Community:Gnug-IRC

Gnug-IRC is an IRC server run by a handful of folks in the Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander community; namely those affiliated with TAUniverse.

History
It was initially known as TA-IRC. Sometime during 2006, its name changed to Gnug-IRC, though it is still the same network.

Rooms on Gnug-IRC
Gnug-IRC is notable for its hosting of not one, but two of the largest Zelda-related chat rooms in the Zelda fansite community: #zelda, the Zelda Universe chat room, and the slightly smaller #vgrc, the shared chat between VGRC and ZeldaInformer.

Other notable channels on Gnug-IRC include:
 * #gnug - The home channel for the network
 * #tauniverse - The chat room for TAUniverse
 * #supcom - The chat room for SupCom Universe
 * #nowplaying - A hangout founded by luckz for users to spam their nowplaying scripts and chat about music
 * #bored - A formerly popular hangout on the server. One day, most of them packed up and left for another server
 * #future - An alternative hangout for some people in #zelda and #vgrc
 * #zangaroa - DOESN'T EXIST

The official statement from Gnug-IRC's owners are as follows:
There are three general server policies. One for general management, one regarding freedom of speech, and one for the use of IRCBots.

General Management Policy: The general policy of the server is to let channels manage themselves through the hierarchy provided by chanserv. This means that channels essentially define their own rules, so long as they fall within the constraints of the server rules. ChanOps enforce their rules as they see fit. The role of our IRCOps, in addition to enforcing the server policies and rules, is to primarily deal with issues that arise across multiple channels and affect users in those channels.

Freedom of Speech Policy: There's a tension between the right to have total freedom of speech and the right of another to not be forced to see certain things. We moderate that tension here in a fairly simple manner. Pretty much anything can be said INSIDE a channel, so long as it conforms to the channel and server rules. Anything visible from OUTSIDE of the channel will conform to a happy medium that includes no profanity, no expressions of racial or religious hate, no explicit sexual references, and no advertising. Interpretation of this policy for specific instances is at the discretion of the server IRCOps.

IRCBot Policy: We aren't against the usage of bots in general. However, please check with an IRCOp before bringing one onto the server. As a general guideline, no bots should be put in a channel without first getting approval from the channel owner/operators.

Server Rules: The server rules are quite simple. Follow them and you'll have a pleasant stay. Repeatedly break them and you'll be gone. Nothing substitutes for common sense either.

The rules are:
 * No warez at all.
 * No fserves or xdcc at all.
 * No channels explicitly for pornography and no pornography in channels that prohibit it.
 * No trojans and no DCCing of any viruses or trojans.
 * No ban evasion.
 * No nick stealing or impersonating others.
 * No nuking and no excessive number of clones.

Connecting to Gnug-IRC
Simply have your IRC client of choice connect to

Alternatively, there are a handful of web-based clients you can choose from, such as the...
 * VGRC webchat (Java based)
 * ZU webchat (Java based)
 * TAU webchat (CGI based, ideal for saving resources)