• 

  IRC! The Internet Relay Chat! We've all heard about chatting with people LIVE all over the world. Getting involved with IRC really isn't hard. If you ever managed to install and use programs like WS-FTP, Netscape, Eudora, WS-Archie, Mosaic, WinVN, FreeAgent or similar programs, you will not have any trouble understanding how to install and use an IRC program (client).

What is IRC?

• IRC stands for "Internet Relay Chat". It was originally written by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988. Since starting in Finland, it has been used in over 60 countries around the world. It was designed as a replacement for the "talk" program but has become much, much more than that. IRC is a multi-user chat system, where people meet on "channels" (rooms, virtual places, usually with a certain topic of conversation) to talk in groups, or privately. There is no restriction to the number of people that can participate in a given discussion, or the number of channels that can be formed on IRC.

How is IRC set up?

• As a user you run a "client" program which connects to a "server" in an IRC network. The most populars clients are MIRC (win/win95) and Homer and Ircle (Mac). Netscape Chat, is also a popular option, since it hooks in with Netscape, and is easy to use.

  All servers are interconnected and pass messages from user to user over the IRC network. One server can be connected to several other servers and up to hundreds of clients. Several larger and smaller IRC networks exist. The largest one, called EFnet (Eris Free net), usually serves over 15000 users at any given moment. Smaller ones, like Undernet and Dalnet, are a lot less populated but often offer more stability and convenience. One World is connected to NewNet, a new network that grew up from splits in the IRC network. NewNet is currently 50 servers strong! Newnet has an interesting history...

What does a client do? What is the purpose of a server?

• An irc client reads in the commands and text that you supply to it, and parses them. It filters them and performs the appropriate actions, and if necessary, passes them on to your IRC server. An IRC server can serve many other clients. The server holds information about the channels and people on IRC, as well as other pieces of information, and is also responsible for routing your messages to other users. The IRC network itself consists of multiple servers which are all connect to each other.

How do I get the software?

• Windows : MIRC, Netscape Chat 16bit/32bit

• Mac: Homer, Netscape Chat, Ircle

• See our software downloading guide for the easiest way to get client software.

How do I configure the software?

• Here are some of the informational fields you might have to fill in. Various software will use varying amounts of this data:

  Email Address: YOURADDR@owt.com

  Nickname: Anything you want

  IRC SERVER: irc.owt.com

  SERVER PORT: 6667

  Here are some example screenshots to help configuration!

  MIRC - IRC Servers, IDENT

  Netscape Chat - Config 1, Config 2

What is a nickname?

• On IRC you are known to others by a nickname. You are free to choose any nickname you like, up to 9 characters long. Do not use spaces and avoid unusual ASCII characters in your nickname. It is also very common to find people that use the same nickname and you may be asked or choose to switch nicknames to avoid confusion.

OK, I've got a client installed and I'm connected to a server, now what?

• It's probably best to take a look around and see what you want to do first. All IRC commands start with a "/", and most are one word. Typing /help will get you help information. /names will get you a list of all nicknames, /list will give you a list of channels, etc. The output of /list is typically something like this:
  • #hack 21 We are your worst nightmare !
    #Nippon 53 Speak Japanese here please ?
    #nicole 3
    #hottub 76 Come in for a friendly chat.
    #mirc 27 mIRC Homepage http://sunsite.nijenrode.nl/ftp/pub/mirc/
    #irchelp 17 Ask all your IRC questions here.

  (Note: There are sometimes thousands of channels, this is just a small example.) In this example "hack" is a channel name. "#" is the prefix. Follwing the channel name you will see the number of people on it as well as its topic. All channel names start with a # or &.

What exactly is a channel?

• A channel is a 'place' on IRC where group conversations occur. People can join the same channel and see each other. Depending on its topic and time of the day a channel can be VERY crowded. Channels can alsobe quite chaotic, or calm. Channels can be open to everyone but also closed and private and only open to friends. On the large IRC networks (EFnet) as many as 2000 channels can exist, on smaller networks (corporate or even one-node-nets) there will be fewer channels. Channels on IRC are dynamic in the sense that anyone can create a new channel, and a channel disappears when the last person on it leaves. Once connected to an IRC server, type /list to see all existing channels. All channel names start with a # or a &. The # channels are globally available while the & channels are restricted to users on your local IRC server. For this moment you can forget about the & channels. If people speak of 'the IRC' they refer to the use of the globally available channels with names starting with a #. Whenever you want to refer to a channel's name, it should be prefixed with a # or &. You also need to use the name, including the # or &, to join a channel, to leave it, to set its parameters, etc. (see below)

Now that I've decided on a nice channel. How do I join that channel? And what do I type once I get there? And when I'm done, how do I leave a channel?

• To join a channel, type /join #channelname. Try "/join #irchelp" or "/join #mirc" to give it a try... That's it! Once you get to the channel, you will see people talking. It will probably look like this:
  • {Avalon} AUUG is on at the same time as LISA this year and is cheaper.
    {Barron} backhaul those DS3s to Virginia ;)
    {Barron} buy a farm
    {FlashPYR} so is .us going to start charging $50/domain, too?
    {Barron} or something
    {Tolim} oops

  Note that you will often come in during the *middle* of a conversation. Unless you're familiar with the channel you may want to sit and watch it for a minute or two to see what the conversation is about. Often the channel name (for instance, #Twilight_Zone) has nothing to do with what conversation goes on on the channel (#Twilight_Zone does *not* have discussion about the TV show "Twilight Zone"). So if you join #baseball, don't be surprised if you hear about the SuperBowl picks or even the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame Museum! To start talking, just type! And when you're done saying what you have to say, just hit the [return] key. You can start with something simple like "hello!". You don't have to type hello! because IRC will insert before all of your channel messages. In the channel window that opens once you join a channel you'll see an alphabetical list of people that are on the channel on the right side of the window. Some of them have a @ in front of their name to point out they are the channel operators. A Channel Operator is someone who has control over a specific channel. A Channel Operator can also decide if control is shared or not. The first person to join the channel automatically receives Channel Operator status. In the channel's title bar you will see the channel's name and perhaps its topic. If you choose to leave a channel, just type /part #channelname

Ok, now what are the most basic commands?

• With most windows IRC clients an extensive help file is included. Dont hesitate to try the /help command.

  IMPORTANT NOTE : ALL IRC COMMANDS START WITH A "/".

  The forward slash is the default command character. Commands on IRC are not case sensitive, and can be abbreviated to their first letters. Anything that does not begin with "/" is assumed to be a message to someone and will be sent to your current channel, or to a person you are chatting with in a private chat (see below).

  HELP shows general help or help on the given command.
  LIST lists all current channels.
  JOIN to join a channel
  PART to leave a channel (same as LEAVE)
  QUIT exits your IRC session, (same as BYE and EXIT)
  NICK changes your nickname
  AWAY leaves a message saying you're away or not paying attention
  WHOIS displays information about someone
  INVITE sends an invitation to another user
  KICK gets rid of someone on a channel
  TOPIC changes the topic of the channel
  ME sends anything about you to a channel or QUERY

  /HELP [command] Shows general help or help on the given command.

  /LIST [[{flags}] {channel mask}] Lists all current channels.
  In the list you will see all channels (see below), except for those that are secret, with their number of users and the topic. The displayed list may be quite long, so you can limit it using flags. "/LIST -MIN n" for instance removes channels with less than 'n' users from the output.

  /JOIN {#channel} Sets your current channel to the supplied channel.
  Upon entering a channel, you are given useful details about it: a list of users talking in that channel, channel mode settings and the topic... Joining a channel does not cause you to leave your previous channel and you can normally join as many channels as your connection can handle or that the IRC server allows.
  /JOIN #windows
  *** Now talking in #windows

  /PART [#channel] Makes you leave a channel. (same as LEAVE)
  /PART #windows
  *** You have left #windows

  /QUIT [reason] Exits your IRC session. (Also BYE and EXIT.)
  If a reason is supplied, it is displayed to other people on your channels.
  /QUIT Lunch Time!

  /NICK {nickname} Changes your nickname to whatever you like.
  Everyone who wants to talk to you sees this name. Nicknames are limited to 9 characters max. If your intended nickname clashes with someone else's as you enter IRC, you will not be able to enter until you change it to something else. Duplicate nicknames are not allowed; this is enforced by the IRC servers. Under some circumstances, two individuals may temporarily have the same nick but once discovered, both of them will be killed; a nick collision kill.
  /NICK Guru
  *** Newbie is now known as Guru

  /AWAY [away message] Sets your status as away with some info.
  Sets a message explaining that you are not currently paying attention to IRC. Whenever someone sends you a MSG or does a WHOIS on you, they automatically see whatever message you have set. Using AWAY with no parameters marks you as no longer being away.
  /AWAY Gone to get a cup of coffee.
  *** You have been marked as being away
  /AWAY
  *** You are no longer marked as being away

  /WHOIS {nickname} Shows information about someone.
  /WHOIS Guru
  *** Guru is master@some.network.net (Nuclear free)
  *** on channels: @#Windows @#Windows95 #mIRC
  *** on via server irc.server.net (The best server)
  *** Guru is away (making dinner)
  /WHOIS Newbie
  *** Newbie: No such nickname

  /INVITE {nickname} {#channel} Invites another user to a channel you are on.
  If you want a friend to join your channel you can invite him. He will see a message such as ***Guru invites you to #channel. This is required if your channel is 'invite only'.
  /INVITE Friend #windows
  *** Inviting Friend to #windows
  If you receive an INVITE message, you can type "/JOIN {#channel}".

  /KICK {#channel} {nickname} Kicks a user off a given channel.
  Well, you guessed it, if there is a way to invite someone on a channel, there is also the ablility to KICK someone out of it. For example ,if a person is behaving in an offensive manner by annoying people or flooding the channel with unwanted information, they can be forced out of the channel. Only 'channel operators' are privileged to use this command.
  /KICK #windows Lamer
  *** Lamer has been kicked off channel #windows by Guru

  /TOPIC {#channel} {topic for channel} Changes the channel's topic.
  Channels have topics, that indicate the current topic of conversation. You can change this topic on a channel with the TOPIC command.
  /TOPIC #windows Lets discuss OS/2
  *** Guru has changed topic to "Lets discuss OS/2"

  /ME {action description} Tells people about what you are doing.
  At times, you may want to send a description of what you are doing or how you are feeling or just anything concerning you on the current channel or in a query.
  /ME slaps Newbie with a large trout.
  * Guru slaps newbie with a large trout.

  The same goal can be achieved towards a specific nickname or channel using:
  /DESCRIBE {nickname|#channel} {action description}

What language should I speak? How do I behave on IRC?

• The most widely understood and spoken language on IRC is English. However, as IRC is used in many different countries, English is by no means the only language. If you want to speak some language other than English, (for example with your friends), go to a separate channel and set the topic to indicate that. Similarly, you should check the topic when you join a channel to see if there are any restrictions about language. On a non-restricted channel, please speak a language everybody can understand. If you want to do otherwise, change channels and set the topic accordingly.
  It is not necessary to greet everybody on a channel personally. Usually one "Hello!" or equivalent is enough. Also, don't expect everybody to greet you back. On a channel with 20 people that would mean one screenful of hellos. It makes sense not to greet everyone, in order not to be rude to the rest of the channel. If you must say hello to somebody you know, do it with a private message. The same applies to goodbyes. Also note that using your client's facilities to automatically say hello or goodbye to people is extremely poor etiquette. Nobody wants to receive autogreets. They are not only obviously automatic, but while you may think you are being polite, you are actually conveying yourself as insincere. If somebody wants to be autogreeted when they join a channel, they will autogreet themselves. Remember, people on IRC form their opinions about you only by your actions, writings and comments, so think before you type. If you use offensive words, you'll be frowned upon. Do not "dump" (send large amounts of unwanted information) to a channel or user. This is likely to get you kicked off the channel or killed off from IRC. Dumping causes network "burps", causing connections to go down because servers cannot handle the large amount of traffic. Other prohibited actions include:
  * Harassing another user. Harassment is defined as behavior towards another user with the purpose of annoying them.
  * Annoying a channel with constant beeping. (Therefore most clients cannot beep at all)
  * Any behavior reducing the functionality of IRC as a CHAT medium.

What is a channel operator? What is an IRC operator?

• A channel operator (ChanOp or Op) is someone with a "@" by their nickname in a channel's names list, or a "@" before the channel name in a /whois or /uwho output. Channel operators are the 'rulers' of a particluar channel. This means they can kick you out of their channel for any reason. If you don't like this, you complain to them or start your own channel and become a channel operator there yourself. An IRC operator (IRCop) is someone who maintains a server or part of the IRC network. They cannot fix channel problems. They cannot kick someone out of a channel for you. They also cannot /kill (disconnect a user from their IRC server temporarily) someone just because you gave the offender channel operator privileges and said offender kicked *you* off. IRCops have better things to do than interfere in channel affairs.

How do I create a new channel?

• A channel is automatically created as soon as the first person joins it. If you join a channel and you find your name as the only one there, you just created that channel. Channels on IRC are dynamic in the sense that anyone can create a new channel, and a channel disappears when the last person leaves it.

What are good channels to try while using IRC?

• The famous channels #hottub, #friendly, #chat and #riskybus are almost always filled with people. #hottub is meant to simulate a hot tub, and #riskybus is a non-stop game. Just join to find out! Besides chat channels there also exist channels specialized towards helping other users. Examples are #windows95, #winsock, #irchelp, #ircnewbies and #mirc.
  To get a list of all available channels with their names and topics, type /list. To see only the most active channels type /list -min 20 which will show you channels with 20 or more members. You can also do this for smaller numbers. Even very crowded channels can be silent, so if you join a channel and don't hear much talking, it may be because you joined, but just because the people on that channel are doing other things.

Where can I get more info?

• IRC RFC
  The Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Protocol is explained and defined in the Request for Comments (RFC) number 1459 written by the founder of IRC J. Oikarinen and D. Reed. This RFC is available by FTP from cs-ftp.bu.edu or ftp.tohoku.ac.jp.

  IRC Primer
  A good, simple and basic introduction to IRC is found in the IRC Primer by Nicolas Pioch. Get it by FTP from cs-ftp.bu.edu and see Nicolas' IRC Hints.

  IRC FAQ
  The IRC Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) by Helen Trillian Rose provides excellent information on a lot of IRC issues. The IRC FAQ is available by FTP at cs-ftp.bu.edu and ftp.kei.com and in html format on www.kei.com.

  Undernet FAQ
  The Undernet IRC FAQ consists of 2 parts. The initial version was written by Paul Grant and later versions by Mandar M. Mirashi. The latest version can always be found at: ftp://ftp.undernet.org/undernet/docs/ URL's to the World Wide Web version of this FAQ are:
  http://www2.undernet.org/~cs93jtl/underfaq/ and Undernet FAQ part 1 and Undernet FAQ part 2.
  

  WWW
  On the world wide web a lot of additional info can be easily found. Do some simple searches on Yahoo or Webcrawler to find tons of info !!
  Some usefull links are :
  IRChelp.org, Info on Undernet, Yahoo info and Larry's place.
  You can also visit some Windows IRC clients World Wide Web pages to get more info :
  WSIRC, mIRC, mIRC, InteRfaCe, ChatMan, Virc.

  Usenet
  The Usenet alt.irc.* newsgroups provide a lot of information to both newbies and experienced people on IRC. I can highly recommend 'lurking' there for a while!

  IRC
  On IRC you will find several channels intended to help you with simple as well as more difficult problems. You could give #irchelp, #ircnewbies, #new2irc, #newbies and #wasteland a try. Also most of the popular Windows based IRC clients have their own IRC channel. Check out #mirc, #virc, #interface and #wsirc. Please don't demand help though; we are all volunteers there.

We don't claim copyrights on this file since it is compiled out of several sources on the web and just some of my own inspiration (transpiration ?). Parts of other files are used with permission of the respective authors.