Version: (using KDE 4.4.0) OS: Linux Installed from: Ubuntu Packages auto nick identification should be "/nickserv identify <password>" instead of "/msg nickserv identify <password>". Most server use the first one for nick authentication like DALnet.
It's not obsolete. The bottom line is that authentication on IRC is not standardized and that there's a wide range of different variants among networks - some not even using nickserv at all. The auto-identify options in Konversation currently try to work with most common networks without going overboard on complexity. DALnet actually recommends "/msg nickserv@services.dal.net identify" IIRC, and has been doing so for some years. So if you type "nickserv@services.dal.net" into the "Service" field of the auto-identify settings, it will send that and it will work fine.