# $EPIC: ping.txt,v 1.2 2006/08/19 03:58:07 sthalik Exp $
======Synopsis:======
__ping__ <nickname>
__ping__ <channel>

======Description:======
Lag is a way of life on irc.  "Lag" is determined by how much time it takes
a message to get from the sender to the recipient.  The more lag, the longer
it takes for someone to get your messages.  Sometimes you want to see just
how long it will take for a message to get to someone else and back.  The
__PING__ command sends someone a specially crafted message asking them to
send the message back.  When you receive the message back, you can then 
measure the amount of time it took to come back and that will tell you how
much lag there is to that person.

This command uses the [[CTCP]] [[ctcp PING|ping]] command to do its work.

This command actually sends a message to the other person who will then
send another message back.  If the server (or network) is already overloaded
with traffic, this will only add to the burden.  [[PING]]ing people frequently
will make the lag worse, so be reasonable.

Not every client will respond to a PING request.  You are not guaranteed
to receive a reply to a PING command.  Some clients will mangle the PING
request rendering the results invalid.  You are not guaranteed to receive
an accurate reply to a PING command.

The PING command uses the [[CTCP]] command and so will not work from within an
/[[ON MSG]], /[[ON PUBLIC]], /[[ON PUBLIC_OTHER]], /[[ON NOTICE]], or the like.

======Examples:======
To see how far away your friend booya is from you:
      /ping booya

To see how far away everyone in channel #blah is:
      /ping #blah