#Help is the most active general help channel on Undernet. There is always someone there to help you find the answers to your questions about Undernet, IRC, computers, or just about anything else.

Our helpers are very knowledgeable people. They work hard to keep up with the latest changes in Undernet and computers as a whole, and if they do not directly know the answer to your question, they usually know where you may be able to find it.

Anyone can join #Help at any time.
We specifically ask that if you are not an official helper or trainee in our channel that you DO NOT answer user questions.
If you wish to observe and see how things are done, we have no problem with you watching and learning, but we train our members and helpers on a strict basis, therefore the reason we ask that you only observe till told otherwise.

We are here to offer our wisdom and experience to resolve your problems and make your IRC experience more fun. To ensure a fast and smooth resolution to your problem, check out our guide to proper help channel behavior.

No need to ask "Can I ask a question?" - Just ask it!
Try to formulate your problem as well as you can; the better your description, the better we can help.

#Help is a multi-language help channel but we prefer to keep it english only. If you need help in another language, please wait until someone will assist you, if no one speaks your language, we will give our best to assist you.

- Ask your question in the channel (not in private), without using colors, bold, underline or any other kind of text enhancement. Limit your use of /me, also.
- Do not use inappropriate language, bad words, "l33t speak," or EXCESSIVE CAPS.
- Be patient and do not repeat or flood. It is not nice to hit enter after every 2 words; it is better to use sentences to explain your problem. Also, do not paste >3 lines of text without first asking permission.
- We will help you with anything we can, as long as it's legal.

We do not help with:
- Illegally-traded software, music, movies, or e-books.
- Fraud, especially credit card fraud.
- BNC / shell
- Pornography.

#Help now provides help regarding opless channels. You'll have to wait fo an IRC Operator to help you on that issue.

Respect the rules above.

- Make sure you understand the question before you answer. Don't hesitate to ask for clarification if you are unsure. You should only answer when you are 100% sure about what you say. You can cause serious harm by giving wrong information! If you dont know, don't answer - no one will blame you for that.
- Try to be patient. If someone doesn't understand what you said, rephrase and explain again.
- Do not help in private chat. Only help in the channel. If a user asks you something in private, ask him to state the question in the main channel.
- If someone makes a mistake, try to correct the mistake, but don't fight with them, even if they are rude with you. Trust the power of /ignore, and let the channel ops take care of any disputes in the channel.
- If a channel op gives you advice, accept and use it well. Don't feel offended; our channel has specific rules that must be followed, and each of us had to learn them at some point. Failure to follow an op's advice will probably lead to your being banned!
- Everyone makes mistakes. Many of us ops were kicked from the channel at one point or another. Learn from your mistakes, and you can become a valuable helper.

We ask that all channel helpers follow the guidelines described below.

Channel visitors must be treated with utmost respect and always in a courteous manner at ALL times.
- Helpers will be patient and understanding and will allow users to ask questions without feeling embarrassed in ANY way.
- Anything done other than listed here will not be tolerated, for the users and their questions come first with us here to help them.

Though chatting in the channel has always been allowed, users questions are our first priority.
All idle chat should cease when a user joins the channel and needs assistance, then once all users have been answered no more questions have been posed to the room, chat between everyone in the channel may then resume.

Helpers are expected to welcome users to the channel as they enter personally and politely ask them if we can be of or need any assistance. Popups and other prewritten messages will not be used to accomplish this.

Channel members should work toward creating a strong sense of community in the channel to make everyone feel welcome at ALL times.
This also helps between the members, plus keeps animosity down for a more productive channel and project.

Members will NOT be oped unless they are awake. Too many times users come in asking questions, usually of an op'd person first and if they don't answer, because they are away it looks bad for the channel like nobody cares.

Members should be voiced only if they are at their computer. Again, to show activity in the channel from helpers/members when users enter and ask questions and nobody is there to answer them.

Members should devoice/deop if they are going to be idle for any length of time and follow the channels idle rules at all times. That is why this rule is in place for everyone.

We welcome all the users who are willing to learn to stay and observe in the channel.

Helpers should not be made to feel embarrassed directly in the channel if they provide an incorrect answer to a user's question.
Please message the helper and explain nicely, what the answer should be, so that the helper can go back to the user and explain it differently, never do this in the open channel, for nobody likes to be corrected like this in front of others, it is embarrassing, plus this is how we all learn new things at the same time.

If the answer to the question can not be determined, do not leave the user hanging.
Always offer an alternative way the user could find the answer, then stay in contact with said user till they get what they came after and go away feeling like that have actually been helped in the proper manor wanting to return over and over, then tell others about coming to us for help.

Helpers should use common sense when warning. kicking, or banning users and handling various situations in the channel.
Again, always be polite until you can't be polite anymore. If you are unsure whether a kick or ban is necessary, ask another op/member what they think in private you should do, before doing anything rashly in anger, making the user not want to come back.
This promotes them telling others we aren't good helpers causing others to not come to our channel.

Colors, various control codes, extended characters, and automatic away messages should not be used excessively while in the channel.

Our channel is not good place to become an oper. If you'd like to pursue this goal, please do so elsewhere, for that is not our way to help with these things.
We are here solely to help the users, we will not tolerate those here for gain only.
In fact very little places on Undernet people looking for gain only.

Have fun, and enjoy helping out, for a visit of users and members alike should ALWAYS result to everyone in a positive, helpful reaction when coming to our channel. *Just remember* One person turned away badly will tell ten people how awful things here are, but one helped, will not tell as many, but hopefully will tell some and also return themselves for help in the future as they were helped happily, and beyond just sufficiently.

Common courtesy, social graces and socially-acceptable behavior are all terms used in a civilized society where humans interact with one another.
IRC is not any different.
How you will be perceived, the type of human being that you are or for that matter are not, your credibility, your levels of professionalism and ethics will be judged by how you communicate with others online.
Manners online are no different from manners in your real life.
Be aware that help channels are staffed by volunteers and network officials they give freely of their time, resources and expertise; no one pays them to help you, so treat them with respect and courtesy.

Here are some guidelines to help you appear to be a nice person, attract other nice people to you, and help you get the answer you need.
First, consider your nick.
If you go into a help channel with an obscene or offensive nick, you will probably not get helped, and may very well earn a ban. Help channels help people of all ages and cultures, and using a nick that is offensive is just plain dumb. This goes for offensive language as well.
Read the topic of the channel when you get in; it often has the rules posted in it.
If it is in English, use English; if in French, use French. Don't be afraid to ask what languages are allowed in the channel.
Ask your question outright.
One big no-no is asking, "Can I ask a question?" This will only annoy the helpers who are already waiting to answer questions quickly so they can move on to the next person.
If, after you ask your question, there is no immediate reply, wait patiently. Ops are often busy and they may be helping someone else first - it does not mean they did not see your question or that they are ignoring you.
Lag may be a factor, too, and it may take quite a few seconds for them to even see the question you posted.
Do not repeat your question over and over again; that will be considered abuse in the channel and result in a kick or ban.
Repeatedly asking the same question only makes you irritating and it will not speed up the response.
Do not use colors, bold text or other formatting to draw attention to yourself. That kind of attention is not the kind you are looking for.
Many IRC clients cannot process your client's text formatting, and others may not be able to read what you ask.
It is advised that you generally keep one nickname, and do not change it while in a help channel. This allows helpers to keep up with the person asking the question.
Do not type in capital letters.
This method of typing is considered YELLING, and it's considered bad manners to type everything in caps.
Some people do this because they think they'll get noticed more if they use caps. They're right, but that extra attention usually comes with a kick.
Keep in mind that a help channel is a help channel. People are there to get help. Keep chat to a bare minimum if guests are being assited.
Do not ask for ops, access or voice in a help channel. If the administrators of that channel want you to have access, be assured, they will let you know.
When you ask your question or post any follow-ups to your question, please try to type it all on one line, without hitting the Enter key after every other word. You do not want to flood the channel, you want help, remember? It makes it very difficult to follow your meaning if you keep entering a few words at a time.
Do not ask about anything illegal in a help channel. You will not get help on it.
Do not use a help channel as a testing ground. Test elsewhere, and never bring a bot into a help channel.
Don't play sounds in a help channel, and be sure you have turned off any auto greets you may have running before going into the channel.
Do not use any channel to spam. Spam is unsolicited advertising. Do not advertise your channel, and do not ask for supporters for your channel!
Always ask in the channel, and do not message an op or helper for help in a help channel.
Remember ops are the rulers of the channel and what they say, goes. Do not argue with an op. Ops are always right! ;-)
It is always nice to thank people for helping you.
In general, treat people the way you would like to be treated. IRC is for fun. Show your best side, and you will attract others who are fun to be with!

There are many different sections to the Undernet website, which is divided into mirror sites and secondary servers.

The mirrors are hosted all over the world, enabling the viewer to obtain quicker access to the website.

Secondary servers are used to host specific information, such as:
Undernet's Channel Service Website, or the Undernet Documents Project.

All of this is designed to give you a faster and more efficient way to browse through these pages, allowing you to get the information you're looking for as quickly as possible -- so you can spend more time chatting on the Undernet!