IRC Channel / Discord¶

👏 Overview¶

As announced in the forums everyone interested can communicate in realtime using the internet relay chat (or IRC). Well known clients for CLI are Weechat or Irssi and for GUI Hexchat.

Besides that communication is also possible via Discord.

🔌 Connect¶

IRC¶

Libera:

Server: irc.libera.chat
Ports: 6697 / non-encrypted: 6667
Channel: #armbian

OFTC:

Server: irc.oftc.net
Ports: 6697 / non-encrypted: 6667
Channel: #armbian

In order to enter main #armbian channels registration with Nickserv is mandatory. Check Libera Chat documentation for further information.

Discord¶

Simply click here: https://discord.com/invite/armbian

Channels starting with #armbian- are relayed between Discord and Libera IRC so it does not matter if you join IRC or Discord as both receive your messages. Check #welcome-and-rules for more information. The main #armbian channel and #armbian-announcements are relayed between Discord, Libera IRC and OFTC IRC.

🛑 Rules¶

Forums registration terms and rules apply for our chats: https://forum.armbian.com/terms

💬 Channels¶

#armbian is the project’s main channel. Issue tracking, peer-to-peer user support or upcoming release planning talks.
#armbian-announcements : important messages from the Armbian team. You definitely want to idle here. Moderated channel.
#armbian-devel : build engine development topics
#armbian-desktop : desktop environment development
#armbian-csc unsupported/deprecated board talk
#armbian-allwinner Allwinner SoC talk
#armbian-amlogic Amlogic SoC talk
#armbian-broadcom Broadcom SoC talk
#armbian-rockchip Rockchip SoC talk
#armbian-offtopic General chit chat
#armbian-commits is a moderated channel. Whenever a new interaction with a repository on Github happens it will be announced. Also newly added issues on Jira will be pasted. User chat is not possible.
#armbian-rss is a live forum feed. Whenever a new post in the Armbian Forums is made it will be announced here. User chat is not possible. Of course, you can also enable desktop notification in your favorite browser for the forums.

Everybody is free to join any of these channels. We may or may not add more channels in future depending on the needs.

👮 Services¶

Besides the services offered by IRC (like Nickserv or Chanserv) Armbian has set up some own services (on Libera only).

ArmbianGithub

Has the purpose to fill #armbian-commits and #armbian-rss like described above

DC-IRC

Has the purpose to relay messages between IRC and Discord. Applies for all channels beginning with #armbian-.

ArmbianHelper

Allows searching for Issues and Task on Jira
- If you know the actual task id simply write it to the channel and the bot will look it up. Like AR-123
- Search issue by keyword/s in the summary. Like ,searchissue Allwinner H6
  Take note of the ,. Will output up to three results.
Allows searching forums via Google API (not very precise though)
- Example: ,g Allwinner H6 panfrost
A few more minor commands, mostly used by staff or do not need introduction
- .nonprofit, .sed, .contribute, .rtfm, .fortune, .sunxi, .meson, help, help irc, .tvboxes
Translation for non-native English speakers
- Simply start your sentence with -- at the beginning and the bot will translate your message regardless of the source language into English.
  Note: This services will be activated manually on demand (like planned meetings for example) since its backend generates cost.

❔ FAQ¶

Why are there so many people in the channel and nobody is talking?
- It is pretty common for community IRC channels for people to simply idle there. Many also using so called IRC bouncers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNC_(software) that keeps their connection to the channel alive.

I wrote ‘Hi’ but nobody answered. How do I get support there?
- Probably there is nobody around at the time. Keep in mind that all users are spread around the globe and therefore living in many different time zones.
  It is a common habit to simply state your question or issue and then wait patiently for an answer. Depending how complex this may take up to a few hours because most Armbian contributors have detailed knowledge in a specific board family only.
Is the chat history public as well?
- Yes. All conversation is redundantly logged. These logs are open to the public. You can find them here: http://irc.armbian.com
Why do some people have odd hostnames like @armbian/staff/lanefu or @user/username?
- These hostnames are so called project affiliation cloaks. These are meant to show a users affiliation to a specific project and their role there.
Can I have that too?
- Yes. An Armbian affiliation cloak can be requested from Werner either via forums or IRC. They usually will be granted if you are a well known member in forums, a contributor via Github or donated to the project. Make sure you identified yourself to Nickserv beforehand. If you cannot find yourself in the list above you are free to request an unaffiliated cloak from Libera staff. Join #libera for that.
How can I protect my nickname so nobody can spoof me?
- Register your nick with Libera’s Nickserv service. Check https://libera.chat/guides/registration
  Even though it is not mandatory you should register and identify with the services as other channels for example may not allow unregistered users to chat or join at all as anti-spam measure.
Why do some users have voice (+v) in channel?
- As mentioned in forums “all contributors to the project, regardless if forums staff, contributor on Github or well known and longtime active user” may get voice on request.

Should I add away to my nick if I am AFK? Like Werner|away
- No. Please use the /away [reason] command as intended. For an explanation please have a look at the ZNC Wiki.

👉 Bottom line¶

If you have any questions, comments regarding the IRC channels and/or services or found an issue in this documentation for think you can enhance it get in touch with Werner either via forums or IRC.

By the way if you like to have a free IRC bouncer to always be up-to-date and never miss a conversation again you should check out this thread.