What is a bouncer
The term in relation to IRC
On the left is how you usually connect to an IRC network (QuakeNet is a network). Each box in the diagram illustrates a seperate computer. As such the bouncer (or IRC proxy) acts as a third computer, standing inbetween you and the IRC network. The whole purpose is that the IRC network will see you as connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and so on. When you disconnect from the bouncer/close your irc client.
The bouncer will keep your connection online and interacting with the IRC server. For the principle to work it must be running on seperate computers and doing so at all times.
Software
Some bouncers are made for single users, others support thousands of users.
| Name | Summary |
|---|---|
| sBNC | Multiple users, webinterface, flood-protection, SSL support, asynchronous dns resolving, virtual groups of users, partyline, vhosts, supports TCL scripts and more. |
| psyBNC | Multiple users, multiple servers per user, basic scripting, partyline, dcc-bouncing, vhosts. |
| muh | Single user, dcc-bouncing, flood-protection, vhosts. |
| dircproxy | See page. |
Buy or rent a bouncer
If you, as many people, don't have a server from which you can run your own bouncer, you can rent a single (or more) bouncer(s) with several companies. For a reasonably small monthly fee you can avoid all the hassle of having to install and maintain your own server, which in the end may end up costing a lot more if renting a server for it.
More info
See wikipedia for more information.