-Title: User and project cloaks
+Title: User and Project Cloaks
---
-There are two types of "cloak" which can be set on accounts on freenode; both
+
+There are two types of cloak which can be set on accounts on freenode; both
replace the hostname/IP displayed when you are connected (but only when you're
-identified to NickServ - see below).
+identified to NickServ—see below).
There are also gateway cloaks, which are automatically applied if you're
connecting from certain providers, gateways or web IRC clients, whether or not
-you are identified to NickServ, and which override unaffiliated cloaks..
+you are identified to NickServ, and which override unaffiliated cloaks.
+
Project cloaks
==============
+
Project cloaks typically take the form `project/role/user`, for instance
-`freenode/staff/bigpresh` (however, some take othe forms). They are designed to
-demonstrate that the user is connected to the project in some way. Different
-projects use cloaks for various roles - some only use them for their "core"
-team, some will assign "user" cloaks as well.
+`freenode/staff/bigpresh` (though some take other forms). They are designed to
+demonstrate that the user is connected to a project in some way. Different
+projects use cloaks for various roles—some only use them for their core
+team, some will assign user cloaks as well.
Project cloaks can only be requested by a registered group contact of an
-already [registered group](pages/groupreg) - they should contact a member of
+already [registered group](pages/groupreg)—they should contact a member of
freenode staff to request that a user be given a project cloak.
Unaffiliated cloaks
===================
-Unaffiliated cloaks take the form `unaffiliated/accountname`. They indicate that
-you are not affiliated with any specific project on freenode. They can also
-help obscure your IP from casual observers, to a certain degree - but see the
-weaknesses section below.
+
+Unaffiliated cloaks for users take the form `unaffiliated/accountname`. They
+indicate that you are not affiliated with any specific project on freenode.
+They can also help obscure your IP from casual observers to a certain
+degree—but see the weaknesses section below.
+
+Bots can also be cloaked to indicate their owner—unaffiliated bot cloaks
+take the form `unaffiliated/owneraccountname/bot/botaccountname`.
Gateway cloaks
==============
-If you are connected via a gateway which sets a gateway cloak (for instance, our
-webchat, or KiwiIRC, or some bouncer/shell providers) then you will receive an
-automatic gateway cloak - for instance `gateway/web/freenode/ip.1.2.3.4` - these
+
+If you are connected via a gateway which sets a gateway cloak (for instance,
+some web-based chat interfaces or bouncer/shell providers) you will receive an
+automatic gateway cloak—for instance `gateway/web/foo/ip.1.2.3.4` — these
gateway cloaks override unaffiliated cloaks, but do not override project cloaks.
There are also gateway cloaks which may denote that the host the user is coming
Cloaks do not effectively hide your IP
======================================
+
Cloaks can help obscure your IP address/hostname from casual observers, but
should *not* be relied upon for that purpose, as they are not reliable:
-- Connecting before identifying to NickServ (or whilst services are unavailable
- due to a netsplit or maintenance) will show your uncloaked IP/hostname
- connecting via SASL can help a little here, as authentication is done much
- earlier in the connection)
-- Connecting via a gateway (for instance, the webchat) will override
- unaffiliated cloaks (see the "gateway cloaks" section above)
-- Due to the nature of IRC services, there are some tricks which can cause
- services to reveal a cloaked user's IP/hostname.
-- Accepting a DCC chat/file transfer session, or clicking a link someone sends
- you could reveal your IP to them
-
-For these reasons, we advise you to consider cloaks very basic protection from
-casual observers, and a way to stop your IP/hostname being passively logged in
-most cases, but caution that they cannot be relied upon to hide your IP/hostname
-robustly - if you want that, you should consider an IRC bouncer, VPN or Tor.
+ - Connecting before identifying to NickServ (or whilst services are
+ unavailable due to a netsplit or maintenance) will show your uncloaked
+ IP/hostname. [Authenticating with SASL](/kb/answer/sasl) avoids this if
+ configured to abort the connection on authentication failure.
+ - Connecting via a gateway (for instance, most web-based irc clients) will
+ override unaffiliated cloaks (see the "gateway cloaks" section above)
+ - Due to the nature of IRC services, there are some tricks which can cause
+ services to reveal a cloaked user's IP/hostname.
+ - Accepting a DCC chat/file transfer session, or clicking a link someone sends
+ you could reveal your IP to them
+
+For these reasons, we advise you to consider cloaks as only very basic
+protection from casual observers, and a way to stop your IP/hostname being
+passively logged in most cases, but caution that they cannot be relied upon to
+hide your IP/hostname robustly—if you want that, you should consider an [IRC
+bouncer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC_bouncer),
+[VPN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network) or [our Tor hidden
+service](/kb/answer/chat#accessing-freenode-via-tor).
Do consider, however, just how much you need to hide your IP address; it's
-disclosed routinely during normal Internet usage - for instance, every website
+disclosed routinely during normal Internet usage—for instance, every website
you visit will necessarily see your IP address, unless you are using a VPN or
-Tor. Many, many users happily use IRC for decades, never hiding their IP
+Tor. Many, many users happily use IRC for decades, never hiding their IP
address, and do not have any problems.
-To re-iterate, the primary purpose of cloaks is to show your project affiliation,
-or lack thereof. "Hiding your IP" is not their primary purpose, and they cannot
-be fully relied upon to do that.
+To reiterate, the primary purpose of cloaks is to show your project
+affiliation, or lack thereof. Hiding your IP is not their primary purpose, and
+they cannot be fully relied upon to do that.
+
+Also, even when you are cloaked, you will see your own IP if you /whois
+yourself.
+
Requesting a cloak
==================
+
Once you've read and understood the above, if you would like an unaffiliated
-cloak, please drop in to #freenode or speak to a member of the staff team and
-we'll be happy to set one up for you.
+cloak, please join the #freenode channel or speak to a member of the staff
+team. Note that cloaks are a privilege, and staff have the right to deny that
+privilege to users if they deem necessary.
For project cloaks, a registered GC for the project needs to contact staff to
request the cloak be added to the desired user.
-
projects / irc / freenode / web-7.0.git / blobdiff