IRC
From WiiLi
Contents |
Introduction
IRC, short for Internet Relay Chat, is a protocol for real time communication between a number of users on an IRC server. This server is broken up into rooms or 'channels' so that specific groups can chat without interrupting eachother. To more easily facilitate administration, discipline and organisation a number of services are included on an IRC server. The most common of these services are called NickServ and ChanServ, which allow for nickname and channel registration and protection, as well as a bevvy of other functions. Although there are IRC networks out there that do not use these tools (preferring dedicated bots), the network on which the WiiLi channel resides does, and so we will deal primarily with these. The users on an IRC server chat via an IRC 'client', a program that displays the information being sent back and forth. More advanced clients have features that deal with file sharing, customisable interfaces and scripting.
The WiiLi IRC channel resides at:
- #wiili via irc. .net
N.B. This is not intended to be an in-depth explanation of the workings of IRC, and is merely an avenue for those interested to get access to the WiiLii community channel. For a more thorough treatment of IRC, try the article at Wikipedia.
Connecting to IRC
There are two avenues down which you can go to connect to the WiiLi IRC channel;
- Easy, but not very functional,
- Hard, but full of features. Click the Link 2.3 Short Version of the Long Version if you don't want to read through the whole thing.
The Easy Road
This path is very simple, but it's also restricted, as the client used is a simple browser based, java job. Not very functional, but it works for basic chatting.
All you need to do, is navigate to the site's IRC applet page, located here.
Accept any security warnings, wait a bit, and you should be connected, and ready to chat.
The Hard Road
This is a slightly harder way. First, you'll need to download or boot up your favourite IRC client. A good one for Windows users is mIRC, available here. One for those of us who use Linux is X-chat. If these seem a bit daunting, however, you might like to go for something like Trillian. Trillian does not, however, allow you to follow this tutorial, and you join channels &c. differently. Read the included documentation to find out how to connect using Trillian.
Install or start up your client of choice, and you should be greeted with a blank window. Normally, one would proceed to connect to a server, and then a channel (although there are ways to do it automatically, depending on your client), but we need to know where to connect to first.
The WiiLi channel is here:
server: irc..net
channel: #wiili
It's important, at this point, to note that all IRC channels are preceeded with the prefix #. You cannot have a channel that is simply a string without any hash. But back to the procedure. Now that we know where the channel is located, we must connect to the server, and join the channel. there are three commands that we'll use for this: /nick, /server and /join. All commands in IRC clients, like channels, are prefixed with a symbol, in this case, the forward slash.
- First, we need to connect to a server using the /server command.
/server takes the format:
/server irc.yournetwork.here
So to connect to irc. .net, we should type:
/server irc. .net
then press enter. Simple, no? There are a whole bunch of other parameters that COULD be used with this command, but we don't need to go over them right now.
- Next, we need to give ourselves a nickname, so that people know who we are when we chat. This is done very simply and easily with the /nick command, and is done like this:
/nick *insertnicknamehere*
That's it. There really is no more to it. This only needs to be done once, because your client should save it for you. You can, however, use it whenever you want to change you nick. If you do it too much, though, people will get annoyed at you, and it can earn you kicks from the server, and even bans.
- Finally, is the part we've all been waiting for: joining the channel proper.
This is also a simple business, and uses the /join command.
/join #channel password
The password on this one is optional, depending whether the channel you wish to join is password protected or not. We want to join #wiili, which IS NOT password protected, and therefore it's as simple as typing:
/join #wiili
Now you should be in the channel and ready to chat. At this point, you should read through your client's help files and documentation, or ask for help in the channel, so that you can fully utilise your client's functionality.
Make sure to be nice in the channel, too.
A Quick Review.
- Download and install an IRC client. mIRC or X-chat should suit you well.
- Join the server with
/server irc. .net. - Choose a nickname with
/nick *insertnickhere* - Join the WiiLi channel with
/join #wiili - Read your client's documentation and ask people in the chatroom to better use your client.
- Always be curteous and nice.
Advanced Settings
These settings are entirely optional, but give you protection from people who might want to steal your nickname, and allows you to be identified as a distinguished member of the channel with operator (admin) privileges.
In the introduction, we referred to the 'services' NickServ and ChanServ. This is where they come in handy. We'll be using NickServ to register your nick, and provide an alternate one so that if someone DOES steal your nickname, you can get it back.
We'll use a new command, too; /msg. /msg allows you to send a private message to someone, in this case NickServ. You should get the drill with commands by now.
First, we need to register your nickname. With your nick set to what you want to register it as, type this:
/msg NickServ REGISTER *desiredpasswordhere*
This will register your nickname as yours. You need to identify yourself, though, first, before you get any benefits. Do this now by typing:
/msg NickServ IDENTIFY *thepasswordyouchose*
Keep in mind that you'll need to do this every time you join teh server if you want to keep the benefits. It's not necessary, but preferrable. This is all well and good, but what if someone steals your nick? Never fear! Switch to an alternate nickname, preferably your old nick, but with a dash at the end, and reregister it, then identify. Once you have done this type:
/msg NickServ LINK *youroriginalnick* *youroriginalpassword*
Your nicks will have been linked. What this means is that if someone steals your nick, you can go onto your alternate one and type:
/msg NickServ GHOST *yournick* *yourpassword*
And they'll be kicked from the server. It's also useful if you unexpectedly disconnect from the server, and your ghost hasn't pinged out yet.
Remember, though, these are but a few of the commands available to you, and you can get help and information by typing:
/msg NickServ HELP
Short Version of the Long Version
- Download and install an IRC client. mIRC or X-chat should suit you well.
- Join the server with
/server irc..net. - Choose a nickname with
/nick *insertnickhere*. - Join the WiiLi channel with
/join #wiili. - Read your client's documentation and ask people in the chatroom to better use your client.
- Always be curteous and nice.
OPTIONAL
- Register your nickname with
/msg NickServ REGISTER *desiredpasswordhere*. - Identify yourself with
/msg NickServ IDENTIFY *thepasswordyouchose*(always remember to do this when joining a server). - Change to an alternate nick and register it.
- Link it to your original nick with
/msg NickServ LINK *youroriginalnick* *youroriginalpassword*. - Ghost any buggers who steal your nickname, or residual ghosts with
/msg NickServ GHOST *yournick* *yourpassword*.
Proper Conduct in IRC Channels
There are a few things you should do in any channel so that you can function effectively there.
- The foremost thing in an IRC channel is to be civil. Do not idly insult people in the channel, nor should you spam needlessly. Be nice. The only thing that shouting will earn you is a ban from the channel, so strive to remail curteous in the channel, no matter what's happening. Of course, it rarely happens that way, but you should try anyway. The people with @ in front of thier name are admins, or Operators. They will regulate the channel. Always listen to them, because they generally have a pretty good idea when you're being a dick.
- Second, you should respect others. In a way, this is very similar to the last one, but it can't really be stressed enough. Condescending to others and being arrogant may not get you banned, but it will not endear you to the other members of the community. Always listen to others and take thier views into account.
- Next, IRC is NOT MSN. Most of the time spent in an IRC channel is spent idling, or being silent. People have other things to do while they are in the channel, so don't expect an immediate response to any questions or comments you may have. Especially, you should remain in the channel for longer than a few minutes if you see there is no conversation going on. It will pick up.
- Take initiative in the channel. Try to spark a thread of conversation. An interesting channel is the best kind, so try to speak, and keep the speech lively.
Although this may seem somewhat at odds to the last guideline, everyone likes an active channel more than a dead one.
- Don't take too much offence at vulgar language or crude referrences; It's the internet.
- Be good humoured and have fun!
If you follow these guidelines, you may become a well-respected member of the channel, and maybe even an operator. Disregard them and alienation, or even bannage can ensue. These are, by no means, gospel, and you should follow your own feelings when it comes to social interaction. There are situations in which these do not apply, but as general rules of thumb, they're pretty solid.
