say

Send text to the current channel, falling back to the current query.

Synopsis

/say [text]

Description

say sends the whole argument text to the current window's current channel. It is useful when that window also has a query: ordinary input normally goes to the query, but say chooses the channel first.

If the window has no current channel, the current query becomes the destination. With neither channel nor query, the command silently does nothing. There are no options or explicit target argument. A leading word that looks like a nickname or flag is still message text. Use msg for a different explicit destination, or change the current channel with the switch_channels binding through bind or parsekey.

send, me, and ordinary input use the opposite priority: query first, then channel. A non-IRC query, such as an exec process or /command destination, follows the shared sending rules described by msg; it is only used by say when no current channel exists.

Output and restrictions

IRC destinations receive a PRIVMSG. Outgoing channel text uses the send_public hook and normally echoes channel> text; private text uses send_msg and normally echoes *target*> text. Suppressing those on hooks suppresses the echo, not transmission. Recipient clients determine how they display the message; local output does not confirm delivery. Nested sends can suppress hooks/output or be refused to limit recursion.

Destination encoding applies. Long IRC messages use the shared byte-based splitting and server line limits, so text can be split or truncated. The command does not automatically switch to a notice inside an incoming-message hook. See notice.

Empty text sends nothing to ordinary destinations, but can send a blank line to a process query. The built-in is always registered and returns no value. IRC destinations require a usable connection and are subject to server membership, modes, and rate limits. The command does not perform a separate connection or delivery check before selecting the target.

Example

Send a message to the current channel even while querying someone:

/say hello all!

Other clients might display:

<your_nick> hello all!

EPIC's default channel echo includes the actual target, for example:

#channel> hello all!

Source

Registration, send_to_channel_first, send_to_query_first, and shared send_text behavior are in source/commands.c. Current-channel/query selection is in source/window.c, with recoding in source/recode.c and transmission in source/server.c.