#37 Chat nickname changes

[Mark Goldey]

Change the chat nickname database/interface. Jeremy has
suggested establishing a username/password system,
instead of the buggy IP based system that is now in place.

Currently there are ~74,800 nicknames in the database,
and no way to tell how long its been since any were
accessed or how many belong to one single user. It
would be nice if a "last connected" field could be
added and dynamically updated, so that old nicks could
be deleted.

It's also been suggested that all users be required to
register a nickname before using the client to
download, so that "unknown" would disappear from the
list of downloaders and so that those folks could be
/query'd even if they are not logged into chat.

[Nick Fletcher]

Logged In: YES
user_id=786184

They have to be connected to the irc network (logged on to
chat) for you to /query them. I think it may be a good idea
to force everyone to connect to the IRC network but just not
join the channel. That way you can get an accurate count on
how many users are connected as well as the ability for
everyone to message everyone even if they're not in a
channel. "Unknown" will also be eliminated from transfer list.

The only problem: There might be an increase in bandwidth
usage by the IRC servers.

How many people don't connect to chat on startup? Will it
be that dramatic of a change in bandwidth?