Users causing problems on chatnet often do so using flooding or clones using flooding. Many of these actions are against policies set by the isp's regarding usage of the system. policy concerning isp contact follows.

If it is necessary to contact an ISP or another agency concerning a users behavior on chatnet, this action should be taken by one person. If more than one person is making the contact, messages can be confused and positive results and responses do not always occur. The individual making the contact should be an admin or an oper, and preferedly someone who was involved in the incident, either directly or indirectly. It is necessary to have all necessary logs and other necessary information ready for disclosure in such cases. Proof of the abuse is necessary. Not all sources of logs received are reliable as logs can be falsified. If contact of federal agencies like the FBI occur, it should be brought to the attention of others via the admins so that there will be knowledge of the contact. The details need not be gone into in making such knowledge known. It is necessary to let others know when making contact so multiple contacts do not occur. Proof is not always easy to produce on irc, so caution is recommended in making contacts.

Channel Naming Policy:

Channel names may not contain any non-ASCII or special ASCII characters. More specifically, channels cannot contain spaces (tabs, spaces, etc.), ALT-0151, or any similar ASCII character.

Channel names may not start with any non-alphanumeric characters. This only allows "a" - "z", "A" - "Z", and "0" - "9" to start a channel name.

Channels that violate this policy can be removed as long as the following steps are taken:

1. /msg the channel operator(s) with a generic message similar to: The channel, #ChannelName, violates ChatNet channel-name policy. Please clear the channel within the next 3 minutes. If the channel is not cleared, I will be forced to lock the channel completely. Thanks for your cooperation.
2. If after 3 minutes the channel is not cleared, /join the channel and make the request within the channel. If no one responds, op yourself with ChatWorld and deop all the other channel operators. Then kick everyone and set a ban on *!*@* for 5 to 10 minutes. Once the channel has been idle, /part.

Channels are not to be killed (Killing a channel refers to massive /kills, deops, bans, and/or kicks by an IRC Operator.) due to there content or for personal reasons. For example, if a #KKK channel was created, no one has the right to kill the channel or give it non-equal treatment. (IE: Killing it for small violations that would otherwise just be a warning.)

ChatNet is a common carrier service, such as an Internet Service Provider or a telephone company. We do not censor content on the network, and have no intention to do so. A common carrier does *NOT* make editorial judgments due to the risk of becoming liable.

The issue of clearing child pornography channels has been raised numerous times by users, IRC Operators, and IRC Admins. Child pornography channels are to be treated with the above guidelines, but if someone sends you suspected child pornography, it is strongly suggested that you contact the local law enforcement agencies, in the US this is usually the FBI.

General Code of Conduct for #Nuthouse

#Nuthouse is the administration channel for ChatNet. The channel is run by the Administrators and IRC Operators of the servers on ChatNet. Because people come to #Nuthouse for help and administrative issues, the Ops in the channel should present themselves in a professional manner. All attempts should be made to be courteous to the users that come in #Nuthouse. It's not necessary to greet each and every person that comes in, but helping people should be a priority if you have the time. The following guidelines are to outline how everyday business should be conducted in #Nuthouse. Please note, these are just guidelines and not rules set in stone.

1. Be nice to users.
2. If a user is annoying .. tell them .. ignore them .. or even k/b them. Not necessarily in that order, but it is always nice to give some sort of warning and reason that way it will be clear to them what the problem was. Kills or G-Lines where a k/b or /ignore will solve the problem just as well, is a waste of resources.
3. Colors and the ability to play sounds are a nice features for IRC clients to some people, but not to all. Use of colors and playing of wavs in #Nuthouse should be minimized.
4. Comments with K9 shouldn't be offensive ... i.e. vulgar and rude, and the wavs that come with the comments shouldn't be either. All part of maintaining a professional atmosphere in #Nuthouse.
5. If you are in a bad mood, it is better to just leave the channel than to take out your frustrations on users. #Chatnet was created as a place to get away from the users, so use it.
6. If you have personal disagreements with a specific individual, it is always better to just /ignore them. It is probably the case that not everyone dislikes that person, and not being able to see them talk makes them a lot easier to be around.
7. IRCD limits the number of bans a channel is allowed. All bans set for the channel that are in the server are fair game to be cleared in a cleaning out process of the channel bans. If you want the ban to stay, use K9 to set the ban. Bans set through K9 stays in K9's database until they expire or are removed. Even if the ban is removed on the server level, the ban stays in K9's memory. Bans in K9 should only be removed by the person who set them. If an admin finds the need to remove a ban in K9 with just reason, the person who set the ban should be informed of the ban removal.
8. There is no need to have bots in #Nuthouse so they shouldn't be brought in the channel for any reason. The only exception to this is a bot used to provide ops to the channel service members, and only one bot is needed for this purpose.
9. Under most circumstances, there is no need to have a clone in #Nuthouse. It is usually enough of an impression on users with the number of ops as there are, clones just add to the issue.
10. Friends of the network are welcome in #Nuthouse as long as they abide by the code of conduct and maintain a friendly atmosphere in #Nuthouse. As with most problems, if they become one, they should be told and the problem fixed. If they don't want to get along, then they can move along. If they are an asset to the Network, addition to K9 is permissible by a admin providing there are no objections and someone takes responsibility for the "friend's" actions.
11. Idlers are allowed in #Nuthouse.  Users in #Nuthouse that interfere with the Operators providing help to users should be banned.  Users that do excessive chatting in #Nuthouse should be asked to leave and banned if they continue, because excessive Chatting can interfere with providing assistance to other users.

General Code of Conduct for #Help

#Help is the official ChatNet help channel. This channel is mostly run by Administrators, IRC Operators, and users of the network who want to devote their time in helping. Due to the fact that this is ChatNet's official help channel, and it represent the network as a whole, Ops in this channel should present themselves in a professional manner. All attempts should be made to be courteous to the users that come in #Help. Since excess idling is not permitted in this channel, Ops should greet users on join, and try to help them with their question/problem to the best of that Ops abilities. Once a user has been promptly greeted, and helped with his/her problem, they should then be asked if they are in need of anything else, if not, they should then be asked to /part #Help. The following guidelines are to outline how everyday business should be conducted in #Help. Please note, these are just guidelines and not rules set in stone.

1. Probably the most important rule of all . . . All Ops are to conduct themselves in a *USER FRIENDLY* fashion. This includes making all attempts to help users, and using good social habits.
2. If a user is annoying, or interfering with the process of helping others in the channel, they are to be first warned, and then kicked with a brief reason for the kick. If this user continues to cause trouble, they are to be promptly banned, with a brief explanation of what they did to result in banning from the channel.
3. Colors and the ability to play sounds are nice features for IRC clients to some people, but not to all. Use of colors and playing of sound files in #Help should be minimized, for they may interfere with the helping of other users.
4. Comments with K9 shouldn't be offensive . . . i.e. vulgar and rude, and the sound files that come with the comments shouldn't be all part of maintaining a professional atmosphere in #Help.
5. All Ops in this channel are Op'd for one specific reason, which is to help the users who join with their questions/problems. If an Op must leave their keyboard for any lengthy time, or are not able to help at a certain time, they are asked to either Deop, and Voice themselves, or to part #Help. In a better actuality, if you are not there to help, please do not come.
6. If you have personal disagreements with a specific individual, it is always better to just /ignore them. It is probably the case that not everyone dislikes that person, and not being able to see their comments makes them a lot easier to tolerate. This channel is strictly for help, and public issues are not to be acted upon in #Help.
7. IRCD limits the number of bans a channel is allowed. All bans set for the channel that are in the server are fair game to be cleared in a cleaning out process of the channel bans. If you want the ban to stay, use K9 to set the ban. Bans set through K9 stays in K9's database until they expire or are removed. Even if the ban is removed on the server level, the ban stays in K9's memory. Bans in K9 should only be removed by the person who set them. If an admin finds the need to remove a ban in K9 with just reason, the person who set the ban should be informed of the ban removal.
8. Under most circumstances, there should be no need for extra bots in #Help. Bots such as K9, ChatWorld, and HelpBot exempt this rule.
9. Under most circumstances, there is no need to have a clone in #Help. It is usually enough of an impression on users with the number of ops as there are, clones just add to the issue.
10. Access levels will vary as helpers are moved from the level of trainee, to op, senior op, and so forth. All helpers should respect each other, that includes lower access levels and higher access levels. Abuse of access, and using higher access against lower will not be tolerated in #Help.
11. Idlers are not allowed in #Help. Users in #Help that interferes with the Channel Operators providing help to users should be banned. Users that do excessive chatting in #Help should be asked to leave and banned if they continue, because excessive Chatting can interfere with providing assistance to other users.
12. #Help is a official channel which under ChatNet policy grants access to Administrators and Operators of the network, however it is asked that if you do not plan to help on a regular basis, and actually be a part of this channel, please do not come for access, or interfere with channel affairs that do not concern you. This channel is owned by the network; however, it is lead by whomever is involved and works to make the channel successful. No one is required to help in this channel, so if you feel obligated, don’t.

DoS Attacks & Glines

Due to the ease of spoofing packets on the Internet and the ability to modify logfiles, ChatNet cannot assume that a log entry's data is valid. Thus, there is not sufficient cause for a gline. This applies to things such as ICMP floods, nukes, teardrops, and other denial of service attacks done on a specific user or operator of the ChatNet network. When a denial of service attack is being launched at a ChatNet server, however, and investigations are done to find the root cause of the DoS attack with a program such as MCI's DoSTracker, a gline can be placed.