Public/msg commands:.adddef <keyword> <custom definition> - adds a custom definition
.deldef <keyword> - deletes a custom definition, if exists
.addquote <quote> - adds a new quote to the random quotes system
.chquote <quote #> <new quote> - changes a quote
.delquote <quote #> - deletes a quote
.quote - displays a random quote
.quote x - displays quote number x, where x is an integer
.savebook - instead of waiting 5 minutes before save, saves now
.resetbook - in case something happens and it hangs, this resets
.statusbook - shows statistics of the bot
.accessbook - shows your access level to the bot
Global commands:
?? answerbook - shows version of exe, checks for updates
?? whatsnew - displays whats new in the current version
?? ?? - shows the usage of all commands
Lookup/Query commands:
?? <word> - looks up a custom or dictionary word
?? <domain> - looks up a domain name
?? <translation type> <text> - translates to a different language
?? forecast <city>, <country> - weather forecast for non-US city
?? usforecast <city>, <state> - weather forecast for US city
?? spellcheck <word> - checks the spelling of a certain word
?? quote <symbol> - checks a stock quote. add a .ca for Canadian
?? exch - checks currency conversion between 2 countries
?? usphone, ?? caphone - looks up name, address of the phone #
?? usbiz, ?? cabiz - looks up company, address of the phone #
?? uin <uin> - looks up whitepages info for the uin specified
?? http <url> - finds webserver software of the url
?? ebay <ebay item #> - displays EBay auction info for that #
?? sports <league> - shows live scores for different sports leagues
?? randquote - shows a random quote; equivalent to .quote
Misc lookups:
?? calc <expression> - performs math on the expression given
?? flip - flips a coin, displays either heads or tails
?? rand <starting number> <ending number> - random number
?? genie <yes/no question> - gives a magic 8ball type response
------------------
Custom definitions
------------------
One of the features of AnswerBook is the ability to add custom
definitions. ?These can range from funny descriptions of
people in your channel or definitions not normally included
in a dictionary.
For example, one of the preset custom definitions is 'mp3' and
it's definition as 'MPEG-1 Layer 3'. Ordinarily 'mp3' is not
a dictionary word but it's useful for those who may not know
what it stands for.
To add a custom definition, first make sure you're on a channel
that your AnswerBook bot is also on, then type this into the
channel:
.adddef lol laughing out loud
That will add the definition to the list of custom definitions.
You can add as many custom definitions as you want. ?Definitions
are autosaved every 5 minutes.
NOTE: If you define a custom definition that's the same as a
dictionary word, your custom definition will take precedence
over the dictionary word and only your custom definition will
be shown. ?To see the dictionary word definition again, simply
delete the definition:
.deldef llama
This will delete the custom definition 'llama', if you added
that and the dictionary definition will now be looked up instead.
In v1.2.4, multi-word definition support was added. ?To add
a multi-word definition, use an underscore (_) instead of a space.
To use a multi-word definition, either a _ or a space will work.
For example,
.adddef holy_cow St. Cow
Can be requested in 2 ways,
?? holy cow
?? holy_cow
-------------
Random quotes
-------------
In v1.2.17, support for random quotes were added. ?To view a quote,
.quote
OR
?? randquote
To change a quote,
.chquote <quote number> <new quote>
To delete a quote,
.delquote <quote number>
NOTE: When AnswerBook displays a quote using .quote, the first number
displayed is the quote number. ?That number is used to change that
quote or to delete it. ?All quotes are stored in quotes.txt.
=======
LOOKUPS
=======
You might be thinking, now that I've got this program, how
the heck do I use it? ?It's fairly straight forward, read on...
---------------------------------------
Dictionary words and custom definitions
---------------------------------------
To lookup either a custom definition or a dictionary definition
is easy. ?Depending on what settings you've set in AnswerBook
settings, certain people on your channel are allowed to request
definitions. (By default, everyone on your channel is allowed
to perform definition requests.) ?To request a definition, type:
?? <definition>
That will display the definition of that word. ?For example:
<You> ?? winamp
<AnswerBook> winamp: It really whips the llama's ass. Baaaaa!
Again, note that if a custom definition is the same as a
dictionary word, only the custom definition is displayed.
'winamp' just happens to be a custom definition that comes
preset with AnswerBook. ?Here's what happens if you lookup
a dictionary word not included with AnswerBook:
<You> ?? royal flush
<AnswerBook> royal flush: n. 1. a straight flush having an ace
? ? ? ? ? ? as the highest card
It takes several seconds while it grabs the definition from the
server but eventually, it displays the definition of the word.
This feature is useful for doing homework or if someone doesn't
understand a word someone else uses. ?There are hundreds of
thousands of dictionary words and this is one of the easiest
ways to perform a lookup. ?In addition, you can also lookup
names of famous people, chemical compounds, geographical
locations with population and a whole slew of other stuff.
NOTE: The time it takes to lookup a definition depends on the
speed of your Internet access and also on the congestion of the
server.
ALSO NOTE: Sometimes the displayed definition may be a different
tense or different function of the word you're looking for, such
as: read, present tense and read, past tense or match, the verb
and match, the noun. ?Unfortunately, there is nothing that I can
do to allow AnswerBook to differentiate between these types.
Currently, AnswerBook displays the definition given by the
server. ?I have yet to find a way to display different functions
of words.
---------
Thesaurus
---------
This feature was added in v1.2.17 by popular demand. ?Syntax is as
follows:
?? th <word>
OR
?? thesaurus <word>
For example,
<You> ?? th greet
<AnswerBook> greet: verb Synonyms: 1. ADDRESS 7, accost, call (to),
hail, salute.
Pretty straight forward.
---------------------
Internic domain/whois
---------------------
This feature is useful for seeing if a domain is registered and
to whom. ?To lookup a domain, type:
?? domainname.com
Currently, AnswerBook returns 3 conditions:
- If registered using Network Solutions, Register.com or certain
?registrars, it displays the registrant's name and location.
- If registered, but not using any of the above, it only displays
?that the domain is registered.
- If domain is available for registration, it returns a NO MATCH.
For example:
<You> ?? planetbuzz.net
<AnswerBook> planetbuzz.net: Lee Liu, PlanetBuzz Interactive.
? ? ? ? ? ? Toronto, ON, CA.
AnswerBook currently has support for .COM, .NET, .ORG, .EDU, .CA.
-------------------------
Multi-language translator
-------------------------
This feature allows translation among 5 different languages,
English to French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian and
vice versa. ?To translate something it requires 2 parameters:
?? <translation type> <sentence to translate>
The <translation type> can be any of these:
en_fr (French), en_sp (Spanish), en_ge (German),
en_pt (Portuguese), en_it (Italian)
and reverse translation back to English,
fr_en, ge_en, sp_en, it_en and pt_en.
For example, to translate 'i am smart' to French, type:
<You> ?? en_fr i am smart
<AnswerBook> en_fr: je suis fut?
To translate back to English:
<You> ?? fr_en je suis fut?
<AnswerBook> fr_en: I am smart
The same goes for the other languages.
Update in v1.2.10, an ebonics translator was added, use by:
?? en_eb <sentence to translate>
Note: This is not real ebonics, most of it is slang and what
most people think of, as ebonics. ?I'm not trying to promote
ebonics but just as a means for entertainment purposes.
----------------
Weather forecast
----------------
This feature was built for the lazy. ?Tired of switching to the
weather channel every morning and waiting for weather forecast
of the upcoming days? ?Well, with this, you'd never have to do it
again. ?There are two commands, one for US cities which report
in Fahrenheit and world cities using Celsius. To lookup a city,
type:
?? USforecast <city>, <state>
?? forecast <city>, <country>
For example, to lookup Tampa, Florida, type:
<You> ?? USforecast Tampa, FL
<AnswerBook> Tampa, FL: Current conditions - Plenty of sun and
warm. High 82F. Low 62F. Feels like 83F. Friday - Continued
warm with sunshine...(and so on for next 5 days)
To lookup Paris, France, type:
<You> ?? forecast Paris, France
<AnswerBook> Paris, FR, EU: Current conditions - Breezy, then a
? ? ? ? ? ?few showers. Low 12C. Friday - Overcast...(and so on)
Weather forecasts gives the forecast for 5 days from today.
------------
Spellchecker
------------
This feature was added in v1.2.2 due to popular demand. ?It
checks the spelling of words and may suggest alternatives.
Certain IRC lingo and other non-common words will not be in
this. To check the spelling of a word, type:
?? spellcheck <word>
For example, to spellcheck "synonmim" which is really spelt
"synonym", type:
<You> ?? spellcheck synonim
<AnswerBook> spellcheck: "synonim" appears to have one or
more words misspelled. Suggestions: synonym, synonyms, synonymy,
synonymic, synonymies, synonymist, synonymity, synonymous,
symbolism, symposium, synonymical, symposiums, synergism, synod,
synodic
If you enter a sentence instead of a word, it will only suggest
alternatives for the first incorrectly spelled word in the
sentence.
------------
Stock quotes
------------
This feature was added in v1.2.4 also due to popular demand.
It returns stock symbol info on nearly all of the US & Canadian
Exchanges, including NASDAQ, DOW, NYSE, TSE, VSE to name a few.
The quote info updates every few minutes during a trading day.
To look up a quote, type:
?? quote <symbol>
For example, to check on nVidia Corporation, type:
<You> ?? quote nvda
<AnswerBook> nvda: NVIDIA CORPORATION (NASDAQ:NVDA) 74 15/16
Up +4 3/16 (+5.92%) High: 75 1/16 Low: 68 1/4 Volume: 1470600
Open: 69 11/16 Previous Close: 70 3/4 52-Week Range: 8.3750
- 88.0000 P/E Ratio: 87.24 (All data 20 minutes delayed.)
For Canadian Exchanges, you have to include the ticker symbol
and .ca as extension, eg. aty.ca or jds.ca.
To get info on the indexes themselves, use ?? quote $DJI will
get you info on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. ?"$DJI" is
used for DOW AVG, "$DJU" for DOWUTIL, "COMP" for NASDAQ,
"SPX" for S&P500, "NYA" for NYSE.
------------------
Currency converter
------------------
This feature was added in v1.2.6. ?It performs on-the-fly
currency conversions between 62 different countries/currencies.
The rate table automatically updates on first use, everyday.
Manual command for update is also available. ?The syntax for
the currency converter works as follows:
?? exch <amount in home currency> <home country name or
currency shortform>-<visitor country name or shortform>
For example, to find out how much $100 US is in Canadian Dollars,
type:
<You> ?? exch 100 United States-Canada
<AnswerBook> United States-Canada: 100.00 United States Dollars
(USD) = 147.21 Canadian Dollars (CAD)
Note that each of the countries trails with a 3-letter shortform.
You can save yourself some typing if you use the shortform
rather than the full country name. ?For example, to perform the
same conversion as above, except using shortforms, it would look
like this:
?? exch 100 USD-CAD
You can also mix shortforms and full names:
?? exch 150 CAD-Russia
For a list of countries and their shortforms, type:
?? exch list
To check for an update on the rates, type:
?? exch update
Note: Checking for an update does not necessarily mean that the
rates will be the most current. ?The rates are updated from the
Bank of Montreal and they don't update their rate tables everyday.
Usually, the rates AnswerBook will provide will lag about 1-2 days
behind. ?AnswerBook automatically updates the rate table on first
use, everyday. Periodically, AnswerBook will announce when the
rates were last updated at the Bank of Montreal when performing a
conversion.
---------------------------
Reverse phone number lookup
---------------------------
This feature was added in v1.2.7. ?Although, it wasn't requested,
I thought it was fairly neat to have around. ?It does a phone
number to name/address type of a lookup. ?The directory only
contains listed residential/business numbers in the US and Canada.
Cell phone or pager numbers and governmental organizations will
not be listed. ?The syntax is as follows:
For US residential numbers, type:
?? usphone <area code><7-digit phone number>
For Canadian residential numbers, type:
?? caphone <area code><7-digit phone number>
For example,
<You> ?? caphone 4165551212
<AnswerBook> 4165551212: L Liu. 23 Somestreet St. E. Toronto,
ON, M5B3C9.
Note: The directory only lists residential/business numbers that
have been published in a local phone book for more than a year
and doesn't include all the small suburbs or small cities. ?Some
numbers may be outdated or may not be found.
--------------
ICQ UIN lookup
--------------
This was requested long ago but I haven't had time to add it
in till now. ?Basically it looks up a UIN in the ICQ White
Pages directory and returns info along with online status.
The syntax is as follows:
?? uin <ICQ UIN>
For example,
<You> ?? uin 1864791
<AnswerBook> 1864791: Nickname: buzz. Online Status: online.
Name: Lee Liu. Emails: buzz@black-magic.net, buzz@planetbuzz.net.
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada. Birth Date: 28-Sep-82. Age: 18.
Gender: Male. Language(s): English. Website: http://www.black-
magic.net.
Note: For some reason, the ICQ White Pages directory
experiences a lot of downtime. ?It seems to be erratic and
seems to go down at will. ?I can only assume heavy traffic to
be causing this problem.
----------------
EBay item lookup
----------------
This was thrown in cuz my lazy friend Baka didn't want to goto
EBay all the time to check his items. ?If the rest of you
dont find it useful, I understand. ?Maybe trying a few random
ebay item numbers will amuse you for a few seconds. ?Anyway,
the syntax for this is as follows:
?? ebay <EBay item #>
For example,
<You> ?? ebay 477582724
<AnswerBook> #477582724: Ultima Online - CATSKILLS - 10000
ARROWS - NR Currently: $23.01 Seller (Rating): andylai (6)
High bid: witchblade64 (15) # of bids: 14 First bid: $2.00
Quantity: 1 Time left: Auction has ended. Category: Photo
& Electronics:Games: Internet:Ultima Online Started:
Oct-23-00 14:13:11 PDT Ends: Oct-30-00 13:13:11 PST
Location: Catskills UO
It should work for all ebay items, both active and ended.
Let me know if anything doesn't work.
-------------
Sports scores
-------------
This was added by a suggestion. ?It shows live scores for
games which may be in progress. ?Syntax:
?? sports <league>
The choices for <league> are NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, XFL, NCAAM (NCAA
Mens), NCAAW (NCAA Womens). For example,
<You> ?? sports nba
<AnswerBook> nba: Final - Montreal 6 Carolina 3. Final -
Calgary 0 Columbus 3. Final - Atlanta 1 Ottawa 8. Final OT -
Edmonton 2 Florida 2.
--------------
Other features
--------------
To use calculator, type:
?? calc <expression>
(eg. '?? calc 1+1*3' will give 4)
To use coin tosser, type:
?? flip
It'll display either heads or tails.
To use the random number generator, type:
?? rand <starting number> <ending number>
(eg. '?? rand 1 6' will give a number between 1 and 6, inclusive)
To use the genie, type:
?? genie <yes/no question>
It'll return a random response from genie.txt.
To use the Fahrenheit to Celcius converter, type:
?? f-c <degrees in Fahrenheit>
(eg. '?? f-c 100'. Celcius to Fahrenheit is same except
use ?? c-f instead.)
The following are examples of other metric/imperial conversions:
?? inch-cm <number>
?? mile-km <number>
?? ft-m <number>
?? ga-l <number>
?? lb-kg <number>
?? kgm-lbsft <number>
also valid are the reverse lookups: cm-inch, km-mile, m-ft,
l-ga, kg-lb, lbsft-kgm.
Spamming him gets you banned
Fucking him up with stupid definitions such as flash gets you removed and banned