$./bouncers
A bouncer sits on our network, holds the nick, and lets your client attach when you feel like it. Playback instead of “what did I miss.” A hostname that is not the coffee-shop NAT.
ZNC is what you want unless you have a reason not to. Modules, playback, multiple networks, a web interface so you are not editing configs over SSH at 1am — unless you want to, in which case the config is still a file.
Order ZNCpsyBNC is not fashionable. It is also not gone. If your scripts, muscle memory, or network still expect it, we run it. No lecture about upgrading. You already know the tradeoffs.
Order psyBNCYour client connects to us. We connect to the IRC network. The session lives here. When you disconnect, the nick does not. That is the entire trick, and it still matters.
Dedicated IPs where it is relevant — vhosts and some bouncer setups — so you are not sharing a reverse DNS with a stranger’s floodbot. IPv4 and IPv6 both exist. Pick what the network you idle on actually accepts.
DDoS sits in front of the bouncer, not just “the shell in general.” The attack is usually aimed at the nick, the vhost, or the listener. Putting the filter one hop too far back is how people learn what a netsplit looks like from the inside.
A shell can run a bouncer. A bouncer can be the product. Either is fine. Running a public open proxy is not.