Perlbot Frequently Asked Questions  //  http://perlbot.sourceforge.net
Authors: Andrew Burke, Jeremy Muhlich
         <burke@bitflood.org / jmuhlich@bitflood.org>
----------------------------------------------------------------------

What is Perlbot?
================

   Perlbot is an IRC bot written in Perl. It depends on Net::IRC and its goals
   are simplicity and modularity. The base bot allows auto-opping, notes,
   multiple channels, channel redirection, etc., but much, much more is
   possible through the use of plugins. Many plugins are included, and it
   should be easy for anyone with some knowledge of Perl to write her own.


How do I make this damn thing run?
==================================

   Please, please, please read and understand the manual.  If you still don't
   have your bot working after looking over the manual and following the
   suggestions therein, email the authors or post to the sourceforge.net
   project page.


I want the Google and SpelCheck plugins to work!
================================================

   The Google and SpelCheck plugins both use the Google web APIs. To make
   them work, you'll need to install the Net::Google perl module and go
   to http://www.google.com/apis to get an API key.  You should then
   edit the Google and SpelCheck config.xml files and enter the
   key you obtained in them.


I don't want to edit this configuration by hand!
================================================

   Until there are good XML editors supporting XML Schemas, you're kind of
   out of luck, sorry.  One editor that seems fairly functional is MLView,
   which can be had from: http://www.freesoftware.fsf.org/mlview/


Can I configure Perlbot right from IRC?
=======================================

   User management can be done from IRC, which is what we have found to
   be the most common configuration task.


Why won't my perlbot connect?
=============================

   Make sure you've specified valid servers in your config.  Check them
   with another irc client to make sure they're up.  If your bot is still
   not connecting, set PERLBOT_DEBUG to 1 in your shell before running
   the bot and look for errors.  If you're still not connecting and don't
   know what to do, email the authors or post to the sourceforge.net project
   page.


Why does it keep saying "You are not an admin" to me?
=====================================================

   Make sure you've made yourself admin in the config file.
   Also check to make sure your hostmask is set correctly.


Why does my hostmask not work?
==============================

   Perlbot requires well-formed hostmasks in the format:

     nick!user@host

   It also requires relatively "secure" hostmasks.  Your user and host
   fields MUST contain some fixed text:

      *!*@*                  <---- NOT allowed
      *!*@*.someplace.com    <---- NOT allowed
      *!me@*                 <---- NOT allowed
      *!*me@*.someplace.com  <---- allowed


Do I need to restart when I change the configuration or add/upgrade a plugin?
=============================================================================

   No!  You can cause the bot to reload its configuration from IRC by sending
   the reload command as an owner.  From your shell you can send it a HUP
   signal by doing:  killall -HUP perlbot.pl  This will also cause the bot
   to reread its configuration.

   Plugins can be loaded, unloaded and reloaded dynamically.  Ask the bot
   for help on the PluginControl plugin.


Where can I get more plugins?
=============================

   There currently is no repository for plugins.  However, the best place
   to check would be http://perlbot.sourceforge.net followed by a Google
   search.


Howcome plugin X isn't working for me?
======================================

   It's possible that plugins will not load without warning if they have a
   problem.  If a plugin appears not to be working set PERLBOT_DEBUG equal
   to 1 in your shell before running the bot.  You'll see each plugin load
   when the bot starts up and any error messages from plugins which could
   not be loaded.


I'm not on IRC from my usual place, will the bot still know me?
===============================================================

   You should use the auth command to identify yourself with the bot.  Ask
   the bot for help on auth for more information.
