First and foremost: This guide is not comprehensive. There is a lot more to IRC than is in this guide. This guide is also exactly that. A Guide. What it says isn't always the only way to do stuff, but it is generally the easiest. Lastly, please don't feel obliged to read through the whole guide. It is long, and there aren't many pictures I know. Just read until you think you know what you need to, and then come back to it if you want too check something of find out more.
Hope you enjoy
Some of you may have heard/see the term IRC (Internet Relay Chat) around the forums, and are wondering what all the hype is for.
Essentially, IRC is made up of a bunch of moderated chat rooms, in that lots of people are all talking in the same place. However, it's probably safer/nicer than your average chat room, as it has numerous channels for people to chat on, as well as ways to get rid/shut up unruly or out of order members. We have our own channel (#taijitu), and we don't let people/pedophiles who are abusive/stalkers into the channel.
But why should you join #taijitu? Well, it's probably the best way to get to know some of the other people in the region on a more personal, less structured level. We're all pretty harmless, and are happy to talk about just about anything.
If you like the sound of this, then Elu (being the genius he is) has gone and created web page that you can use to join IRC without having to download any special programs. This can be joined
Here (http://www.taijitu.org/pjirc/). I suggest you book mark or somehow keep a note of this link. When you get to the page, you may be asked to run a Java applet. If you are, click yes.
You will then see a blue and white applet with three main parts (See example screen shot below). The most important is the white box with all the writing in. This is were messages appear. Just below this a white entry box, that you can use to type your own messages (Press enter to send). Secondly, the blue box on the right shows the names or nicks of all the people in the channel (some of them might have the @ or + sign in fount of them). Finally, the Blue box right at the bottom of the page shows you which channels you are in. It should say "Public > #taijitu" / "Private > Status" to start with.
Without knowing anything else, you can start using IRC like this, however, you might like to personalize it first, so other people know who you are, etc. Here are some basic commands to get you started, as well as an explanation. It should be noted that all messaging and commands are entered in the white box at the bottom. For all commands, remove the quotes.
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Messaging/Talking: This part is simple, just type something in, and it will appear in the channel for everyone to see. Messages cannot be removed or edited once you press enter.
Changing Your Nickname: When you start using IRC, your nick will be A_Taiji (or Taiji and a number if there is already someone with A_Taiji as a nick). This however isn't very useful for letting others know who you are. To change this, simply type "
/nick " followed by whatever you want to call yourself. There is a Character Limit, and you can't use spaces.
The Funny Pink Writing:Sometime you may see some pink writing that says something like "
* Akka-Wakka is a sheep." To do this yourself, type "
/me " followed by whatever text you want to appear after your nickname.
Quiting: Simply close the window.
Joining Another Channel: After a while in NS, you might want to start getting involved in other regions or you may just have a friend who is in another channel. If you know the name of the channel, then type "
/join " followed by the channel name. Remember, all channel names start with a hash (#).
Talking Privately To Another Person: If you want to say something to someone in particular, but don't want everyone else to see what you say, then double click the nickname of the person you want to talk to in the right hand column. From here you can talk as you would in a normal channel.
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By now you are probably wondering what the
@ and
+ signs in fount of peoples nicks mean. Here is the answer. The
@ sign means that person is a channel Operator (or Op). These people have moderating privileges in the channel. Tiajitu has an Op policy
Here (IRC Official Channel of Taijitu. Rules of the House.), along with all the other rules of the channel. The ops are further divided into SOps (Super Ops) and AOps (Auto Ops). Aops are people who are automatically promoted to Op status when they enter the channel. SOps are basically AOps who can edit the AOp list, as well as some other things. The difference is not obvious, and is unlikely to be important. The reason why not everyone is an Op is because you have to have registered a nickname for yourself, and have to prove that you are who your nick says you are (by typing in a password) every time you log into IRC. I will explain how to register latter in this post.
The other sign is the
+ sign. This means the person has been Voiced. Voiced people have no moderating privileges in the channel, but if one of the channel Ops sets the channel to moderation mode, then only the people with Op or Voice status can talk in the channel.
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How To Register (This Is Useful, especially if you start using IRC a lot): To register, first type "
/ns register " followed by the nickname you want, followed by a password for your nickname followed by your e-mail (the e-mail address must be valid, because you will be sent an e-mail that you must read before you can be registered). For example, I would type: "
/ns register password my.e-mail@myserver.com". Please don't click this e-mail address, because it doesn't exist. (Also, before some smart alec comes along and tries to steal my IRC account, those aren't my real details) (except for the Akka-Wakka part)
You will then be sent an e-mail (it's usually fairly quick). In the e-mail, it will give you an authentication code, as well as a command to submit. It should look something like this: "
/msg NickServ AUTH 0000000000". The 0000000000 will be replaced with a unique set of numbers for you. Copy and paste this command into IRC and press enter. Congratulations, you are now registered. You will need to identify yourself every time you sign into IRC. To do this, type: "
/ns identify " followed by your password. This will only work however, if your current nick is the one you registered.
That's my IRC guide, I hope you found it useful. If you have any questions, or want to talk about something, just PM me, post in here or find me in IRC when I'm around. If you PM me, please be patient, as I won't be around much in the near future.
If any of you IRC vets see something I've missed out, or think something could be added/explained better, then please let me know in the same ways as above.
I will also
try to post a more advanced guide eventually, which will detail how to use a specialist IRC client (mIRC). This is not a promise however, as I'm not planing on spending all my time writing guides.
EDIT 1: Removed implication that registration is just for ops.
EDIT 2: Removed the nick from the /ns register bit, because I'm a dope.
EDIT 3: Add Pics
EDIT 4: Spelling, plus other tid bits.
