= IRC =

== Introduction ==

#spamassassin is an IRC channel hosted at [[http://www.freenode.net/|freenode]] dedicated to online discussion with other SpamAssassin users.  Now and again, the developers have also been known to chat about development issues on the channel.

Freenode [[http://www.freenode.net/irc_servers.shtml|servers]] include irc.us.freenode.net, irc.eu.freenode.net, etc.  To join, you need an IRC client such as [[http://www.xchat.org/|xchat]], [[http://www.irssi.org/|irssi]], or [[http://www.bitchx.org/|bitchx]].

 * irc://irc.us.freenode.net:6667/#spamassassin
 * irc://irc.eu.freenode.net:6667/#spamassassin
 * irc://irc.freenode.net:6667/#spamassassin

== Basic rules ==

 * Before asking a question:
  * check [[http://wiki.apache.org/spamassassin]]
  * check the [[http://spamassassin.apache.org/doc.html|documentation]], especially [[http://spamassassin.apache.org/doc/Mail_SpamAssassin_Conf.html|Mail::SpamAssassin::Conf]] if the answer is probably an option
  * use [[http://www.google.com/|Google]] or any other search engine of your choice
 * Don't ask to ask, be patient, and state your problem clearly and specifically.  Don't speak in vague terms, say exactly what your problem is and what you're trying to do.
 * If you're using a front-end for SpamAssassin (such as Amavisd, MailScanner, or spamass-milter) instead of using the "spamassassin" script or "spamc" tool directly, then try to reproduce the issue with just those apps first.  The issue may lie with the front-end instead of SpamAssassin itself.
 * In general, you're better off asking questions on [[MailingLists|the 'users' mailing list]] instead of IRC; the IRC channel is a secondary forum, and infrequently monitored.  If you do ask on IRC, and nobody answers, don't keep asking -- it's likely that nobody who's on the channel knows the answer, and you'd be better off asking the list.
 * Use [[http://sial.org/pbot/spamassassin/|the pastebot]] instead of pasting/flooding.