I've been a chatter for four years. IRC or Inter Relay Chat, is one thread of the many interesting things to see and do on the Internet. IRC connects people from all over the world with each other in a forum where they can live chat. I have made so many friends while chatting, young, old and every age in between. People on IRC use pseudonyms or nicks for themselves and the nick I use on dalnet is Angelhair.

There are many forums available for chat, some people even have chat sites on their pages. Throughout my years of chatting I've come to call dalnet my home. dalnet is a service provider that simply provides connections for people to come together, open channels, and/or chat privately with each other. Use this link to check out some of the more popular service providers, as well as a place to get the connection addresses.   (IRC networks and servers list)    (dalnet Homepage)

When you are ready for the chat adventure, you have to first download software to interact with other chatters. I use a programme called mIRC©. This is by far the most popular chat programme for IRC, but there are many others.   (mIRC Homepage)

People throughout the IRC community have created many many addons to the basic mIRC® software. Everything from auto-greetings, popups (funny sayings or pictures), to protection addons that stop aggressive users from ruining your chat. Here are some links to pages that have all the addons and popups you could want. I didn't get involved with addons and popups until I had been chatting for a year. Some of them are very complicated, so you have been warned!   (MIRC Scripts - The source for mIRC and pIRCH Scripts, Addons, Bots, help)   (mIRC Scripts . Com)

You need to learn the commands used in IRC. The more prepared and aware you are about the inner workings of IRC, the better your chat. You'll find a list of IRC commands in the help section of mIRC© and I recommend downloading the FAQ from the mIRC homepage. I suggest you read my etiquette section before you start practicing some of the commands in a chat channel or on another unsuspecting user.

Once in a channel you will see a list on your right hand side of who is in that channel with you. Those individual nicks that have an "@" sign in front of their nicks are the Channel Operators; or the ones in control of the channel. Be nice to them, they can kick you out of the channel, ban you from the channel or report you to the service provider (your's and the IRC server) and have you banned entirely.

Etiquette is very important, not only in IRC, but in our everyday lives. Entering a channel on IRC chat is no different than entering a room in your friend's home. Hopefully you wouldn't run into the room, shouting at the top of your lungs, insulting everyone in sight and butting in on every ongoing conversation. If you would do this, you should not be a chatter.

So with the above in mind, here are a few mistakes new IRCers make most frequently ... ending up with them being ignored by most of the people in a channel and/or being kicked or banned.

Typing in all CAPITAL LETTERS is considered yelling and will get you kicked and possibly banned in most channels.   Sending unsolicited files to other users. Not only are many forms of viruses sent this way, but most individuals are satisfied with the files they have.   Messaging individuals privately when you do not know them. This is a form of private chat and not all users like to private chat. I, myself, prefer to chat within the openness of the channel and simply send the message back "I don't chat private, thanks".   Asking people their age/sex/location or as seen in the channel a/s/l How rude!   Advertising another channel you are on or have just formed. Most people know the channels they want to go on, keep it to yourself. If your channel is great, people will find it.

The following actions will not win you many friends either, so keep them in mind.

Swearing. Remember you do not know how old the people in a channel are and some of them could be children. Intelligence rules in IRC, so show you have some.   Hounding the Channel Operators. These people are very busy behind the scenes: helping people, kicking and banning individuals who would make your chat unpleasant, and generally working hard to make the channel a pleasant place for you. You should respect them for the most part.   Make sure the channel you entered is one where they allow popups and pictures to be played. Many channels do not like them, as they distract from the chatting.   Insulting other users. If you have a problem with someone, private message a Channel Operator; or take it private.

IRC chatting can be so much fun, there's a whole world out there just waiting to hear what you have to say and perhaps listen to what they have to say. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Gotta question about IRC!