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What is IRC?IRC stands for "Internet Relay Chat". It was originally written by Jarkko Oikarinen ([email protected]) 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 convene on "channels" (a virtual place, usually with a topic of conversation) to talk in groups, or privately. IRC is constantly evolving, so the way things to work one week may not be the way they work the next. Read the MOTD (message of the day) every time you use IRC to keep up on any new happenings or server updates.IRC gained international fame during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, where updates from around the world came accross the wire, and most irc users who were online at the time gathered on a single channel to hear these reports. IRC had similar uses during the coup against Boris Yeltsin in September 1993, where IRC users from Moscow were giving live reports about the unstable situation there. How is IRC set up?The user runs a "client" program (usually called 'irc') which connects to the irc network via another program called a "server". Servers exist to pass messages from user to user over the irc network.How do I use a client?First, check to see if irc is installed on your system. Type "irc" from your prompt. If this doesn't work, ask your local systems people if irc is already installed. This will save you the work of installing it yourself. If an IRC client isn't already on your system, you either compile the source yourself, have someone else on your machine compile the source for you.Where can I get source for the irc client?You can anonymous ftp to any of the following sites (use the one closest to you): If you don't know what anonymous ftp is, ask your local systems people to show you
Which server do I connect my client to?It's usually best to try and connect to one geographically close, even though that may not be the best. You can always ask when you get on irc. Here's a list of servers avaliable for connection:
What is the port to use to connect to IRC?In general, the port to use is 6667. Some servers listen to other ports (most commonly in the 6660-6670 range), but *not* all. When in doubt, use 6667.What's the username and password to connect to irc?I'm prompted for login: and I don't know what to type! Sometimes when I try to connect to IRC it just says "connection closed by foreign host. What gives?If you see "login:" then you are trying to use telnet to connect to IRC. You should go back up and read (3) and (4). Nowhere in this FAQ does it say you should use telnet to connect to an IRC server. You *must* use a client. Read (4) to find out where to get a client, and (5) to find out which server to connect to."connection closed by foreign host" indicates that you're trying to telnet to irc, just as in the paragraph above. Again, you HAVE to use a client! OK, I've got a client 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 names, etc. The output is typically something like this-> (Note there are more channels than this, this is just sample output).Pub: #hack zorgo eiji Patrick fup htoaster Pub: #Nippon @jircc @miyu_d Pub: #nicole MountainD Pub: #hottub omar liron beer Deadog moh pfloyd Dode joek(Note there are LOTS more channels than this, this is just sample output -- one way to stop /names from being too large is doing /names -min 20 which will only list channels with 20 or more people on it, but you can only do this with the ircII client). "Pub" means public (or "visible") channel. "hack" is the channel name. "#" is the prefix. A "@" before someone's nickname indicates he/she is the "Channel operator" (see #7) of that channel. A Channel Operator is someone who has control over a specific channel. It can be shared or not as the first Channel Operator sees fit. The first person to join the channel automatically receives Channel Operator status, and can share it with anyone he/she chooses (or not). Another thing you might see is "Prv" which means private. You will only see this if you are on that private channel. No one can see Private channels except those who are on that particular private channel. Now I've picked out 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. 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> oopsNote that you will often come in in 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
When you choose to leave a channel, just type /part #channelname
An IRC operator is someone who maintains the IRC network. They
cannot fix channel problems. They cannot kick someone out of a channel
for you. They cannot /kill (kick someone out of IRC temporarily)
someone just because you gave the offender channel operator privileges
and said offender kicked *you* off.
It should be noted that many servers (especially in the USA)
ban ALL bots. Some ban bots so much that if you run a bot on their server,
you will be banned from using that server (see segment below on K: lines).
To get a list of channels with their names and topics, do
/list -min 20 (on ircII) which will show you channels with 20 or more
members. You can also do this for smaller numbers.
Many IRC operators are in #Twilight_Zone ... so if you join
that channel and don't hear much talking, don't worry, it's not because
you joined, operators don't talk much on that channel anyways!
There are, literally, millions of possible channel names, so if
someone is on your usual channel, just go to another. You can /msg them
and ask for them to leave, but you can't *force* them to leave.
It is not likely that NickServ will be back.
Remember, nicknames aren't owned.
You might also see "You have new email." when you start irc. IRC
does not keep track of email between sessions, so when you start irc and
have something in your mailbox, irc will tell you you have new email.
The "[Mail: 5]" in your status bar tells you how many email
messages you have in your mailbox. Again, to access them, leave irc and
read them using your normal mail reader.
If you don't want to type that every time you log in, put the line exactly
as it appears above into your .cshrc file.
If you are using sh, ksh, or bash, type this before you start irc:
IRCNAME="what you would like to appear";export IRCNAME
Or insert that line into your .profile
In VMS, you must put this line in your login.com file:
DEFINE IRCNAME "what you would like to appear"
Note that netsplits are all from a point of view of the user. After a
netsplit rejoins people might say to you "where did you go?" -- because
from their perspective, *you* split off.
The only thing you can do during a netsplit is wait for the net to mend
itself. Changing your server during a netsplit is a Bad Idea, because you
are likely to get nickname collided. By changing servers, you may also be
contributing to the lag.
As long as you don't quit your client, any DCC chat or send will still
work, even during a netsplit (unless the netsplit is because of a specific
rare hardware problem).
"operlist" is a list that discusses current (and past) server
code, routing, and protocol. You can join by mailing
[email protected] with Subject: subscribe
[email protected], exists to discuss protocol revisions for the 3.0
release of the ircd, currently in planning. Mail
[email protected] with Subject: subscribe
Those looking for more technical information can get the IRC
RFC (rfc1459) available at all RFC ftp sites, as well as
cs-ftp.bu.edu:/irc/support/rfc1459.txt
Updated January 1997 for IRCnet © Paul Stewart
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