Example of overriding #<< to implement rate limiting (with iirc gem)

limiter.rb

module Limiter
  def <<(line)
    if parse(line).verb == :privmsg
      limit_outgoing_msgs!
    end
    
    super
  end
  
  def limit_outgoing_msgs!
    sleep 0.25 # real slowdown logic here
  end
end

MyBot.include Limiter