Heya guys & Gals
I thought we need a page for peeps who wants to use IRC more, but don't understand the concept so well. I got this info on web page and felt like sharing this guys info.. written by Duke on hxxp://www.dooyoo.co.uk/review/294720.html.
"Intrigued by all this complicated Internet mumbo jumbo? Dying to do something fun on the Internet, but unsure of how to go about it? I?m going to suggest something now that you might find fun.
Internet chatting.
Now, there are probably one of three things running through your mind right now after I mentioned those two words. The first is ?What the hell is Internet chatting?? the second might well be ?Ooooh, this was on Coronation Street not so long ago!? and the third is ?Isn?t that where weirdo?s prey on the innocent and naïve??
Believe it or not, I do have the answers to all three of those questions! The answer to the first one, I will give below because it does require some explanation, but the answer to the latter two are ?yes?, and ?rarely? in that order.
Internet Chatting (also called Internet Relay Chat, or IRC for short) is a method of chatting where users join channels (or ?rooms?, hence you hear people refer to chat rooms) and take part in group-based chat. The room analogy is a good one. For your first time in a chat room, imagine yourself to be at a party where you don?t know anyone. You?re standing in a room and you have no idea who anyone is, except everyone is wearing a badge that has a name on it. Not proper names, admittedly, but names nonetheless. Mostly, the majority of people are standing in the middle of the room chatting away to each other, but there are some couples standing in the corners having a more private conversation.
This is what IRC-ing is all about. It may seem all quite daunting at first, but believe me; it takes only a matter of minutes to get to grips with the basics. Hopefully, over the course of the rest of this opinion, I shall give you enough information for you to have a go at IRC-ing yourself.
· Step One ? Selecting some software.
There are numerous programs, and methods, for chatting on the Internet. One method is to use what?s called a Java applet. These are little programs which appear as part of web pages. The problem with these is that you?re really tied down to one ?room? and if you don?t like the people/attitude etc. You?re stuck until you find an applet for another ?room?.
The other method is to use an IRC client (program) which is dedicated to chatting. On the PC, there are three main ones that I can think of offhand: mIRC, pIRCh and Microsoft Chat. I prefer mIRC to the others, as this is the program I was introduced to IRC with, and using it is now second nature to me. The others are not necessarily bad programs; I just haven?t used them, and cannot comment on them.
On the Apple Macintosh you could try IRCle, Snak or PhatIRC. As a PC user, I have no idea what these are like, so try for yourself.
No matter what platform you?re running, I would suggest you go to
http://www.tucows.com and follow the links to your computer, then to internet software, then to Chat: IRC to get software to use.
You can also check out some reviews here on Dooyoo for some first hand experience and opinions.
· Step Two ? Installation.
Most software these days is fairly straightforward to install, even for computer novices, so I?ll not hold your hand through this section.
· Step Three ? First steps online.
Again, I?ll not be going into any advanced detail here. I?ll use mIRC as an example of what to expect, and I assume that this will be similar for most IRC programs.
When running the program for the first time, it all may seem a bit daunting. Unfortunately, the technology behind IRC is quite dated and some software does reflect this. mIRC treads a fine line between functionality and usability, and at first sight might look rather scary. Don?t worry; once you get the initial bit over with, everything else is a lot easier.
Somewhere during your first time, you?re going to get asked information. In mIRC, they ask you for your real name, e-mail address and two nicknames to use (one as a backup in case your first choice is in use). My first piece of advice is that you don?t need to give your real name and e-mail address, in fact I would make a point of sternly telling you (whilst wagging my finger in a stern manner) that giving out your details unnecessarily online (whether it?s via email, on the web or in IRC) is A BAD THING.
So, type in a name, any name ?Fred? will do. That goes for e-mail address as well ?
fred@bloggs.com perhaps? Then onto your nicknames, type whatever you want (although keep it clean ? some people have rules about rude stuff, and as a first time user you don?t know who they are yet!) and get ready to go.
· Step Four ? Some extra background information.
Believe it or not, IRC is actually a system of different networks which are not connected. The three main networks are called: Efnet, DALnet,IRCHolics ( sorry I had to add that one) and Undernet, although there are other, smaller networks as well. Each network will have its own rules and regulations regarding all aspects of chatting online, whether it?s simply chatting (as you will be doing shortly, hopefully) or getting into setting up your own room for others to visit. When starting to chat for the first time, you need to make two selections: firstly, which network you want to use. Personally (again) I use Undernet, and for the same reasons as I use mIRC ? I was introduced to it, and I?ve made many friends on it. That?s not to say that other networks are any better or worse. Again, once you get the basics out of the way, you can try them out for yourself and see what?s going on.
Ok, you?ve chosen your network (probably from some list that?s available ? in my case this is Undernet) and you?re now confronted with a list of ?servers?. A server is a computer that handles all the chat data and makes sure that everything is running smoothly. A good analogy is that of a train station. If a train station is a server, then train passengers are messages in an IRC chat. Some messages go through the station to other stations, but some stop at the station because they are needed there. Some messages start at a station to go onto other stations. It?s quite easy. The best advice in general about servers is that, if you?re given a choice, choose one that is geographically close to you. (Servers tend to be named by the city and country they?re based in) For people living in the U.K. and using Undernet, for example, you would select ?Undernet: EU, UK, London?. You?re not tied down to the closest, but it helps cut down the delay when chatting.
· Step Five ? Tentative First Steps (no, not the pop group!).
OK, you?re not there yet, but you?re close. You have one final thing to do, and that is select the channel (or ?room?) you wish to join. A long time ago, these were named after the particular chat topic that was popular in the room, so if you joined a channel called #dooyoo for example, you could expect people to be talking about dooyoo. That was a while ago, and while some rooms can still be linked with what they?re called to what they talk about, it?s not really to be expected. mIRC will give you a list of channels to start off with. These will be either general chat rooms (for all ages, all over the world) or dedicated IRC rooms for you to ask your IRC related questions without fear. Select anyone you like the look of - #funfactory or #funchat on Undernet are quite good places to start. Highlight the room of your choice, and hit the ?Join? button. You should be aware that each channel has it?s own set of rules and these are enforced by channel operators (or ?ops? for short). It?s perhaps worth asking if you are unsure what the rules may be, or hang around for a bit and see what other people are doing. Some channels don?t mind swearing, abuse or talk of sex whereas other channels have a zero tolerance policy. Something that might not be obvious first time around is that IRC is a global phenomenon, and even though you might be ?chatting? at 1100pm, it is 4pm somewhere else, and there could be youngsters online. That?s one of the reasons why a lot of the channels first listed in mIRC are general help and chat channels that are suitable for all the family. Of course, the OpCom chat room is a great place to be, although not for the faint hearted!
As an aside, a lot of the more established, and busy chat rooms have their own web sites with pictures of the operators, regular users etc. Some even have meetings where people from all over the world gather in one city for a while to have fun and actually see each other face to face!
See next post........
Last edited by Hunted at Jul 28 2002, 10:05 AM
. (smiling) or :P. (pouting) or >
Linear Mode
