           Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) concerning Epona
           =================================================

Index:

 1. What is Epona?

 2. Where can I find Epona?

 3. Does Epona run under Windows?

 4. Can I send you questions without reading the FAQ, INSTALL or 
    README files?

 5. When I run "make", I get an error message like "missing separator",
   "Unassociated shell command", "Unexpected end of line seen", etc.

 6. I get an error like "Makefile.inc not found".

 7. I typed "./services" at the command line, but nothing happened!

 8. I need support for the XYZ protocol.

 9. Whenever I start Epona, I get a message on my IRC server saying
    "connection refused" or something similar, and Epona gives an error
    message from the server saying "Closing Link: ...".

10. My IRC server is giving me messages like "Connection to
    services.whatever.net[127.0.0.1] activated" and then "Access denied --
    no N line".  Why?

11. When I say "/connect services.*", it doesn't work!

12. Epona complains in the logfile about being unable to load the
    default language.

13. Epona always dies after about five minutes, saying "FATAL ERROR!
    Can't back up nick.db".

14. Epona starts up okay, but if I try to register a nickname, it comes
    back with "Sorry, registration failed."

15. Epona crashed with a segmentation fault.

16. Epona's channel mode setting doesn't work.  I can't set modes with
    OperServ, and every time ChanServ tries to set a mode, my server
    reverses the change.

17. Using the OperServ JUPE command results in server messages like
    "Server juped.server introduced by non-hub server services.my.net".

18. I can't use the ADMIN command to add Services admins--it tells me
    "Permission denied."

19. When I add an AKILL, the users matching it don't get killed.

20. Epona reports (via /stats u or /msg OperServ STATS) a different
    number of users online than I get from doing /lusers.

21. Epona ignored the SET SUCCESSOR setting and deleted a channel when
    the founder expired.

22. Trying to use OperServ gives me "Access denied", but my nick is in the
    ServicesRoot directive and is registered, and I've identified for my
    nick.

23. Epona spricht kein Deutsch!, etc.  (Epona doesn't speak my
    language!)

24. I selected a language other than English, but sometimes Epona sends
    responses in English instead.

25. I've found a bug that's not mentioned here or in the
    BUGS files.  What should I do?

26. Your Services program doesn't do XYZ like DALnet Services.  What's
    wrong?

27. I've got a great new idea for Epona.  Do you want it?

28. Examples of features I have been asked about and why I won't add (or
      haven't yet added) them--so don't ask me about them.
      
29. How do I add bots to BotServ?

30. When I used the OperServ RAW command, Epona and/or my network
    crashed, or did weird things! Please fix this bug!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. What is Epona?

	Epona is a set of services for IRC networks.  See the README
	file for more information.


2. Where can I find Epona?

	The latest version can always be found at the official Epona
	distribution site:

	ftp://ftp.pegsoft.net/epona/


3. Does Epona run under Windows?

	No. And I won't port it to Windows anyway, so don't bother to ask.


4. Can I send you questions without reading the FAQ, INSTALL or README 
   files?

	Sure you can.  It's one of the easiest ways I know to get your
	messages ignored.


5. When I run "make", I get an error message like "missing separator",
   "Unassociated shell command", "Unexpected end of line seen", etc.

	Your make program isn't compatible with the Makefile for Epona.
	The Makefile was designed to work with GNU make, and as such may
	not work on other systems' "make" programs.  If you get an error
	from "make", obtain GNU make from ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/
	(or wherever you prefer) and use it instead of your system's
	default "make".  Note that GNU make may already be installed on
	your system; try using the command "gmake" instead of "make".

	The make programs bundled with SunOS/Solaris and FreeBSD have been
	reported not to work; you will need to use GNU make on these
	systems.

6. I get an error like "Makefile.inc not found".

	You forgot to run the configure script first.  See the INSTALL file
	for compilation instructions.


7. I typed "./services" at the command line, but nothing happened!

	Epona puts itself in the background when it starts, so you get
	your shell prompt right back.  Meanwhile, Epona will continue
	setting up, then connect to the IRC server specified in
	services.conf (or on the command line).  If it doesn't connect, you
	probably specified the wrong server type when running the configure
	script.  (Also make sure that you are actually running one of the
	supported servers.  There are a gazillion different variations on
	the basic IRC protocol out there, and I have neither the time nor
	the desire to add support for them.)

	The recommended server, under which Epona has been developed, is
	the latest Bahamut. DreamForge 4.6.7 will also work fine, but it's
	a bit obsolete nowadays. Derivatives of Bahamut and DreamForge may
	also work, if they don't change the server<->server protocol too
	much; contact their authors for more information.

	As always, you can check the log file (services.log by default) for
	error messages.


8. I need support for the XYZ protocol.

	Tough luck, unless you want to write support for it yourself.  See
	the previous answer.


9. Whenever I start Epona, I get a message on my IRC server saying
    "connection refused" or something similar, and Epona gives an error
    message from the server saying "Closing Link: ...".

	See seection 3 of the INSTALL file.


10. My IRC server is giving me messages like "Connection to
    services.whatever.net[127.0.0.1] activated" and then "Access denied --
    no N line".  Why?

	This is typically caused by including a port number in the C:line
	for services, which tells your server to try to autoconnect to it
	(depending on the class (Y:line) settings).  This is not what you
	want, because Epona will connect to the server itself, but does
	not listen for servers to connect to it.  The solution is to remove
	the port number from the C:line.


11. When I say "/connect services.*", it doesn't work!

	Of course not.  RTFM (Read The Fine Manual), and see the previous
	answer.


12. Epona complains in the logfile about being unable to load the
    default language.

	You forgot to run "make install".


13. Epona always dies after about five minutes, saying "FATAL ERROR!
    Can't back up nick.db".

	Make sure that the user Epona runs as has write access to the
	data directory, and that the data directory actually exists (the
	latter shouldn't be a problem if you ran the configure script).
	This means Epona needs write and execute permission on the data
	directory itself and execute permission on every parent directory
	of the data directory.


14. Epona starts up okay, but if I try to register a nickname, it comes
    back with "Sorry, registration failed."

	Make sure you've selected the correct IRC server type in the
	configure script; see question 9 for details.


15. Epona crashed with a segmentation fault.

	See if you can reproduce this by doing a certain sequence of
	things.  If so, please report it to me (see part 6 of README file).  If
	not, you're probably out of luck; if you like, you can report it to
	me anyway, but chances are it won't get fixed if I don't have
	instructions on reproducing it.  If you do have such a problem, you
	may find the crontab utility useful for dealing with it.


16. Epona's channel mode setting doesn't work.  I can't set modes with
    OperServ, and every time ChanServ tries to set a mode, my server
    reverses the change.

	Make sure EVERY servers on your network has a U: line for Services in
	ircd.conf, for example:

	U:services.whatever.net:*:*


17. Using the OperServ JUPE command results in server messages like
    "Server juped.server introduced by non-hub server services.my.net".

	Services' uplink must have an H: line for Services in the
	ircd.conf file, which looks something like:

	H:*::services.whatever.net


18. I can't use the ADMIN command to add Services admins--it tells me
    "Permission denied."

	Did you define yourself as the Services root?  You need to insert
	your nickname in the ServicesRoot directive in services.conf.


19. When I add an AKILL, the users matching it don't get killed.

	Use the AkillOnAdd configuration directive.


20. Epona reports (via /stats u or /msg OperServ STATS) a different
    number of users online than I get from doing /lusers.

	Epona doesn't count its own pseudo-clients (NickServ, ChanServ,
	etc.) in its user count.


21. Epona ignored the SET SUCCESSOR setting and deleted a channel when
    the founder expired.

	Normally, this is because the successor had too many channels
	registered; in this case, you will see an entry in the log file
	like the following:

	[date] Successor (SuccessorNick) of channel #somechannel owns too
	       many channels, deleting channel #somechannel

	If you don't get a message like this or you can verify that the
	successor wasn't running into the channel limit, please report it
	using the bug-reporting procedure below (see section 6 of the 
	README file).


22. Trying to use OperServ gives me "Access denied", but my nick is in the
    ServicesRoot directive and is registered, and I've identified for my
    nick.

	You need to be opered (i.e. user mode +o) to access OperServ.


23. Epona spricht kein Deutsch!, etc.  (Epona doesn't speak my
    language!)

	See section 5 of the README file.

24. I selected a language other than English, but sometimes Epona sends
     responses in English instead.

	Some language files are not complete--in other words, they don't
	have a translation of every message Epona uses, but only some of
	them.  In this case, the missing messages will be displayed in
	English.  You can either wait for the primary translator to provide
	me with a translation, or do the translation yourself and send me
	the messages translated into your language.


25. I've found a bug that's not mentioned here or in the README or
    BUGS files.  What should I do?

	See section 6 of the README file.


26. Your Services program doesn't do XYZ like DALnet (or other) Services.  
    What's wrong?

	Nothing is wrong, except your expectations.  Epona is a
	completely different program from that used on DALnet; they are
	similar in concept only.


27. I've got a great new idea for Services.  Do you want it?

	I'm always interested in hearing new ideas.  HOWEVER, I have very
	specific plans for what to include and not to include in Epona.
	As a rule, I don't add anything that can be equivalently done by
	other means, or that I don't consider useful; see below for
	examples of things I don't plan to add.

	My general intent is for Epona to provide as much functionality
	as possible--while staying as lean as possible.  So features which 
	are arguably beneficial will tend to be added, while features of
	limited or no benefit or which can be equally provided by something
	else already in use will tend to be passed over.


28. Examples of features I have been asked about and why I won't add (or
    haven't yet added) them--so don't ask me about them:

	- An option to make ChanServ stay in some/all registered channels:
	  I see absolutely no necessity for this feature, since BotServ
	  already does this anyway.

	- A "current time" field in NickServ and ChanServ INFO displays:
	  Most people have clocks of some sort either on their computer
	  screens or on their walls (or both), and all IRC servers, as well
	  as Services, have a command to return the server's current time.
	  Thus a current-time field in INFO displays would simply take up
	  extra space for no reason.
	
	- A HostServ: v(anity)hosts allow easy ban evasion, are not 
	  supported by all IRCds and their sole purpose is to serve pride
	  of some users that forgot that IRC is for *chat*.
	  

29. How do I add bots to BotServ?

    (Believe it or not, this is really the most frequently asked
     question.)
    Read /msg BotServ HELP and /msg BotServ HELP BOT.

30. When I used the OperServ RAW command, Epona and/or my network
    crashed, or did weird things! Please fix this bug!

	"That's not a bug, it's a feature."
	
	Have you ever typed /msg OperServ HELP RAW? It's clearly stated
	there that this command is dangerous and that its use may result
	in very bad things.
	
	And that's why this command has been disabled by default. If you
	enabled and used it, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN. All help requests will 
	be ignored, even if the problem happens not immediately.
