rcirc Manual

rcirc is an Emacs IRC client.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a multi-user chat protocol. Users communicate with each other in real-time. Communication occurs both in topic channels which are collections of many users, or privately, with just one other user.

Copyright © 2006–2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being “A GNU Manual”, and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License”.

(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: “You have the freedom to copy and modify this GNU manual.”

Basics
Reference
Fighting Information Overload
Hacking and Tweaking
GNU Free Documentation License
Key Index
Variable Index
Index

Detailed Node Listing

Basics

Reference
rcirc commands
Useful IRC commands
Configuration
Fighting Information Overload
Channels
People
Keywords
Notices
Hacking and Tweaking
Skipping /away messages using handlers
Using fly spell mode
Scrolling conservatively
Changing the time stamp format
Defining a new command
Reconnecting after you have lost the connection

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1 Basics

This chapter contains a brief introduction to IRC (Internet Relay Chat), and a quick tutorial on rcirc.

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1.1 Internet Relay Chat

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a form of instant communication over the Internet. It is mainly designed for group (many-to-many) communication in discussion forums called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication.

Contrary to most Instant Messenger (IM) systems, users usually don't connect to a central server. Instead, users connect to a random server in a network, and servers relay messages from one to the next.

Here's a typical example:

When you connect to the Freenode network (http://freenode.net/), you point your IRC client at the server irc.freenode.net. That server will redirect your client to a random server on the network, such as zelazny.freenode.net.

Once you're connected, you can send messages to all other users connected to the same network, and you can join all channels on the same network. You might join the #emacs and the #rcirc channels, for example. (Typically, channel names begin with a hash character.)

Once you have joined a channel, anything you type will be broadcast to all the other users on the same channel.

If you want to address someone specifically, for example as an answer to a question, it is customary to prefix the message with the nick followed by a colon, like this: 

     deego: fsbot rules!

Since this is so common, you can use <TAB> to do nick completion.

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1.2 Getting started with rcirc

Use the command M-x irc to connect using the defaults. See Configuration, if you want to change the defaults.

Use C-u M-x irc if you don't want to use the defaults, e.g., if you want to connect to a different network, or connect to the same network using a different nick. This will prompt you for four things:

IRC Server
What server do you want to connect to? All the servers in a particular network are equivalent. Some networks use a round-robin system where a single server redirects new connections to a random server in the network. irc.freenode.net is such a server for the Freenode network. Freenode provides the network “for the Free and Open Source Software communities, for not-for-profit organizations and for related communities and organizations.”


IRC Port
All network connections require a port. Just as web servers and clients use port 80 per default, IRC uses port 6667 per default. You rarely have to use a different port.


IRC Nick
Every users needs a handle on-line. You will automatically be assigned a slightly different nick if your chosen nick is already in use. If your user-login-name is alex, and this nick is already in use, you might for example get assigned the nick alex`.


IRC Channels
A space separated list of channels you want to join when connecting. You don't need to join any channels, if you just want to have one-to-one conversations with friends on the same network. If you're new to the Freenode network, join #emacs, the channel about all things Emacs, or join #rcirc, the channel about rcirc.

When you have answered these questions, rcirc will create a server buffer, which will be named something like *irc.freenode.net*, and a channel buffer for each of the channels you wanted to join.

To talk in a channel, just type what you want to say in a channel buffer, and press <RET>.

If you want to paste multiple lines, such as source code, you can use C-c C-c to edit your message in a separate buffer. Use C-c C-c to finish editing. You still need to press <RET> to send it, though. Generally, IRC users don't like people pasting more than around four lines of code, so use with care.

Once you are connected to multiple channels, or once you've turned you attention to other buffers in Emacs, you probably want to be notified of any activity in channels not currently visible. All you need to do is switch channel tracking on using M-x rcirc-track-minor-mode. To make this permanent, add the following to your init file: 

     (rcirc-track-minor-mode 1)

Use C-c C-<SPC> to switch to these buffers.

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2 Reference

This is the reference section of the manual. It is not complete. For complete listings of rcirc features, use Emacs built-in documentation.

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2.1 rcirc commands

This is a list of commands that you may use in rcirc. It is not complete. For a complete listing, press C-h m in an rcirc buffer.

In addition to using regular Emacs key bindings, you can call them by typing them into an rcirc buffer.

For instance, instead of using the command C-c C-j to join a new channel, you may type this in an rcirc buffer, and press <RET>: 

     /join #emacs

This is why you cannot start a message with a slash. You will have to precede the command with a space, or rewrite your message in order to send it to a channel.

Many commands take parameters. IRC commands usually ignore string delimiters. Neither quote nor double-quote have special meanings in IRC. 

     /nick "alex schroeder"

This will try to change your nick to "alex. Usually this will fail because the double quote character is not a valid character for nicks.

These commands are case insensitive.

If a command isn't known by rcirc, it will simply be sent along to the server. There is a list of some useful commands like that in the next section.

C-c C-j
This joins a channel such as #rcirc or #emacs. On most networks, anybody can create new channels. If you want to talk with some friends, for example, all you have to do is agree on a valid channel name and join that channel. (Also /join #emacs.)
C-c C-p
This leaves the current channel. You can optionally provide a reason for parting. When you kill a channel buffer, you automatically part the corresponding channel. (Also /part you are too weird!.)
C-c C-r
This changes your nick to some other name. Your nick must be unique across the network. Most networks don't allow too many nick changes in quick succession, and have restrictions on the valid characters in nick names. (Also /nick alex-test)
C-c C-w
Gives you some basic information about a nick. This often includes what other channels people are on. (Also /whois fsbot.)
C-c C-q
Starts a one-to-one conversation with another person on the same network. A new buffer will be created for this conversation. It works like a channel with only two members. (Also /query fsbot.)
C-c <RET>
This sends a single message to a nick. Like with C-c C-q, a new buffer is created, where the response from the other party will show up. (Also /msg nickserv identify secret.)
C-c C-x
This disconnects from the server and parts all channels. You can optionally provide a reason for quitting. When you kill the server buffer, you automatically quit the server and part all channels. (Also /quit ZZZzzz....)

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2.2 Useful IRC commands

As mentioned, if a command isn't known by rcirc, it will simply be sent along to the server. Some such commands are available on nearly all IRC servers, such as:

/away
This sets your status as “being away” if you provide a reason, or sets your status as “being back” if you do not. People can use the C-c C-w command to check your status. Example: /away food.

Typical IRC servers implement many more commands. You can read more about the fantastic world of IRC online at the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) help archive.

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2.3 Configuration

These are some variables you can change to configure rcirc to your liking.

rcirc-server-alist
This variable contains an alist of servers to connect to by default and the keywords parameters to use. The keyword parameters are optional. If you don't provide any, the defaults as documented below will be used.

The most important parameter is the :channels parameter. It controls which channels you will join by default as soon as you are connected to the server.

Here's an example of how to set it: 

          (add-to-list 'rcirc-server-alist
                       '("otherworlders.org"
                         :channels ("#FUDGE" "#game-design")))

By default you will be connected to the rcirc support channel: #rcirc on irc.freenode.net.

:nick
This overrides rcirc-default-nick.
:port
This overrides rcirc-default-port.
:user-name
This overrides rcirc-default-user-name.
:full-name
This overrides rcirc-default-full-name.
:channels
This describes which channels to join when connecting to the server. If absent, no channels will be connected to automatically.

rcirc-default-nick
This variable is used for the default nick. It defaults to the login name returned by user-login-name. 
          (setq rcirc-default-nick "kensanata")

rcirc-default-port
This variable contains the default port to connect to. It is 6667 by default and rarely needs changing.
rcirc-default-user-name
This variable contains the default user name to report to the server. It defaults to the login name returned by user-login-name, just like rcirc-default-nick.
rcirc-default-full-name
This variable is used to set your “real name” on IRC. It defaults to the name returned by user-full-name. If you want to hide your full name, you might want to set it to some pseudonym. 
          (setq rcirc-default-full-name "Curious Minds Want To Know")

rcirc-authinfo
This variable is an alist used to automatically identify yourself on networks. Each sublist starts with a regular expression that is compared to the server address you're connecting to. The second element in the list is a symbol representing the method to use, followed by the arguments this method requires.

Here is an example to illustrate how you would set it: 

          (setq rcirc-authinfo
                '(("freenode" nickserv "bob" "p455w0rd")
                  ("freenode" chanserv "bob" "#bobland" "passwd99")
                  ("bitlbee" bitlbee "robert" "sekrit")))

And here are the valid method symbols and the arguments they require:

nickserv
Use this symbol if you need to identify yourself as follows when connecting to a network: /msg nickserv identify secret. The necessary arguments are the nickname you want to use this for, and the password to use.

Before you can use this method, you will have to register your nick and pick a password for it. Contact nickserv and check out the details. (Using /msg nickserv help, for example.)

chanserv
Use this symbol if you need to identify yourself as follows if you want to join a particular channel: /msg chanserv identify #underground secret. The necessary arguments are the nickname and channel you want to use this for, and the password to use.

Before you can use this method, a channel contact must tell you about the password to use. Contact chanserv and check out the details. (Using /msg chanserv help, for example.)

bitlbee
Use this symbol if you need to identify yourself in the Bitlbee channel as follows: identify secret. The necessary arguments are the nickname you want to use this for, and the password to use.

Bitlbee acts like an IRC server, but in fact it is a gateway to a lot of other instant messaging services. You can either install Bitlbee locally or use a public Bitlbee server. There, you need to create an account with a password. This is the nick and password you need to provide for the bitlbee authentication method.

Later, you will tell Bitlbee about your accounts and passwords on all the other instant messaging services, and Bitlbee will log you in. All rcirc needs to know, is the login to your Bitlbee account. Don't confuse the Bitlbee account with all the other accounts.

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3 Fighting Information Overload

This is the section of the manual that caters to the busy person online. There are support channels with several hundred people in them. Trying to follow a conversation in these channels can be a daunting task. This chapters tells you how rcirc can help.

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3.1 Channels

Most people want a notification when something is said on a channel they have joined, particularly if they have been addressed directly. There is a global minor mode that will do this kind of tracking for you. All you need to do is switch it on using M-x rcirc-track-minor-mode. To make this permanent, add the following to your init file: 

     (rcirc-track-minor-mode 1)

When other people say things in buffers that are currently buried (no window is showing them), the mode line will now show you the abbreviated channel or nick name. Use C-c C-<SPC> to switch to these buffers.

If you prefer not to load rcirc immediately, you can delay the activation of this mode: 

     (add-hook 'rcirc-mode-hook
               (lambda ()
                 (rcirc-track-minor-mode 1)))

If you've joined a very active support channel, tracking activity is no longer useful. The channel will be always active. Switching to active channels using C-c C-<SPC> no longer works as expected.

The solution is to mark this channel as a low priority channel. Use C-c C-l to make the current channel a low-priority channel. Low priority channels have the modeline indicator “LowPri”. C-c C-<SPC> will not switch to low priority channels unless you use the C-u prefix.

If you prefer a channel to never show up in the modeline, then you have to ignore it. Use C-c <TAB> to ignore the current channel.

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3.2 People

The most important command available to the discerning IRC user is /ignore. It's the big equalizer online: If people aggravate you, just ignore them.

This is of course a crude all-or-nothing solution. Fear not, rcirc offers alternatives: You can “brighten” your buddies and “dim” certain other nicks that you don't want to ignore altogether.

/ignore
This command toggles the ignore status of a nick, if you provide one. If you don't provide a nick, the command lists all the nicks you are ignoring. All messages by ignored nicks are—you guessed it—ignored. Since only “operators” can kick people from channels, the ignore command is often the only way to deal with some of the more obnoxious fellows online. Example: /ignore rudybot.
/bright
This command toggles the bright status of a nick, if you provide one. If you don't provide a nick, the command lists all the “brightened” nicks. All messages by brightened nicks are—you guessed it—brightened. Use this for your friends. Example: /bright rcy.
/dim
This command toggles the dim status of a nick, if you provide one. If you don't provide a nick, the command lists all the “dimmed” nicks. All messages by dimmed nicks are—you guessed it—dimmed. Use this for boring people and bots. If you are tracking channel activity, messages by dimmed nicks will not register as activity. Example: /dim fsbot.

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3.3 Keywords

On a busy channel, you might want to ignore all activity (using C-c <TAB>) and just watch for certain keywords. The following command allows you to highlight certain keywords:

/keyword
This command toggles the highlighting of a keyword, if you provide one. If you don't provide a keyword, the current keywords are listed. Example: /keyword manual.

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3.4 Notices

In busy channels you might not be interested in all the joining, parting, quitting, and renaming that goes on. You can omit those notices using C-c C-o.

You can control which notices get omitted via the rcirc-omit-responses variable. Here's an example of how to omit away messages: 

     (setq rcirc-omit-responses '("JOIN" "PART" "QUIT" "NICK" "AWAY"))

Notice that these messages will not be omitted if the nick in question has recently been active. After all, you don't want to continue a conversation with somebody who just left. That's why rcirc checks recent lines in the buffer to figure out if a nick has been active and only omits a message if the nick has not been active. The window rcirc considers is controlled by the rcirc-omit-threshold variable.

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4 Hacking and Tweaking

Here are some examples of stuff you can do to configure rcirc.

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4.1 Skipping /away messages using handlers

The IRC protocol specifies how certain events are signaled from server to client. These events have numbers and are dealt with using so-called handlers. You can override existing handlers by exploiting the naming convention adopted for rcirc.

Here's how to stop rcirc from printing /away messages. Since rcirc doesn't define a 301 handler, you don't need to require rcirc before defining the handler: 

     (defun rcirc-handler-301 (process cmd sender args)
       "/away message handler.")

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4.2 Using fly spell mode

The following code activates Fly Spell Mode for rcirc buffers: 

     (add-hook 'rcirc-mode-hook (lambda ()
                                  (flyspell-mode 1)))

See Flyspell mode, for details.

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4.3 Scrolling conservatively

IRC buffers are constantly growing. If you want to see as much as possible at all times, you would want the prompt at the bottom of the window when possible. The following snippet uses a local value for scroll-conservatively to achieve this: 

     (add-hook 'rcirc-mode-hook
               (lambda ()
                 (set (make-local-variable 'scroll-conservatively)
                      8192)))

See Scrolling conservatively, for details.

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4.4 Changing the time stamp format

rcirc-time-format is the format used for the time stamp. Here's how to include the date in the time stamp: 

     (setq rcirc-time-format "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M ")

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4.5 Defining a new command

Here's a simple new command, /sv. With it, you can boast about your IRC client. It shows how you can use defun-rcirc-command to define new commands.

We're waiting for the definition of this command until rcirc is loaded because defun-rcirc-command is not yet available, and without rcirc loaded, the command wouldn't do us much good anyway. 

     (eval-after-load 'rcirc
       '(defun-rcirc-command sv (arg)
          "Boast about rcirc."
          (interactive "i")
          (rcirc-send-message process target
                              (concat "I use " rcirc-id-string))))

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4.6 Reconnecting after you have lost the connection

If you're chatting from a laptop, then you might be familiar with this problem: When your laptop falls asleep and wakes up later, your IRC client doesn't realize that it has been disconnected. It takes several minutes until the client decides that the connection has in fact been lost. The simple solution is to use M-x rcirc. The problem is that this opens an additional connection, so you'll have two copies of every channel buffer, one dead and one live.

The real answer, therefore, is a /reconnect command: 

     (eval-after-load 'rcirc
       '(defun-rcirc-command reconnect (arg)
          "Reconnect the server process."
          (interactive "i")
          (unless process
            (error "There's no process for this target"))
          (let* ((server (car (process-contact process)))
                 (port (process-contact process :service))
                 (nick (rcirc-nick process))
                 channels query-buffers)
            (dolist (buf (buffer-list))
              (with-current-buffer buf
                (when (eq process (rcirc-buffer-process))
                  (remove-hook 'change-major-mode-hook
                               'rcirc-change-major-mode-hook)
                  (if (rcirc-channel-p rcirc-target)
                      (setq channels (cons rcirc-target channels))
                    (setq query-buffers (cons buf query-buffers))))))
            (delete-process process)
            (rcirc-connect server port nick
                           rcirc-default-user-name
                           rcirc-default-full-name
                           channels))))

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Appendix A GNU Free Documentation License

Version 1.3, 3 November 2008
     Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
     http://fsf.org/
     
     Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
     of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
  1. PREAMBLE

    The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document free in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.

    This License is a kind of “copyleft”, which means that derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free software.

    We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free software, because free software needs free documentation: a free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms that the software does. But this License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is instruction or reference.

  2. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS

    This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium, that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, to use that work under the conditions stated herein. The “Document”, below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as “you”. You accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a way requiring permission under copyright law.

    A “Modified Version” of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language.

    A “Secondary Section” is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject. (Thus, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.

    The “Invariant Sections” are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. If a section does not fit the above definition of Secondary then it is not allowed to be designated as Invariant. The Document may contain zero Invariant Sections. If the Document does not identify any Invariant Sections then there are none.

    The “Cover Texts” are certain short passages of text that are listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. A Front-Cover Text may be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may be at most 25 words.

    A “Transparent” copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy, represented in a format whose specification is available to the general public, that is suitable for revising the document straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise Transparent file format whose markup, or absence of markup, has been arranged to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by readers is not Transparent. An image format is not Transparent if used for any substantial amount of text. A copy that is not “Transparent” is called “Opaque”.

    Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain ascii without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format, SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for human modification. Examples of transparent image formats include PNG, XCF and JPG. Opaque formats include proprietary formats that can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available, and the machine-generated HTML, PostScript or PDF produced by some word processors for output purposes only.

    The “Title Page” means, for a printed book, the title page itself, plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the material this License requires to appear in the title page. For works in formats which do not have any title page as such, “Title Page” means the text near the most prominent appearance of the work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.

    The “publisher” means any person or entity that distributes copies of the Document to the public.

    A section “Entitled XYZ” means a named subunit of the Document whose title either is precisely XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses following text that translates XYZ in another language. (Here XYZ stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as “Acknowledgements”, “Dedications”, “Endorsements”, or “History”.) To “Preserve the Title” of such a section when you modify the Document means that it remains a section “Entitled XYZ” according to this definition.

    The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice which states that this License applies to the Document. These Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and has no effect on the meaning of this License.

  3. VERBATIM COPYING

    You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow the conditions in section 3.

    You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above, and you may publicly display copies.

  4. COPYING IN QUANTITY

    If you publish printed copies (or copies in media that commonly have printed covers) of the Document, numbering more than 100, and the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The front cover must present the full title with all words of the title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.

    If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent pages.

    If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document numbering more than 100, you must either include a machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with each Opaque copy a computer-network location from which the general network-using public has access to download using public-standard network protocols a complete Transparent copy of the Document, free of added material. If you use the latter option, you must take reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque copies in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible at the stated location until at least one year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.

    It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of the Document well before redistributing any large number of copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the Document.

  5. MODIFICATIONS

    You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these things in the Modified Version:

    1. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the History section of the Document). You may use the same title as a previous version if the original publisher of that version gives permission.
    2. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in the Modified Version, together with at least five of the principal authors of the Document (all of its principal authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you from this requirement.
    3. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the Modified Version, as the publisher.
    4. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
    5. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications adjacent to the other copyright notices.
    6. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license notice giving the public permission to use the Modified Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in the Addendum below.
    7. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's license notice.
    8. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
    9. Preserve the section Entitled “History”, Preserve its Title, and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on the Title Page. If there is no section Entitled “History” in the Document, create one stating the title, year, authors, and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the previous sentence.
    10. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and likewise the network locations given in the Document for previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the “History” section. You may omit a network location for a work that was published at least four years before the Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers to gives permission.
    11. For any section Entitled “Acknowledgements” or “Dedications”, Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the section all the substance and tone of each of the contributor acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
    12. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered in their text and in their titles. Section numbers or the equivalent are not considered part of the section titles.
    13. Delete any section Entitled “Endorsements”. Such a section may not be included in the Modified Version.
    14. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled “Endorsements” or to conflict in title with any Invariant Section.
    15. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.

    If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified Version's license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other section titles.

    You may add a section Entitled “Endorsements”, provided it contains nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various parties—for example, statements of peer review or that the text has been approved by an organization as the authoritative definition of a standard.

    You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or through arrangements made by) any one entity. If the Document already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added the old one.

    The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.

  6. COMBINING DOCUMENTS

    You may combine the Document with other documents released under this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents, unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all their Warranty Disclaimers.

    The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name but different contents, make the title of each such section unique by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the combined work.

    In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled “History” in the various original documents, forming one section Entitled “History”; likewise combine any sections Entitled “Acknowledgements”, and any sections Entitled “Dedications”. You must delete all sections Entitled “Endorsements.”

  7. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS

    You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other documents released under this License, and replace the individual copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents in all other respects.

    You may extract a single document from such a collection, and distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that document.

  8. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS

    A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a storage or distribution medium, is called an “aggregate” if the copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the legal rights of the compilation's users beyond what the individual works permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this License does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which are not themselves derivative works of the Document.

    If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one half of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed on covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the electronic equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket the whole aggregate.

  9. TRANSLATION

    Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special permission from their copyright holders, but you may include translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a translation of this License, and all the license notices in the Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also include the original English version of this License and the original versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a disagreement between the translation and the original version of this License or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will prevail.

    If a section in the Document is Entitled “Acknowledgements”, “Dedications”, or “History”, the requirement (section 4) to Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the actual title.

  10. TERMINATION

    You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute it is void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License.

    However, if you cease all violation of this License, then your license from a particular copyright holder is reinstated (a) provisionally, unless and until the copyright holder explicitly and finally terminates your license, and (b) permanently, if the copyright holder fails to notify you of the violation by some reasonable means prior to 60 days after the cessation.

    Moreover, your license from a particular copyright holder is reinstated permanently if the copyright holder notifies you of the violation by some reasonable means, this is the first time you have received notice of violation of this License (for any work) from that copyright holder, and you cure the violation prior to 30 days after your receipt of the notice.

    Termination of your rights under this section does not terminate the licenses of parties who have received copies or rights from you under this License. If your rights have been terminated and not permanently reinstated, receipt of a copy of some or all of the same material does not give you any rights to use it.

  11. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE

    The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/.

    Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered version of this License “or any later version” applies to it, you have the option of following the terms and conditions either of that specified version or of any later version that has been published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document does not specify a version number of this License, you may choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document specifies that a proxy can decide which future versions of this License can be used, that proxy's public statement of acceptance of a version permanently authorizes you to choose that version for the Document.

  12. RELICENSING

    “Massive Multiauthor Collaboration Site” (or “MMC Site”) means any World Wide Web server that publishes copyrightable works and also provides prominent facilities for anybody to edit those works. A public wiki that anybody can edit is an example of such a server. A “Massive Multiauthor Collaboration” (or “MMC”) contained in the site means any set of copyrightable works thus published on the MMC site.

    “CC-BY-SA” means the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license published by Creative Commons Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation with a principal place of business in San Francisco, California, as well as future copyleft versions of that license published by that same organization.

    “Incorporate” means to publish or republish a Document, in whole or in part, as part of another Document.

    An MMC is “eligible for relicensing” if it is licensed under this License, and if all works that were first published under this License somewhere other than this MMC, and subsequently incorporated in whole or in part into the MMC, (1) had no cover texts or invariant sections, and (2) were thus incorporated prior to November 1, 2008.

    The operator of an MMC Site may republish an MMC contained in the site under CC-BY-SA on the same site at any time before August 1, 2009, provided the MMC is eligible for relicensing.

ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents

To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of the License in the document and put the following copyright and license notices just after the title page: 

       Copyright (C)  year  your name.
       Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
       under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
       or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
       with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover
       Texts.  A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU
       Free Documentation License''.

If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover Texts, replace the “with...Texts.” line with this: 

         with the Invariant Sections being list their titles, with
         the Front-Cover Texts being list, and with the Back-Cover Texts
         being list.

If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the situation.

If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of free software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to permit their use in free software.

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