proxy/hub/router, or running a software firewall (including the one built into Windows XP). Note:  It is important that you always refer to your Hub/Router's user manual. Wireless or Hard wired Routers:  If you have not already enabled identd on your Router, this is probably why identd is not working for you.  The easiest way to fix this, is to call your Router Manufacturer on their toll free phone number.  Just tell them you need to enable Port 113.  They will walk you through it.  It is painless and very quick.  I have included a few phone numbers here.              Before you call, write down the Model #  Serial# of your router:            LINKSYS (800) 326-7114                        SMC  (800) 762-4968            D-Link  (877) 453-5465                         Apple  (800) 692-7753            Netgear (888) 638-4327 Windows XP Firewall:  Windows XP has a built-in Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) which breaks identd and DCC.  You may want to  disable it.     If you want to keep ICF on, you'll have to modify it. Other Software/Hardware Firewalls:   Consult the documentation that came with your Firewall, contact the website, or call them. Note:  Keep in mind that if you are leeching off a neighbor's wireless connection, you are not going to be able to configure THEIR router, so you can forget about running identd until you use your own internet connection. Test to see if these solutions solved your identd problem: Shut down your IRC client.  Restart it and rejoin an IRC server.  Do a /whois on yourself   ( /whois MyNick ) If the tilde (~) is still there  (~bob@CPE-60.somplace.net) then your identd is still not working.   I suggest you check at #mirc or #irchelp .

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There is an  EXCEPTION that I want to mention:  am only able to run identd (over my wireless network) on a computer that is hard wired to the router.
My other computers, which operate solely on their wireless cards will not run identd, no matter what I do.  I suspect it is because the router assigns each computer a different *internal* ip address which cannot be resolved on IRC.

I hope that you found this helpful and that you understand that we do not want to keep YOU out of our channel, only the zombies/troublemakers.  Hope to see you back in the channel soon.