Introduction: Hacks #68-72

You can't use IRC without a connection to the Internet, and if you have a connection to the Internet, you may as well use it to its full potential. This chapter is all about using the Internet to link bots together or access them remotely.

By coincidence of misfortune, similar communities sometimes start channels on different IRC networks. When they realize they share the same interests but exist on different networks, it's not an easy task to get everyone to migrate to the same network. The first hack in this chapter covers one solution, which creates a bot that links channels on different networks and relays messages between them. Communities that run infobots can even share their factoids with one another by bridging them together with a separate bot.

By connecting directly to an IRC bot, you can watch remote log files as they fill or even access a command prompt to enable you to perform maintenance tasks. This chapter shows you how to achieve both of these feats.

The final hack in this chapter shows you how to create a file-sharing bot, allowing you to distribute your favorite music or pictures to people in your IRC channel.