For network operators

You run an IRC network and want to know how Lurker connects, how to identify an individual Lurker user, and how to ban one without affecting the rest. This page is for you.

1.0How Lurker connects

A Lurker user is hosted on a dedicated "cell" — a server with its own public IPv4 address and reverse DNS under lurker.chat (for example, roswell.lurker.chat). A single cell carries several users out of that one address. A connection whose reverse DNS is not under lurker.chat is not from us.

2.0Verified per-user idents

Lurker runs a working identd (RFC 1413). Every outbound connection answers identd with a stable ident unique to that user's account, of the form lu<id> ("lu" for Lurker user) — for example, lu1234. Because identd vouches for it, the ident is verified — it appears with no leading tilde. So a Lurker user looks like:

somenick!lu1234@roswell.lurker.chat

The lu1234 part is the reliable handle for one human: it is the same for that account everywhere, and it stays the same even if we move the account to a different cell / hostname.

3.0Banning a single user

Ban the verified ident, not the shared host:

/mode #channel +b *!lu1234@*.lurker.chat

This targets exactly one account — across nick changes and cell moves — and leaves other Lurker users untouched. Banning the cell host on its own (*!*@roswell.lurker.chat) would catch everyone on that cell, which is usually not what you want.

4.0Connection limits

Because a cell serves multiple users from one IP, strict per-IP connection or clone limits may reject legitimate Lurker users. If you see that, consider raising the limit for lurker.chat cell addresses — identd preserves per-user accountability, so you do not lose the ability to act against an individual.

Currently Lurker.Chat runs one cell, roswell.lurker.chat. We recommend whitelisting by hostname rather than IP address, in case infrastructure upgrades necessitate IP changes in the future.

5.0Abuse and contact

If a Lurker user violates your network's rules, you can ban them as above and/or report them so we can enforce our Acceptable Use Policy against the account — see Report Abuse. For technical questions or special arrangements, contact networks@lurker.chat.