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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. 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. (Read
more on how IRC started in http://www.mirc.co.uk/jarkko.txt
and
jarkko2.txt) This program
is a substitution for 'talk', and many other multiple talk programs you
might have read about.
Many families from around the world use IRC as a form of
communication just as
they would the telephone, but without the huge phone bills. When you
are talking on IRC,
everything you type will instantly be transmitted around the world to other
users that might be
watching their terminals at the time, they can then type something and
respond to your messages.
Topics of discussion
on IRC are numerous and change constantly. Technical and political
discussions are popular,
especially during world events. IRC is also a way to expand your
horizons, as people
from many countries and cultures are on, 24 hours a day. Most
conversations are in
English, but there are always channels in every language.
Think of IRC as a CB
with unlimited channels & a world wide range. You can speak to one
person or many at one
time. BE AWARE: IRC can be addicitive.
Remember that IRC is for
FUN. ....If you get
frustrated type /quit & hit return, then turn off the machine. REMEMBER
to
go outside, smell the
grass & hear the birds. :)
How is IRC set up?
As a user you run a Client
program which connects to a Server in an IRC network. 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 ones, called EFnet (Eris Free net), IRCnet, Undernet and
Dalnet usually serve
about 25,000 users at any given time. Lots of other ones are a little less
populated but often
offer more stability and convenience.
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 on IRC?
First, you have to make
sure an IRC Client is installed on your system. If you have a PC with
internet access you
only have to obtain and install a client. (dont
worry ..its easy!)
Basically what you do
is download a program, install it and set it up, decide on a network you
want to visit, then
find a server that is geographically close to you, and connect to it. Really
it
depends on the operating
system you are running as to how easy or difficult the software will be
to setup, most programs
have help files that cover it all.
Where
can I find a client?
Popular IRC clients (in no particular order): WSIRC, mIRC, pIRCh, InteRfaCe
and
ChatMan. You can get an IRC client by anonymous ftp from several sites
(use the one
closest to you)
FTP
sites:
ftp://ftp.undernet.org/pub/irc/clients/windows/
ftp://cs-ftp.bu.edu/irc/clients/pc/windows/
ftp://papa.indstate.edu/winsock-l/winirc/
ftp://ftp.winsite.com/pub/pc/win3/winsock/
Dowload
sites:
wsIRC
http://ftp.clark.net/pub/csamsi/home.html
mIRC
http://www.mirc.co.uk/index.html
mIRC
http://www.mirx.com
mIRC
http://www.geocities.com/~mirc/index.html
InteRfaCe
http://www.hijinx.com.au/interfac/interfac.htm
ChatMan
http://www.uai.cl/~burton/chatman/
vIRC
http://www.megalith.co.uk/virc/
pIRCh
http://www.mlode.com/~dvsme/pirch
Telnet
in:
Click
here to telnet to DALnet!
What else do I need before I can install an IRC client?
Besides running MS-Windows you need to have a properly installed WINSOCK.
If you
can use FTP, E-mail, News or other Internet programs from within Windows
already,
you can safely assume you have a winsock installed and it is working properly.
If you do
not have a properly working winsock installed on your PC you should install
one first.
Most Windows 3.1x users use the Trumpet winsock package. Windows95 users
can
use the Dial Up Networking module that is included in Windows95.
How do I install this client that I found?
Most programs on the internet are transported in a compressed form. The
better
programs come in self extracting .exe files that also install the program
for you. mIRC is
one of these programs coming in an 'auto-everything' package. Just run
the cabinet you
downloaded and off you go!
Sometimes you first have to unzip the file to be able to run the program
in it. A good
unzipper can be found at http://www.winzip.com/.
Once unzipped, installing an IRC
client (like any program) is mainly a matter of running its setup program
or simply placing
the files in a separate directory and running the program. After installation,
you may have
to specify some personal information before you can connect to an IRC server.
For
detailed instructions read the help files included in the programs (typically
a .hlp file or
readme.txt). Some IRC clients, like mIRC, have their own FAQ that provides
detailed
help. Reading such FAQ's is highly recommended!
Which server should I connect my client to?
It's usually best to try and connect to a geographically close server,
even though that may
not always be the best. Local (nearby) servers will normally work faster
for you and will
give you unrestricted access. You can always ask for suggestions on nearby
server
addresses when you log on to IRC, or type /links.
What is the port number to use to connect to IRC?
In general, the port number to use is 6667. Some, but not all, servers
listen to other ports
(most commonly in the 6665-6670 range). When in doubt, select port 6667
(Dalnet
usually uses port 7000). A port number should be seen as an entrance to
a server. If you
take the wrong entrance (port) the server will not understand what you
are doing, and
will disconnect you.
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:
#Somaliland
22 The Somaliland Channel
#hackers_hideout 53 We are your worst
nightmare !
#casual 3
where casual and irc collide
#hottub 76
Come in for a friendly chat.
#mIRC 27 mIRC
Homepage http://www-2.nijenrode.nl/software/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 "Somaliland" is a channel name. "#" is the prefix. Follwing the
channel name you will
see the number of people in it as well as its topic. All channel names
start with a # or &.
#Somaliland on line
You will only find #Somaliland on the network DALnet. In order to chat
with us, you will have
to join DALnet. In the simpliest of terms, once you have your client installed
and you are
connected to the internet, just type: /server (server name).dal.net
7000.
[ie: /server liberty.dal.net 7000] For quick reference here are a
list of commonly used
IRC servers on DALnet. Please note that these change frequently.
DALnet
Port: 7000
hebron.in.us.dal.net
chrome.mo.us.dal.net
sonic.ca.us.dal.net
liberty.nj.us.dal.net
opus.ca.us.dal.net
netcom-r.on.ca.dal.net
viper.mo.us.dal.net
stlouis.mo.us.dal.net
recluse.fl.us.dal.net
raptor.ab.ca.dal.net
farside.ab.ca.dal.net
qis.md.us.dal.net
algo.se.eu.dal.net
borg.se.eu.dal.net
viking.no.eu.dal.net
ced.se.eu.dal.net
ohare.ca.us.dal.net
powertech.no.eu.dal.net
ozbytes.sa.au.dal.net
trapedoor.ca.us.dal.net
nethawks.mo.us.dal.net
yaseen.ca.us.dal.net
oahu.hi.us.dal.net
sodre.fl.us.dal.net
webserve.nc.us.dal.net
webbernet.mi.us.dal.net
Then, to join us in #Somaliland after connecting to a server type:
/join #Somaliland
If this sounds easy, it's because it is. Once you have a working client
you will be fine! Its
getting to that stage and further that can be more tricky, but there are
plenty of people on
IRC to help you, and even channels for new people like #newbies, #new2IRC,
#mIRC,
#pIRCh. ;)
Links:
To web pages for the 3 main IRC networks.
oDALnet:
The Friendly IRC network *cough*
oEFnet:
The Largest IRC network
oUNDERnet:
The Second Largest IRC network
Wise-man is the
WebMaster for
this page.