--- /dev/null
+# [ngIRCd](https://ngircd.barton.de) - FAQ, Tips & Tricks
+
+# General
+
+## Is it possible to link ngIRCd with other non-ngIRCd servers?
+
+Yes and no. Back in the beginning (2001, 2002, ...) the server-server protocol
+used by ngIRCd was compatible to the original ircd used by IRCNet at that time,
+version 2.10.3p3. And most probably this is still the case today, although not
+actively tested for a long time.
+
+Please note that newer ircd versions (2.11.x) are *not* compatible any more!
+
+And other server-server protocols were never supported.
+
+## Is there a homepage with further information and downloads?
+
+Yes. Please visit https://ngircd.barton.de :-)
+
+## Why should I use ngIRCd instead of the original one?
+
+The `README.md` file and the [homepage](https://ngircd.barton.de) list a few
+advantages of ngIRCd:
+
+- Well arranged (lean) configuration file.
+- Simple to build, install, configure, and maintain.
+- Supports IPv6 and SSL.
+- Can use PAM for user authentication.
+- Lots of popular user and channel modes are implemented.
+- Supports "cloaking" of users.
+- No problems with servers that have dynamic IP addresses.
+- Freely available, modern, portable and tidy C source.
+- Wide field of supported platforms, including AIX, A/UX, FreeBSD, HP-UX,
+ IRIX, Linux, macOS, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris and Windows with WSL or Cygwin.
+
+# Building and Compilation
+
+## The `./configure` script is missing in the source directory!?
+
+When using sources checked out via *Git*, the `configure` script as well as the
+`Makefile.in` templates must be generated using the GNU *automake*, *autoconf*
+and *pkg-config* tools. To simplify this task run the `./autogen.sh` script
+which will execute the required commands for you; then continue with executing
+the `./configure` script as usual.
+
+Please see the `INSTALL.md` file for details!
+
+## Error message `aclocal: command not found`
+
+GNU *automake* is missing on your system but required for building Git versions
+of ngIRCd. Install GNU automake 1.6 or later and try again.
+
+## Error message `autoheader: command not found`?
+
+GNU *autoconf* is missing on your system but required for building Git versions
+of ngIRCd. Install GNU autoconf 2.52 or later and try again.
+
+## Error message `automake: configure.in: AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE must be used`?
+
+Most probably you are using version 1.5 of GNU automake which seems to be
+incompatible to the build system of ngIRCd. Solution: upgrade to at least
+version 1.6 of GNU automake.
+
+(If you are using Debian 3.0 "Woody" you can try to downgrade to version 1.4 of
+GNU automake shipped with this distribution; it should work, too.)
+
+# Troubleshooting ngIRCd Runtime Issues
+
+Always start with:
+
+1. Make sure that ngIRCd parsed its configuration file as it was intended!
+ Run `ngircd --configest` and double-check its output!
+
+2. Check the logs of your system, especially the entries generated by ngIRCd!
+ Where you can find the log messages depends on your system and your setup:
+ it can be plain text files in `/var/log/` (syslog) or the systemd journal
+ database, for example.
+
+3. Ensure that the daemon started up successfully, is actually running and did
+ not stop/crash in the meantime. You can check this with your service
+ manager (like `systemctl status ngircd` on Linux systems using systemd) or
+ using `pgrep -l ngircd` to check for "ngircd" processes. If ngIRCd is not
+ running, try to restart the service and check the service status and the
+ logs (syslog, systemd journal) again!
+
+## Where is the log file stored?
+
+See introduction to this section above :-)
+
+## "Connection refused" errors
+
+1. Is the daemon really running? See introduction to this section above!
+
+2. Does ngIRCd listen on the correct interface(s) and port(s)? On Linux, you
+ can check this with `sudo ss -ltnp|awk '/ngircd/{print $4}`, for example.
+ Check your `Listen` and `Ports` settings in the `[Global]` (and `[SSL]`)
+ sections and the startup messages of the daemon, especially the lines
+ stating "Now listening on xxx:yyy (socket zzz)"!
+
+3. Are you able to connect to the ngIRCd service locally from the system the
+ daemon runs on? Test all the interface IP addresses you expect ngIRCd to
+ listen on, for example with a regular IRC client or tools like `telnet` or
+ `nc` ("net cat"): `telnet localhost 6667`, `nc 192.168.1.2 6667`, ...
+
+ If all the above works as expected, the issue most probably is not with
+ ngIRCd or its configuration but the network layer.
+
+4. Are the port(s) ngIRCd listens on open and not blocked by a firewall? Check
+ the logs of your firewall solution (on the server itself and all firewalls
+ "in front of it") and use tools like `tcpdump` to check the network layer!
+
+## Issues related to running ngIRCd inside of a `chroot` environment
+
+**I cannot connect to remote peers when I use the chroot option, the following
+is logged: `Can't resolve example.com: unknown error!`**
+
+See next question blow ...
+
+**When running ngIRCd inside a chroot, no IP addresses can be translated in DNS
+names, errors like "Name or service not known" are logged!**
+
+On Linux/glibc with chroot enabled you need to put some libraries inside
+the chroot as well, notably `libnss_dns`; maybe others. Unfortunately, even
+linking ngIRCd statically does not help this. So you can either copy
+all the required files into the chroot directory:
+
+``` bash
+mkdir -p ./chroot/etc ./chroot/lib
+cp -a /etc/hosts /etc/resolv.conf /etc/nsswitch.conf ./chroot/etc/
+cp -a /lib/libresolv* /lib/libnss_* ./chroot/lib/
+```
+
+Or you can try to link ngIRCd against an other C library (like dietlibc) that do
+not depend on NSS modules and these files.
+
+# IRC Features
+
+## I have added an `[Oper]` section, but how do I log in as an IRC operator?
+
+You can use the `/OPER <name> <password>` command in your IRC client to become
+an IRC operator as defined in an `[Oper]` block in your configuration file.
+
+ngIRCd will also log all OPER requests (using syslog), and if an OPER command
+fails you can look there to determine why it did not work (bad password,
+unauthorized host mask, ...).
+
+Please keep in mind that the "name" in the `/OPER` command is *not* related to
+your nick name at all!
+
+## I am an IRC operator, but MODE doesn't work!
+
+By default, IRC operators are still not allowed to use `/MODE` globally.
+
+If you set `OperCanUseMode = yes` in your configuration, then IRC operators can
+use the `/MODE` command for changing modes even when they are not joined to the
+specific channel.
+
+## How can I "auto-op" users in channels?
+
+ngIRCd can't do this: you would have to use some "IRC Services", like
+[Atheme](http://atheme.net/atheme.html) or [Anope](http://www.anope.org).
+
+See `doc/Services.txt` for setup instructions.
+
+# Bugs!?
+
+## Is there a list of known bugs and desired feature enhancements?
+
+Yes. Have a look at the bug tracking system (GitHub issues) for ngIRCd located
+at <https://github.com/ngircd/ngircd/issues>. There you can file bug reports and
+feature requests as well as search the bug database.
+
+## What should I do if I found a bug?
+
+Please file a bug report at <https://github.com/ngircd/ngircd/issues/new>!
+The authors will be notified automagically :-)
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