Feel obligated to read them (and agree with them) before using the services provided

Link can be found here.

If a server is online, it should show a green tick. If offline, it should show a red tick. It also caches the results for 5 minutes to prevent the tool from becoming a DoS tool.

We try to keep everything up to date as much as possible, posting known downtime, and informing when we are informed of reasons for recent unscheduled downtimes.

There are also the occasional miscellaneous postings. So sit back and enjoy hearing of the news without having to leave chat!

Please note this is unrelated to the scheduled outage posted previously.

Hub01, Israel and Romans are all affected by this. The present network configuration should allow the remainder of the network to be complete via Kings. Network Services (NickServ, ChanServ, etc) will be unavailable during this time.

From the provider:

Window 2:00am-3:00am EST  SUN 09-28-2008
This notification is to inform you that we will be performing maintenance on our core network.
This maintenance will affect network connectivity during the window.
Expected reload times are approximately 10 minutes.

Firstly, we saw the return of HostServ, and vHosts can now be requested by using /hs request host.name.com, and will be accepted if they are within the vHost rules.

Secondly, we were provided with a bot in #Help to answer common questions about registration, what an op does, etc. If you are in need of any kind of technical assistance on UCCN, /join #help and we’ll try and help as we can.

Finally, and this is the most exciting, is a new form of webchat. Until recently we had Java, with or without smiley faces. That was all, and it worked. But not everyone can use Java for whatever reason may be, and so we present the Mibbit client. With thanks to Mibbit, we are now able to provide, for your enjoyment, a 3rd option under the Chat Now page. Enter a name you’d like to use, select “Mibbit” (or Java if you prefer) and click the button.

Don’t worry, Java-lovers, Java isn’t expected to be going anywhere any time soon, and we’ll likely keep both options (or even add more) in the future. If you have any questions, be sure to join #help and ask one of us!

Recently, requests have been made for its return, and so it will - under the following rules:

• vHosts being requested must be clean and appropriate, falling within network rules.
• IP addresses cannot and will not be used as vHosts.
• If a vHost is requested, we need proof that you either own, or have permission to use the domain it falls under (example, we will not permit anything.microsoft.com). Proof may be provided in the form of a webpage being displayed, or any other suitable verification.
• vHosts are not for ban evading. Anyone caught using HostServ to evade bans or otherwise escape disciplinary action will at minimum lose their access to HostServ.

vHosts can be requested by joining #Help, and talking to a staff member. Note, your nick MUST be registered, and the vHost will be in place until rules are broken, it is requested to be changed, or until the nickname expires.

If you are new with us from CCF, welcome! Feel free to have a look around the site, and especially in joining us in chat.

Services staff will be available in #Help to answer any questions related to the downtime.

Other staff will also be available to assist if required while services are unavailable.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

[Edit] Owing to technical difficulties, the above update was unable to be performed as scheduled. The upgrade will proceed, however it will be at a later date. We will schedule another downtime when the technicalities have been resolved.

[Edit 2] Services downtime has been completed yesterday at approximately 7pm United States Eastern time. Services were down for around 5 minutes, and there have been no noted complications. If you notice any problems in coming days, please join #Help and let a staff member know about it.

By default, the script will connect to UCCN using SSL (encryption) and join #UCCN. The script is currently lacking in features, although it features server-specific autojoin, autoidentify, and autooper.

Present features are as follows:

• Packaged with OpenSSL files for encrypted server connections
• Server-specific auto-identify, as well as auto channel joining, and for staff, auto oper.
• Some strange and unusual popups
• Abbreviation completer

So the script is now available for download here, and is open to beta testing. If you find bugs or have suggestions, join #help on UCCN, and let us know.

{EDIT} The script has been updated several times this evening, and some bugs have been fixed already. This is now considered ZxS v0.1. {/EDIT}