Am I banned? Why? READ THIS SECTION FIRST!
If you are banned on dtella, you will see a message like the following when you try to log on:
<*Dtella> You were kicked by *IRC: Channel ban: please see http://new.dtella.net/faq/banned/
This means you are banned. “Channel ban” is just a generic ban message. Everyone sees that. Continue on to the rest of this page to help figure out why you were banned.
What should I do?
First, read this page. Figure out why you were banned, and act accordingly. Next, join the channel #dtella-help. Tell us why you were banned, and we will unban you after verifying that you have taken care of the problem.
After you’ve fixed the problem, you are not automatically unbanned. You have to tell us you fixed it (see IRC link above).
Why am I banned?
If you are receiving the message that you are banned when trying to connect to Dtella, please follow these steps:
- First, check your DC client (DC++, shakespeer) for a private message. This will generally be in a tab in the program.
- If you are on the VPN or off campus, you CANNOT get on dtella. This is a combination of a network and security limitation and is not going to change any time soon.
- Since Purdue upgraded the ITaP labs to Windows 7, we have been unable to get on dtella on the lab machines.
- The following nicknames are banned: metapod, srsbsns, dtellabridge, and anything with “purdue”, “boiler”, or a special character (~`!@#$%^&*()<>?:;’”-=+,.\/ etc) in the name. Only original names with letters, numbers, and underscore are allowed.
- If you cannot find the personal message or have closed your client since the ban then please connect to the webchat and someone will try to assist you. In order to connect to IRC, go to http://irc.dtella.net/?channels=dtella-help and put your dtella username as your “nickname”. Once you have connected, please follow the steps listed in the topic (if using DC++, goto File->Settings to get your nickname) and be patient. While we have many operators online to try and help, we can’t guarantee that one will always be available. Do not join and leave immediately, it can take some time to get help especially in morning hours and late at night.
Banned for segmenting
Segmenting is when your client splits up a file into smaller pieces to download one at a time, instead of one large file. While this helps on slower networks, on a network as fast as ours it puts unnecessary strain on hard drives, and to some it’s a little annoying to see on their client. First time offenders are simply kicked and are able to rejoin after 12 hours or when the issue is resolved. Repeat offenders’ bans are doubled in length with each subsequent offence, up to 1 week.
Our custom Apex installer now disables segmenting by default. If you are using another client or are unsure about how to disable segmenting, please feel free to ask for help in chat before starting any downloads.
Banned for sharing program files
The idea of Dtella is that sharing is caring. If you are sharing your Program Files folder (or Applications folder on Mac) then you are not sharing files that are of much use to the rest of the community. First time offenders are simply kicked and are able to rejoin after 24 hours or when the issue is resolved. Repeat offenders’ bans are doubled in length with each subsequent offence, up to 1 week.
Please understand that ‘program files’ includes things like your WoW install folder, your Microsoft Office folder, or anything like that. Don’t share these, because they are rarely, if ever, useful. This means that you cannot install a program and share the installed program (In windows, these folders are usually in C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86)).
Other things that merit a ban are personal or financial documents (yes it has happened) or incoherently named files (e.g. iPod dumps where everything is named like F00). Additionally, sharing multiple copies of the same file or sharing garbage data (such as a large text file containing nonsense) is considered evasion of the minimum share size requirement and will be treated as a program ban.
Resolving this issue is as simple as changing what you are sharing and letting us know that you have made the appropriate changes.
If you need something to share, Linux ISOs are usually a good place to start. Check out this page (not maintained by dtella operators) for download links to legal, large, and useful files.
Banned for Nick
A lot of different nick names are banned. Specifically, do not use anything involving Purdue, Boiler, or anything of the sort. Also, don’t use your real name (or your Purdue career account). Be original. Be creative. It’s more fun for you and it’s more fun for us. Last, make sure your nick contains only letters, numbers, or underscore _.
Still need help?
If you still have questions, please read out FAQ.
Remember, you can always join the IRC channel if you need help or have questions. Read the FAQ first, but go to this link to get on IRC otherwise. Join #dtella or #dtella-help as appropriate.