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				    NickServ for Newbies

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So you wanna register your nick with NickServ ey?

Here`s how you do it.

First and foremost, make sure the nick you want is not registered.  let`s use my nick as an
example of one that is registered.  Type:

			/nickserv info ghost


NickServ will tell you:

-NickServ- *** ghost is lost in space - always has been, always will be
-
-NickServ- (Currently on IRC) For extra info /whois ghost
-
-NickServ- Last seen address: broken@spg-as104s08.erols.com
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-NickServ- Last seen time:    Sun 01/18/98 17:00:27 GMT
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-NickServ- Time registered:   Fri 11/07/97 12:11:38 GMT
-
-NickServ- Time now:          Sun 01/18/98 17:07:08 GMT
-
-NickServ- This user has enabled nick kill enforce.
-
-NickServ- *** End of Info ***


meaning that the nick is registered and that you can`t have it, so pick another }:)

Note the line:  -NickServ- This user has enabled nick kill enforce.

That means that if you do not change your nick, NickServ will change it for you, to Guest#####, where # represents a random number (i.e. Guest18490)

here`s an example of a nick that is not registered.  type:

		/nickserv info freenick

and NickServ will say:

-NickServ- Nick freenick not registered

meaning that you can have the nick.

So, to grab it, first make sure that your current nick is the one you want to register, and lets
use DALnet1998 as our passwd:

		/nickserv register DALnet1998

Note: your passwd CANNOT be the same as your nick, for security reasons.  your passwd can
contain just about any character, like letters, numbers, and symbols like @, #, $, %, &, etc.
Also, your password _IS_ case-sensitive.

NickServ will say:

-NickServ- "freenick" is now registered under your account: broken@*.erols.com
-
-NickServ- Your password is DALnet1998 - please write it down for later use.
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-NickServ- For more information on NickServ type: /msg NickServ help
-
-NickServ- Next database sync is in 13 minute(s)

Note: you will NOT see broken@*.erols.com, you will see your address there instead.

Now, you have your nick registered to you, and you have the option of having NickServ enforce
your nick by killing the connection of unauthorized users.  IMO, this is highly advised,
because if you don`t, other ppl can use your nick and get you into trouble.

		/nickserv set kill ON

will take care of this, and NickServ will say:

-NickServ- Your nick kill enforce switch is now ON
-
-NickServ- Next database sync is in 12 minute(s)

Now, you have a nick that noone else can use, but we are not done yet :-)

As with DALnet servers, Services (NickServ, ChanServ, etc.) are affected by
netsplits.  Sometimes, NickServ forgets that you own the nick, so you must
identify yourself.  To do this, type:

		/nickserv identify DALnet1998

NickServ will say:

-NickServ- Password accepted for nick freenick


err..  That is if you typed the correct password.  If you typed it incorrectly, you will see:

-NickServ- Incorrect password for freenick


Since some of us forget things like passwords easily, i suggest you make an
alias for NickServ`s identify command.  (An alias is just a shortcut for a
long command.)  A simple command like /id is a lot easier to remember than
the long /nickserv identify DALnet1998 ey?  So, let`s make things
easy for ourselves :-)

Type:

		/alias /id /nickserv identify DALnet1998

and you should see:

* Added "/id" alias

Now, test the alias, by typing:

		/id

and if you typed everything correctly, NickServ should say:

-NickServ- Password accepted for nick freenick

There, all done.  Your own nick that noone else can use, and a simple command to identify
yourself :-)