The #mt-talk Family of Channels

This is the official web site for the #mt-talk family of IRC channels on the IRC Highway network (www.irchighway.net). The channels that make up this family are #mt-talk, #mt-talkers, and #mt-talklings. You can get to our family channels by connecting to irc.mt-talk.net and telling your IRC client to join #mt-talk.

Purpose of the Channels

The principle purpose of the #mt-talk channels is for discussion of the webcomic Megatokyo. Many of the regular inhabitants frequent the Megatokyo Forums, especially Story Discussions.

Commonly, conversation will drift to other topics including anime, gaming, and computers. Additional topics arise as well.

Accessing, Rules, and Guidelines
Administration
1. The Role of the Channel Staff - Chanops and Halfops
2. Moderation Policy - Keeping the Rules
Links

Accessing, Rules, and Guidelines

Accessing the Channels

There are many ways to join us for discussion on IRC. If you're new to IRC, you might want to log in to IRC Highway via a web interface like the one located at http://www.ircatwork.com.

After you've spent some time looking around and gotten a feel for the environment, you'll probably want to switch to a more robust interface. We recommend using a dedicated IRC Client such as mIRC. Once you have set up your dedicated client, log in to IRC Highway and join one of our channels. Consult your client's help file for details.

Rules

The following rules have been developed to maintain a certain tone and atmosphere in each of the channels. We have created an online environment that we enjoy being involved with and believe that these rules will help to maintain that environment. The rules may change from time to time as required to better achieve this goal.

General Rules

The rules below are applicable to each of the #mt-talk channels: #mt-talk, #mt-talkers, and #mt-talklings.

You must identify yourself, on request, to a Chanop or Halfop in private message by giving your MT forum name and/or usual IRC nick.
Do not impersonate or pretend to be another person, whether that person visits #mt-talk or not.
No more than two accounts per person.
No trolling. If you are here just to make trouble, you will be immediately banned.
Do not insult others for their enjoyment in discussing and analyzing Megatokyo. As discussion of this comic is the primary purpose of this channel, those who take issue with such hobbies would find their interests better served elsewhere.
No bots.
No spamming.
No servers without permission from the Chanops.
No collecting of email addresses, hostmasks, IP addresses or other details for the purposes of spamming, stalking or other undesirable behavior.
No cracking, phreaking, phishing, viruses, etc.
Although the discussion may involve "adult" topics, please do not make grossly obscene or extremely vulgar remarks.
Use of the channel for the encouragement, perpetration, or planning of illegal acts is expressly prohibited. Note, however, that channel participants may live in countries where laws differ from your own, so tread carefully.
Threatening or harassing talk or behavior is prohibited.
Sometimes discussion may become heated and emotional. This is acceptable, however, personal attacks or insults should be avoided.
Do not share logs of any of the channels with other people, either in private or by posting them publically on web sites, forums, or in any other way. See the Notes on Privacy below.
In addition to these rules and the channel specific rules listed below, channel staff may exercise their discretion to stop behavior which is detrimental to the intended tone and function of a particular channel.

Channel Specific Rules

#mt-talk

Participation in the channel is open only to those over the age of 18 years.
No role-playing (RP) is permitted. This is a discussion channel.
Linking to pornographic images of an extreme nature is prohibited, even if accompanied by a warning.

#mt-talkers

Participation in the channel is open only to those over the age of 13 years.
Participants who are under 18 years of age must make this fact known to one of the Chanops.
No role-playing (RP) is permitted. This is a discussion channel.
Conversations and their topics should be kept "family friendly" in tone.
Linking to pornographic images or other unsuitable material is expressly prohibited.

#mt-talklings

Participation in the channel is open only to teenagers aged 17 and below.
Linking to pornographic images is expressly prohibited.

Notes on Privacy

The conversations that takes place in the #mt-talk channels should not be considered publically accessible. Although the channels are generally open to anyone, that does not mean that you can copy log files to other people.

Think of it like a conversation at a party. Anyone could overhear it, but you wouldn't be very happy if someone secretly taped it and played it on the radio the next day.

Everyone is welcome to keep logs for their own personal use, but do not share these with other people, even people who may usually be in the channel from which the log originates. Additionally, do not paste quotations from one #mt-talk channel into one of the other channels. Summarise the conversation if you must, just don't copy the exact log.

If you feel you must quote a section of a conversation for some reason, you should get the permission of every person involved in that conversation, as well as one of the Chanops.

Administration

The Role of the Channel Staff - Chanops and Halfops

Chanops (Channel Operators) set policy for the #mt-talk channels, appoint Halfops, arbitrate any disputes, and are basically the final word on all things related to the channels.

If you have been warned, kicked, or banned from one of the #mt-talk channels and want to discuss the reasons, you should message one of the Chanops. (HINT: A polite and reasonable tone will get you much further than an aggressive or belligerent approach.)

Chanops have the ~, &, or @ sign preceding their name in the name list.

Halfops ensure that the rules of the #mt-talk channels are upheld. They act as hosts—directing discussion, keeping the conversation flowing, welcoming new people, and generally aiding the cohesion of the community.

Halfops have the % sign preceding their name in the name list.

Moderation Policy - Keeping the Rules

The enforcement of the rules may not be strict and to-the-letter at all times, but when one of the Chanops or Halfops decides that a rule has been broken that is adversely affecting the channel, there will be three stages of enforcement - warning, kick, ban.

First, the offending person will be warned. This may be done publically in the channel or privately via personal message. There may be several warnings or only one.

If the person persists in the offending behavior, they may be kicked from the channel. This is an IRC term for being forcibly expelled from a channel. They may rejoin the channel immediately, but should consider this a very strong warning.

If the person still persists in the offending behavior, they may be banned from the channel and cannot rejoin.

Any behavior which contravenes the IRC Highway operating policies (viewable on the IRC Highway web site) will be reported to the IRC Highway System Operators and may result in complete banning from the entire IRC Highway network.

If you are banned from one of the #mt-talk channels, only Chanops can unban you. If you want to discuss the circumstances of the ban, you should message one of the Chanops. (HINT: A polite and reasonable tone will get you much further than an aggressive or belligerent approach.)

Any bans undertaken by Halfops must be reported by the Halfop to a Chanop at the first available opportunity with a full explanation of the reasons for the ban. The Chanop may decide to uphold the ban, uphold it temporarily, or lift the ban.