Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to the appropriate section of the glossary.
account See "member account."
authentication The process that verifies the identity of a user trying to establish a connection to the chat server. Chat Service supports authentication of incoming client connections using clear-text passwords, Windows NT® LAN Manager (NTLM), or any authentication method compatible with the Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI).
away An automatic text message sent by users who are not actively participating in the conversation. Away text is only sent in response to private user-to-user messages.
base name The name of the channel you are cloning. For example, the clones #TestChan1 and #TestChan2 have a base name of #TestChan. See also "cloneable channel."
bot A set of scripted IRC commands that run as a program on a chat client. A bot can operate as a user by reacting to events, such as a user joining a channel, or by responding to specific commands issued by channel members. Bot is short for "robot."
channel host A chat user who manages a channel and its members and can participate in conversations on that channel from a chat client. A channel host can ban users from joining the channel, change the channel topic, and use the IRC KICK command to remove members from the channel. However, a channel host cannot remove ("kick") or ban the owner of a channel.
channel member A chat user who participates in channel conversations from a chat client.
channel owner A chat user who owns a channel, manages channel hosts and members, and participates in conversations on that channel from a chat client. In addition to having the ability to do everything that a channel host can do, a channel owner can remove ("kick") or ban channel hosts and other channel owners.
channel prefix A one- or two-character prefix that identifies the type of channel. A number sign (#) denotes an IRC global channel. An ampersand (&) denotes an IRC local channel. A percent sign (%) followed by a number sign or an ampersand denotes an extended global channel or an extended local channel, respectively.
See also "extended channel," "global channel," or "local channel."
chat network Two or more chat servers that communicate over a logical network connection.
chat room See "dynamic channel" or "persistent channel."
chat sysop A chat user who monitors and controls a server's dynamic channels from a chat client, and any persistent channels the sysop has been granted access to. A chat sysop has no special permissions in a channel unless the Sysop is owner option in the Modes property sheet of the channel is selected. A sysop can also close channels using the IRC KILL command or the chatcmd /KillChannel option.
Like the chat sysop manager, a chat sysop can temporarily grant or deny access to the server or network and administer dynamic or persistent channels.
chat sysop manager A chat user who manages a chat server's sysops and controls Chat Service from the Chat Service Manager or chatcmd utilities. This gives the sysop manager full administrative control over the service without requiring Windows NT administrator permissions on the server. The sysop manager can also use the Chat Web Administrator utility to manage persistent channels, ban chat users, and modify server messages.
A sysop manager can also temporarily grant or deny access to the server or network. The sysop manager assumes ownership of any channel he or she joins, and cannot be denied access to or removed from any channel. The sysop manager can also override any action enacted by a sysop, such as a user ban.
cloneable channel A persistent channel that duplicates itself when its member limit is reached. For example, suppose the cloneable channel #TestChan has a member limit of 10. The eleventh user who tries to join #TestChan is placed in a new channel called #TestChan1. The twenty-first user is placed in #TestChan2, and so on, up to a maximum of 99 clones. Each clone retains the properties of the original channel.
A chat sysop manager can create cloneable dynamic channels using the IRCX command CREATE #channel d.
See also "base name."
dynamic channel A temporary channel or chat room created by a chat user. The user creates a dynamic channel from a chat client program using the IRC JOIN command or the IRCX CREATE command.
extension See "server extension."
extended channel A channel whose name contains UTF-8 encoded UNICODE characters. Extended channels are supported only by IRCX and are visible only to IRCX clients, such as Microsoft® Chat version 2.1.
The name of an extended global channel begins with the percent and number signs (%#). The name of an extended local channel begins with the percent sign and the ampersand (%&).
global channel A channel that can be seen from all servers on a chat network. Global channel names are preceded by a number (#) sign. Compare with "local channel."
GUID Globally Unique Identifier. A unique number that identifies a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file. The GUID is generated when the DLL is registered. An example of a GUID is {F1CC3C17-09E3-11d1-873D-00C04FB6E8E9}.
in-band command An administrative command sent to a chat server over the client-to-server TCP port. In-band commands use the server chat protocol (for example, IRC) as their method of transport. For example, the IRC commands that a user runs from a chat client, such as PROP and JOIN, are in-band commands.
The in-band commands associated with the Channel Transcription and Profanity Filter extensions provide an alternative to graphical interface tools, such as Chat Service Manager, for configuring and managing these extensions. These in-band commands are run from the chat client command line.
IRC Internet Relay Chat. This is the client-server chat protocol defined in RFC 1459.
IRCX Microsoft's proposed extensions to the IRC protocol.
knock Text message sent to channel hosts when a chat user attempts but fails to join a channel.
local channel On a chat network, a channel that can be seen only on a specific server. Local channel names are preceded by an ampersand (&). Compare with "global channel."
member account A group of users who can be granted exclusive access to a persistent channel. When you associate a channel with a member account, you grant channel access only to users who are members of the account.
NTLM Windows NT® LAN Manager. This is the standard authentication method used by Windows NT® clients and servers.
operator A chat sysop or chat sysop manager.
persistent channel A permanent channel or chat room on a chat server. Persistent channels can be created only from the Chat Service Manager or the Chat Web Administrator utilities by a Windows NT® administrator or a sysop manager.
There are two types of persistent channels: one that starts only when someone joins the channel, and one that starts automatically as though someone had joined it. Any started channels that are not secret or hidden are visible to chat clients using the LIST or LISTX commands.
port A unique, protocol-specific number that identifies the type of traffic on a network connection. For example, chat servers use port 6665 by default to exchange Transport Control Protocol (TCP) information. A chat client uses port 6667 by default (and port 7000 as an alternate) to exchange TCP information with a chat server.
portal The connection between two chat servers on a network. A portal consists of a name, an IP address, a port number, and a unique number that identifies the chat server at the other end of the portal.
priority The order in which Chat Service notifies a server extension of an event. An extension with a higher priority can prevent events from reaching Chat Service or server extensions with a lower priority.
Consider a chat server running the Profanity Filter and Channel Transcription extensions. If the priority of the Profanity Filter is higher than that of the Channel Transcription extension, an instance of foul language can be prevented from reaching the Channel Transcription extension and, therefore, from becoming part of the transcript.
protocol command See "in-band command."
server extension A software module that enhances the functionality of Chat Service. Server extensions are based on the Chat Server Extensibility Model, which provides an object model for monitoring and controlling Chat Service properties. Extensions can be written using Microsoft® Visual Basic or Visual C++. The Profanity Filter and Channel Transcription extensions are based on this extensibility model.
SSPI Security Support Provider Interface. Provides a common interface for Microsoft and third-party authentication packages. SSPI authentication packages are provided by Authentication Service, a feature of Microsoft Site Server version 3.0.
state The set of functional properties associated with Chat Service on the server at any given time. The state information includes the server's persistent and dynamic channels and their membership, users currently logged on to the service, and any access restrictions that are in effect, such as user bans.
user class A logical collection of chat users whose membership is based on one or more criteria, such as their chat client protocol (for example, IRC) or their IP address. User classes allow you to protect your chat server and its users from flooding and other types of attacks.
You create classes to impose collective restrictions on groups of chat users, such as their ability to log on to the server, create or join dynamic channels, or become a channel owner or host. You can also regulate the processing of messages from class members and limit the number of channels they can create on the server.
whisper A private message that a channel member can send to one or more members of the same channel. To whisper in a channel, a member uses the IRCX WHISPER command and specifies each recipient by nickname.
A whisper is similar to the message a channel member sends using the IRC PRIVMSG command.
Windows NT administrator Has administrator permissions on the Windows NT Server that runs Chat Service. The administrator can use the Chat Service Manager or chatcmd utilities to manage and configure Chat Service on the server. The Windows NT administrator can also use the Chat Web Administrator utility to manage persistent channels, ban chat users, and modify server messages.