Is there a way to make a persistent IRC account that I can read missed / old messages with?

So, I'm new to IRC.

I made a nickname with a password through nickserv on the channel that I usually participate in.

What I want to know is if there's a way I can read messages that I've missed when my computer's not on, or if I'm not connected?

I heard someone IRL mention that there are people with "persistent accounts" who check in every few days and read over all the stuff they've missed. How do you do this?

Sorry for the vague question. I've tried google, and started reading this and this, but I'm just not really seeing what I'm looking for. The "/help" command didn't "help" either.

Thanks!

PS: I'm using ERC and IRC client for Emacs.

Edit: After reading the answers, I found Ezbounce. Setting it up was easy, and figuring out how to use it wasn't too bad.

Peter Ajtai

Posted 2010-06-28T23:27:44.430

Reputation: 892

Answers

What you are looking for is a BNC also known as a Bouncer. It sits in the channel at all times from a shell account (as discussed in another answer) and you connect to it. You can have it log and feed you the log when you login or you can read the log on the server itself.

One note on your free shell account. I would watch out. Most shell providers block irc due to DDoS attacks.

Unfundednut

Posted 2010-06-28T23:27:44.430

Reputation: 6 650

Thanks. The IRC's fine through the shell, since I use Emacs through a shell and ERC (Emacs IRC client) works fine for me. I'll have to look into BNC. – Peter Ajtai – 2010-06-29T03:25:06.307

BTW, think you linked to the wrong wikipedia article. You linked to BNC connectors... as in wires. Think you meant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNC_(software)

– Peter Ajtai – 2010-06-29T03:26:29.830

@Peter yea I messed that up lol thanks for the heads up fixed it. – Unfundednut – 2010-06-29T03:54:33.500

Also, I would stay away from 'free' bouncers. Some will capture your NickServ/Q/L/whatever bot password. – Hello71 – 2010-07-06T00:41:33.210

If you don't like the bouncer idea anymore, have a look at the IRC distributed irc clients Quassel IRC or Smuxi.

They use a more heavyweight connection instead of just proxying IRC, enabling more functionality and seamlessness.

guruz

Posted 2010-06-28T23:27:44.430

Reputation: 151

My solution to this problem has been to keep a Raspberry Pi on 24/7 at home (costs about $10 / EUR10 per year to run) and run the IRSSI client on it. Then, I ssh into the raspberry pi from time-to-time and keep up-to-date.

Using Byobu means I can run several handy CLI applications this way without having to close any or exit the session when I log out.

TenLeftFingers

Posted 2010-06-28T23:27:44.430

Reputation: 163

Unless the server supports it, no. You could theoretically buy a cheap shell account, then run a simple IRC bot on it that logs everything said, though.

Hello71

Posted 2010-06-28T23:27:44.430

Reputation: 7 636

Oh, well, my web hosting comes free shell accounts, so that's not a problem.... so basically there's nothing default, but you could make a bot to do it for you. – Peter Ajtai – 2010-06-29T00:07:03.340

Or just keep the window open 24/7, that works too. – Hello71 – 2010-06-29T01:03:47.110