I want to program an IRC bot in node.js. What are the discrepancies between the networks?

Question

I want to setup a trivia bot and while I know there are many other bots around ( Eggbot, various Python bots, Nerfbendr's Trivia Bot ), I want to do it for learning purposes too so I understand the protocol.

To save some time for myself, can anyone point out what differences there are between the various networks like Freenode, Efnet, Gamesurge? Do they all follow some standard protocol or do I have to branch out my commands per each network?

Answer 1

The basic IRC protocol (RFC 1459) is the same for all the networks.

Differences only appear when you get into things like nickname/channel registration, operator levels, services etc.

If your bot only sends and listens to messages, you will be fine if you only consider the IRC protocol. If you want it to interact with services and the like, you will have to see what each network you want to support uses and go from there.

Answer 2

All those network should (and i believe they do) follow the IRC RFC. So no, you should not need to program your bot for each network separately.