IRC (Internet Relay Chat) provides a way of communicating (real-time) with people from all over the world. It consists of various separate networks (or "nets") of IRC servers, machines that allow users to connect to IRC. The largest nets are EFnet (the original IRC net, often having more than 15,000 people at once), Undernet, DalNet, SuperChat.Generally, the user (such as you) runs a program called a Client to connect to a server on one of the IRC nets. The server relays information to and from other servers on the same net.Be sure to read the documentation for your client!
Once connected to an IRC net, you will usually join one or more "channels" and converse with others there. On EFnet, there often are more than 5,000 channels, about any topic or issue. Conversations may be public (where everyone in a channel can see what you type) or private (messages between only two people, who may or may not be on the same channel). IRC is not a "game", and we highly recommend you treat people you meet on IRC with the same courtesy as if you were talking in person.
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Channel names usually begin with a #, as in #IndecentProPosals (Efnet) . The same channels are shared among all IRC servers on the same net, so you do not have to be on the same IRC server as your friends.
Each user is known on IRC by a "nick", such as }{utch or Lisa5150. It is best to use a nick that is not too common, to avoid conflicts with other users. e.g., "john" is often a poor choice for a nick. On most nets (DALnet is one exception.), nicks do not belong to anyone, nor do channels. This can lead to conflict, so, if you feel strongly about ownership of such things, you may prefer DALnet because they allow nick registration.
Channels do have moderators (called channel operators, or just "ops" for short), who can control the channel by choosing who may join (by "banning" some users), who must leave (by "kicking" them out), and even who may speak! Channel ops have complete control over the channel, and their decisions are final. If you are banned from a channel, send a /msg to a channel op and ask nicely to be let in (see the /who command in the next section to learn how to find ops).
IRC servers are looked after by IRC operators, or "IRCops". IRCops manage the servers themselves and do not get involved in personal arguments on channels, etc. They are not "IRC cops."
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Commands and text are typed in the same place. By default, commands begin with the character / . If you have a graphical client, like mIRC, many commands can be executed by clicking icons with the mouse pointer. It is, however, highly recommended that you learn to type in the basic IRC commands first. When entering commands, pay close attention to spacing and capitalization. The basic commands work on almost every client.Some examples are given below. In these, suppose your nick is "yournick", and that you are on the channel #IndecentProPosals .
Your friend "Lisa5150" is in #IndecentProPosals with you, and your friend "}{utch" is on IRC but is not on a channel with you. You can apply these examples in general by substituting the relevant nick or channel names. Once on a channel, you can simply talk (or just listen if you want). These are some commands which may be useful:
Basic Commands
- /join #IndecentProPosals - You join the channel.
- /who #IndecentProPosals - Gives some info on users in the channel. @ = channel op, while * means IRC op.
- /ping #IndecentProPosals - Gives information on the delay (round-trip) between you and each user on #IndecentProPosals hello everyone Everyone on #IndecentProPosals sees yournick> hello everyone . (You need not type in your own nick.)
- /me is happy - Everyone in #IndecentProPosals sees * yournick is happy
- /leave #IndecentProPosals- You leave the channel.
- /whois }{utch OR
- /whois Lisa5150 - You get some info about them.
- /whois yournick - This is some info others see about you.
- /nick newnick - Changes your nick to "newnick"
- /nick yournick - Changes your nick back to "yournick"
- /msg AttaGirl hi there. - Only AttaGirl sees your greeting.
- /msg Lisa5150 hi there. - Only Lisa5150 sees your greeting, etc.
- /ping Lisa5150 - Gives information on the delay (round-trip) between Lisa5150 and you.
- /help - This works in some systems. Try it!
- /quit comment - You quit IRC completely, with a comment. NOTE: When you are not in a named channel, you are in what is called the "null channel" (channel 0). Here, lines not beginning with a / have no effect, and many commands work differently or fail to work altogether.
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You can learn a lot by joining a channel and just listening and talking for a while. For starters, try these channels: #mirchelp or #IndecentProPosals (adult channel) . For help with general IRC questions, join #irchelp .To form your own channel, with the name #mychannel (if #mychannel does not already exist), type /join #mychannel You are automatically made an op.
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:-) is a smiley face; likewise, :-( is a frown. ;-) is a wink. :~~( is crying, while :-P is someone sticking their tongue out. :-P ~~ is drooling. (-: a lefty's smile, etc. There are hundreds of these faces. Here are some common acronyms:brb = be right back bbiaf = be back in a flash bbl = be back later ttfn = ta ta for now np = no problem imho = in my humble opinion lol = laughing out loud j/k = just kidding re = hi again, as in "re hi" wb = welcome back wtf = what the f--k rtfm = read the f--king manual rotfl = rolling on the floor laughing[ Contents ]
Typing in all caps, LIKE THIS, is considered "shouting" and should be done sparingly. It is a good idea to use correct terminology (e.g., "channel", not "chat room", and "nick", not "handle").While in a channel, it is a good idea to follow the lead of the channel ops there; if you antagonize them, you may be "kicked" off the channel forcibly and possibly "banned" from returning. On the other hand, some channel ops are power-hungry and may kick or ban for no good reason. If this happens, or if someone on a channel is bothering you, simply leave the channel -- there are thousands of others.
You may get a listing of all the Channels on the net by typing /list
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At this point, you are ready to "chat" on IRC. For the most part, the commands above should suffice for beginners, but things can go wrong in IRC.Networks can become divided (called a "netsplit"), thus separating you from users you had been speaking with. These splits are often relatively short, though common some days.
A more frequent occurrence is "lag", where there is a noticeable delay between the time you type something in and someone else reads it. Choosing a server near you is one way to try to lessen lag. Lag can be measured by using the /ping command. /ping nick tells you how long it takes for a signal to get from you to nick and back. /ping #channel pings each nick on the channel.
mIRC users: Ping? Pong! in the status window just means your server pinged you to make sure you were still active, and mIRC replied to the server with a pong.The command for changing servers is /server NameOfServer.
On most clients, typing /links gives a list of servers on your current net.
NOTE: The /dcc chat command can be used to establish a one-on-one connection that avoids lag and will not be broken by a netsplit! Check your docs for usage info. In ircii, you each type /dcc chat nick to set it up. To talk through that connection, type /msg =nick whatever . The = must be typed.
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For further information about these issues, as well as about other commands (for listing channels, ignoring users, transfering files, etc.) see the IRC FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) files, as well as Channel Op Guide (great for helping you manage channels) on the web site.[ Contents ]
IRC "scripts" are sets of commands that your client WILL run. A large number of (otherwise good) scripts have been edited so that, if you load them, something terrible will happen (someone can get into your account, delete all of your files, read your mail, etc.). There have been very many incidents of this type, not just a few. DO NOT EVER run a script unless you know what each line does, not even if it is given to you by a friend, as your friend may not have the expertise to detect well-hidden "backdoors".[ Contents ]