I'm learning Python and would like to start a small project. It seems that making IRC bots is a popular project amongst beginners so I thought I would implement one. Obviously, there are core functionalities like being able to connect to a server and join a channel but what are some good functionalities that are usually included in the bots? Thanks for your ideas.
Make a google search to get a library that implements IRC protocol for you. That way you only need to add the features, those are already something enough to bother you.
Common functions:

Conduct a search from a wiki or google
Notify people on project/issue updates
Leave a message
Toy for spamming the channel
Pick a topic
Categorize messages
Search from channel logs
IRC bot functionalities