YSTV IRC

YSTV maintains an IRC channel on Freenode, #ystv. The XChat client is recommended, though you are free to use any you wish. A web client is available at webchat.freenode.net. IRCCloud provides a good mobile client, with a week's free trial of permanent connection. YSTV are also credited with the creation of the NaSTA channel, #nasta at the NaSTA North Conference 2014.

NickServ

It is recommended you register your chosen nickname with NickServ in order to prevent impersonation. Type /msg nickserv register <password> <email address> to register your name. You'll receive a confirmation email with a code. Once you're registered, upon entering any channel on the same network you can type /msg nickserv identify <password> to confirm your identity and boot off anyone using your name.

Morrissey

Morrissey is YSTV's IRC bot, named after Morrissey the YSTV stuffed rabbit. Maintained by Tom Cheyney, it has many useful functions, and a few fun ones. Principally, a Python script on the encode server tells Morrissey when the live stream has been showing black or playing silence (i.e. dead air) for too long, and when transmission has resumed. Morrissey announces these events in the IRC channel. He also has interactive commands.

• !weather will pull a summary of the current weather local to YSTV. For more detail, use the Electronics department's live weather page. !WEATHER does something different entirely.
• !quote <string> gets Morrissey to pull a quote from the quotes board. Omit the search string for a completely random quote.
• !coin <number_of_flips> gets Morrissey to flip coins for you.
• !time tells you the time according to YSTV.
• !nextevent displays upcoming items in the schedule.
• !flooded provides a bite-sized IRC-based alternative to hasystvfloodedyet.com.
• !slap <user> provides a YSTV-specific alternative to the IRC /slap command.
• !kill <user> gets a bit more violent.
• !cuddle <user> seems, on the surface at least, to be an antidote to !kill. Variables by Greg Ebdon.
• !random <user> is a special window into the mind of Helen Hobin.