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A shell account is basically a personal account on a server that's connected to the Internet via a dedicated, high-speed connection. Shell accounts run the Unix operating system. You access the shell via telnet and FTP. The account provides you with space (usually around 5 MB to 30 MB for basic accounts) for storing files and running programs on the Unix machine. The most popular flavours of Unix you'll encounter with shell accounts are the Linux and FreeBSD operating systems. Unfortunately, unlike Eggdrop, shell accounts generally aren't free. But since they're always connected to the Internet, shell accounts are the most popular and cost effective platform for hosting IRC bots. Shell accounts can also be used for other things, IRC-related and otherwise, such as running a bouncer, running your own IRC server, downloading files at high speed for temporary storage (until you're ready to download them to your machine), sending/receiving e-mail, and maintaining a web site. You don't have to be experienced with Unix in order to set up and maintain a bot on a shell account, but you will need to learn a few basic commands.
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