Avatars

An avatar is one emoji that appears beside your name in the Web Chat (in messages and in the member list), in IRC programs that support the CR-AVATAR protocol (for example Textce on Mac, iPhone and Windows), and as a line in /whois for everybody, in any IRC program. You choose it from a fixed list of 184 emoji, so there is nothing to upload and nothing to moderate. You need a registered nickname. Building an IRC program? The avatar line is an open protocol called CR-AVATAR.

Set it in ten seconds

/avatar cat
/avatar
/avatar list
/avatar list animals
/avatar off

1. Register your nickname once (/ns register <password> <email>) and identify (/ns identify <password>). The Web Chat can do this for you from your nickname at the top of the screen.
2. Type /avatar and the name of the emoji, for example /avatar fox. You can also paste the emoji itself (/avatar 🦊).
3. That is all. In the Web Chat your emoji shows to the left of your name within a few seconds. Everybody who runs /whois yourname sees a line yourname has an avatar set: 🦊 :fox:.

Pick it in the Web Chat (no commands)

Click your nickname at the top of the Web Chat and choose My profile: avatar and age (on a phone: the menu, then Profile), or type /profile. Pick a category, tap an emoji and you are done; it is the same as /avatar <name>. Remove takes it off again. The same box has your age: a number box (18 or older) with Save age, a Hide my age from everybody switch and Remove my age. You need a registered nickname; if you do not have one the box offers to log you in or register.

Network operators wear the logo

When an IRC operator signs in (/oper), the ConferenceRooms logo replaces their emoji beside their name everywhere in the Web Chat, so everybody can see who runs the network. In an IRC program /whois still shows the emoji the operator chose (a logo cannot be drawn there); an operator who has no emoji shows has an avatar set: ConferenceRooms logo (network operator). It changes by itself the moment they /oper, and the emoji they chose comes back when they stop being an operator (/umode -o). An operator does not need a registered nickname to get the logo.

Where people see it

Your avatar only shows while you are online and identified to your registered nickname. It follows you if you change nickname (the registered one) and is gone for others as soon as you leave.

Rules and good to know

• Only registered, identified nicknames can have an avatar. Guests see everybody else's avatars but have none of their own.
• Only the emoji in the list can be used. That keeps the chat tidy and makes sure every device can show them. Ask the network operators if you would like one added.
• Your age stays private. Setting an avatar has nothing to do with your age, see age-restricted rooms.
• Operators: the /whois avatar line is on for the whole network. Switch it off or on with /as field Avatar set whois off and /as field Avatar set whois on (it follows within about 15 seconds; the Web Chat is not affected). /saprop <nick> avatar <name> sets one for somebody; /avatar off for yourself. Old free-text avatars from before this list were converted or removed.
• If you do not see emoji on your own screen (a box or a question mark), your device or font is too old to draw them. Windows 10 and later, macOS, iOS and Android show all of them. The list avoids very new emoji for that reason.
• Textce: type /avatars to see how avatars work on your connection (whether the network sends them in one go or your program asks one by one, how many it knows).
• Troubleshooting: the emoji does not appear yet? Wait five seconds and send a message. Still nothing? Run /avatar to check it is set and /ns info yourname to check you are identified.

For developers: the CR-AVATAR protocol

Avatars are an open, documented extension to IRC called CR-AVATAR. It describes how the network stores an avatar with a registered account, how the servers add the line to /whois, and how an IRC program can draw the emoji beside a nickname. If you write an IRC client, a bot or a bouncer, or you are simply curious how it works, read the full specification at The ConferenceRooms Avatar Extension for IRC (CR-AVATAR). It is experimental and is not an IETF or IRCv3 standard.

For IRC client authors

The network tells IRC programs about avatars itself: the token CR-AVATAR=1 in the server's list of features (the 005 line), the capability conferencerooms.org/avatar, and an AVATAR message for every member who has one. The /whois text line stays as the fallback for programs that do not support it. The exact lines and rules are in the CR-AVATAR specification. Checklist: CR-Avatar for IRC client authors. All developer pages are in the section I'm a developer.

The list

Animals

Faces and characters

Nature and weather

Food and drink

Things, sports and travel

Symbols and gestures

Use any name above with /avatar, for example /avatar cat.