
SILENCE %|[[+|-]<nick!user@host>]
SILENCE %|[<nick>]

Works only in the Undernet and Open Projects (ircu).

SILENCE is similar in many respects to IGNORE, except that it is server-based. What this means is the server will never even send you messages from anyone you have SILENCEd, whereas it will with IGNORE, where your client is responsible for filtering the messages out. This has the advantage of not bogging your client down with excessive data as it tries to filter out messages. 

The default behavior is to SILENCE a nick!user@host pattern, and if such a pattern is not passed as the argument, it must be prepended with a plus ('+') to be added to your silence list. If a pattern is prepended with a minus ('-'), it will be removed from your silence list. If you only specify a nickname, you can list the patterns in the silence list owned by that nickname. If no arguments are given, your own silence list is displayed. 
 
See also: IGNORE

