Account-tag: Identify the Account Behind a Message

Server Information #

C: CAP REQ :account-tag
S: :irc.example CAP Alice ACK :account-tag
S: @account=atelier-bob :Bob!u@cloak.example PRIVMSG Alice :Bonjour

Here, Bob is the nickname and atelier-bob the account. The account tag should not be added when the author is not identified with a service account. An account does not necessarily have the same name as the nickname and does not refer to an email.

What to infer from an absent tag? #

Without activation of the capability, its absence allows no conclusion. Even when it is active, the absence of an account must be treated cautiously: the client may consider the identity unestablished for this action, rather than reconstruct an account from a nickname or hostmask.

account-tag is not a connection command. SASL establishes identity; the tag describes it in the messages that the server transmits. Do not ask a user to enter their password to "activate a tag".

Differences with other account extensions #

Account notifications and enriched arrivals do not always replace a private message tag from a person who shares no channel with you.

An identity is not a permission. #

A bot can associate internal rights with a verified account, but must verify the roles, the network, and the requested operation. A simple "account=admin" text in a conversation, or an arbitrary client tag, is not server attestation.

• Understanding how the account is authenticated. →
• Designing a bot that verifies permissions. →