2.5 Client to Client Protocol

2.5 Client to Client Protocol
/CTCP []

Allows you to perform certain client specific actions on the network.

/CTCP Nap VERSION
*** CTCP VERSION reply from Nap: ircII 2.2 *IX
:ircII 2.2, SL0 The one you thought you'd never see.

This can be used to get information about how long a person has
been idle:

/CTCP Nap FINGER
*** CTCP FINGER reply from Nap: PIOCH Nicolas - Nap on IRC, X90,
(pioch@poly.polytechnique.fr) Idle 0 seconds

Table 10: Client to Client Commands
------------------------------------
Keyword Action
~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
CTCP performs certain client specific actions
DCC handles direct connections to remote clients
DCC SEND initiates a file transfer
DCC GET accepts a file transfer
DCC CLOSE ends a DCC connection or offer
DCC LIST shows current DCC connections
DCC CHAT initiates a secure chat between two clients

There are many other CTCP commands, and new ones are introduced all the time. There is a mechanism for you to find out what you can use: CTCP CLIENTINFO. To find out about your own client services, execute a CLIENTINFO on yourself.

/CTCP Nap CLIENTINFO
*** CTCP CLIENTINFO reply from Nap: SED VERSION CLIENTINFO
USERINFO ERRMSG FINGER TIME ACTION DCC UTC PING :Use
CLIENTINFO to get more specific information

If you are interested in this powerful CTCP mechanism, have a look in the various ircII help files. "/HELP CTCP" might tell you more. However the client-to-client protocol has a very powerful feature: Allowing two people to exchange files.

To send small text files, electronic mail is probably the best solution, (don't rely on the user@host given by the WHOIS command to send mail. However, ircII provides you a way to establish Direct Client Connections ("DCC") to perform functions like sending and receiving files.

If NickA wants to send a file to NickB, then NickA should type: "/DCC SEND NickB filename". On NickB's screen will appear: "*** DCC SEND (filename) request received from NickA". If he, (NickB), wants to get the file, he just needs to type: "/DCC GET NickA filename"

A few seconds later
*** DCC GET connection with NickA established
*** DCC GET filename connection to NickA completed
will inform both users that data transfer has been successfully
completed.

Here's a quick overview of the subject:
/DCC []

Handles direct connections to remote clients. The behaviour of DCC is determined by the specified .

/DCC SEND

Initiates a file transfer by direct client connection.

/DCC GET

Accepts a file transfer by direct client connection. The sender must first have offered the file with DCC SEND.

/DCC CLOSE []

Ends an unwanted DCC connection or offer. The , and must be the same as those shown by "/DCC LIST". If the arguments are not supplied, the oldest connection of the specified type is closed.

/DCC LIST

Shows current /DCC connections with their types, status and nicknames involved.

More details can be found in ircII online help: try "/HELP DCC" for more information.

If someone asks you to send him a file, don't do it unless you exactly know what you are doing. For instance, NEVER send the password file of your system to anybody. This could grant crackers illegal access to your machines, and put you and your system administrator in a lot of trouble.

DCC also allows two clients to establish a direct client connection for chat. This is a secure form of communication, since messages are not sent through the IRC network.

/DCC CHAT

Initiates a direct client connection chat to the given nick, who must repond with DCC CHAT. Once established, messages are sent over with "/MSG =Nickname ...".