# Freenode IRC Administration Guidelines and Tips
 
 This is not meant to be a general "Here's how to IRC" document, so if you're
 looking for that, check Google instead. ♥
 
 If you've been charged with helping maintain one of Docker's now many IRC
 channels, this might turn out to be useful.  If there's information that you
 wish you'd known about how a particular channel is organized, you should add
 deets here! :)
 
 ## `ChanServ`
 
 Most channel maintenance happens by talking to Freenode's `ChanServ` bot.  For
 example, `/msg ChanServ ACCESS <channel> LIST` will show you a list of everyone
 with "access" privileges for a particular channel.
 
 A similar command is used to give someone a particular access level.  For
 example, to add a new maintainer to the `#docker-maintainers` access list so
 that they can contribute to the dicsussions (after they've been merged
 appropriately in a `MAINTAINERS` file, of course), one would use `/msg ChanServ
 ACCESS #docker-maintainers ADD <nick> maintainer`.
 
 To setup a new channel with a similar `maintainer` access template, use a
 command like `/msg ChanServ TEMPLATE <channel> maintainer +AV` (`+A` for letting
 them view the `ACCESS LIST`, `+V` for auto-voice; see `/msg ChanServ HELP FLAGS`
 for more details).
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
 The most common cause of not-getting-auto-`+v` woes is people not being
 `IDENTIFY`ed with `NickServ` (or their current nickname not being `GROUP`ed with
 their main nickname) -- often manifested by `ChanServ` responding to an `ACCESS
 ADD` request with something like `xyz is not registered.`.
 
 This is easily fixed by doing `/msg NickServ IDENTIFY OldNick SecretPassword`
 followed by `/msg NickServ GROUP` to group the two nicknames together.  See
 `/msg NickServ HELP GROUP` for more information.