Cloaks/vHosts

In the past users were able to request a cloak for a particular group they were affiliated with or an unaffiliated cloak. When we changed IRCD we decided to make cloaks mandatory for all users connecting to freenode, even if they decide not to register their nicknames. Protecting a user's IP was important and a good way of keeping users' information confidential from other users. Keep in mind staff can still see a users IP no matter what.

HostServ

If a user would like a unique cloak or vhost they can reach out to a staff member in #help or in #freenode to make that request.

VHost Rules

• must contain a dot (aka . ) and can only contain alphanumeric characters, dots ( . ) and dashes ( – );
  

my.vhost.here   my-vhost

• must not contain a @
  

b@man

• must not be an IP or IP look-a-like
  

127.0.0.1   127.o.o.1

• must not resolve (basically, the vHost can’t point to an actual site);
  

this.is.an.example  google.com  

• must not be a partial host or IP;
  

example: hub.google.com

• must not mimic government organizations (*.gov, *.gc, .ca, FBI, etc.) or private organizations which have government affiliation (MPAA, RIAA, etc.);
  
• must not contain the words ‘ircop’, ‘admin’, ‘network’, or any IRCop’s nick;
  
• must not contain racist words (what is considered racist/derogatory is subject to discretion by staff members);
  
• must not refer to other networks/spamming;
  

join.my.channel   come.to.irc.blahblahblah.net

• must not refer to “kiddy”-like activity. (dosing, rooting, “carding,” etc.)
  

Please do not remind us of your request

Please do not request more than one vHost in a week’s time. So make sure you pick something that is suitable.