private String removeStatusChar(String nick){
  if (nick.startsWith("@") || nick.startsWith("+") || nick.startsWith("%")) {
    nick=nick.substring(1);
  }
  return nick;
}

private String removeStatusChar ( String nick ) { if ( nick . startsWith ( "@" ) || nick . startsWith ( "+" ) || nick . startsWith ( "%" ) ) { nick = nick . substring ( 1 ) ; } return nick ; }
remove the status char off the front of a nick if one is present
