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Just what is IRC?Internet Relay Chat (usually called IRC) is a way to chat on the Internet. It allows people from all over the world to chat with each other on "channels" via typing, in real time.
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A very good website for IRC newbies is at the Undernet's IRC Newbies web site. A good site for lots of IRC Related Resource information and links is at Paul Graham's web site. An excellent text document to wade thru is viewable at this site. (This text document is also very good for any ircII user .... lots of UNIX specific commands.)
Well, to start with, you need Windows/Win95. If you're using a Macintosh, read no further. You CAN get onto IRC with a Mac, but NOT from AOL. (So? Go complain to AOL.) For Macintosh clients, see the list further down (but you'll need your own ISP to connect to the Internet).
You'll need the following items to IRC from AOL:
Information concerning IRC and AOL came from www.cfculink.com/irc.htm, which sadly is no longer around. However, that is where the information came from. :-)
How to Access IRC with your own ISP
This means you're smart and have gotten yourself a real ISP (Internet Service Provider). This is an independent company that allows you Internet access.
OK... now you will need an IRC program/client. Some ISPs provide their clients with software to do various things, like get onto IRC. Other ISPs do not do this and it is up to the individual user to get what software they would like to use. The more popular ones are listed below. The most widely used for Windows is mIRC (this is true for the patrons of the Tavern, as well as the world at large). A popular IRC client for the MAC is ircLE. Other IRC programs can be listed by using one of the popular Internet search engines to look for "IRC clients programs".
Once you've installed the IRC client of your choice and it's running, you need to choose which IRC server to connect to. Each program has it's own way of selecting a server. Theoretically, it doesn't matter which server you choose to connect to IRC on. All servers are supposed to be connected to each other to allow users on the different servers to talk to one another. In practice however, netsplits occur (servers are disconnected from each other) or servers experience "lag". Lag is when there is a delay between what you type on your computer and when you see other people replying to it. You have no control over netsplit or lag. We do try to minimize lag by trying to get on the same server .... but it's not specifically necessary to do so.
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A slight digression at this point; you don't need to know this for connecting to IRC, but it is nice to know. |
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You can check your lag, once you are on IRC, by issuing the "ping" command. This is an IRC command that will tell you the response time, in seconds, between you and whoever you "pinged". The "ping" command is /ctcp ping [nick], where [nick] is the nick-name of a person. Note: our channel is overseen by a bot (short for 'robot'), named W. You can also ping W. If your ping time response is short, you're doing fine. Anything over 1 minute is really annoying and you should consider connecting with a different server, if possible. |
We, of the Tavern, have tried using different servers as our "server du jour". Many times the preferred server to use will be displayed in the channel topic .... but it's a catch-22 condition: you can't know what server is being used until you connect and you can't connect until you choose a server. So??? Very simple: just pick one. Get connected. If you're not experiencing any lag, stay on it. If you are experiencing lag, the other patrons on the channel will notice this and tell you. You'll eventually see the message and then you can change if you wish.
UNIX (text-based systems) tips ..... thanks, Vesta!
Here's what I do for my IRC fix, via text-based commands in UNIX (and UNIX is usually what the people who have text-based systems use).
OK... now you're connected with an IRC server .. now what? Well... this is the easiest part! Just type in /join #tuntavern. Voilá! You've just joined the TunTavern chat channel! Congratulations!
Once you are connected to TunTavern, there are all sorts of IRC commands to use to do different things. Your IRC client should have a "Help" file or (!!horrors!!) an actual documentaion file that you really should read. Basically, all the IRC commands are the same, though in UNIX the syntax is slightly different. However, you being a normal human being, aren't really going to read the doc files, are you? We didn't think so. Therefore, once you are in the TunTavern, just ask for help. We're friendly ... and don't charge too much for the help! :-)
One general word of advice: if this is your first time on the channel, say 'hi' upon entering, be friendly..... then observe! Take the time to see what the conversation(s) are about before jumping in hip-deep. Then feel free to join in any conversation that you care to ... all conversations on channel are in the "public domain" ... open to all comers. Most of all .... enjoy yourself!
Various IRC clients ... in no particular order
This is only a partial list. Use a search engine to look for other IRC client programs.
| Program & Platform |
Available from website or ftp site |
Description |
|---|---|---|
| mIRC (Windows) | www.mirc.co.uk/get.html | One of the easiest, most powerful IRC clients today. |
| fIRC96 (Windows) | www.csun.edu/~hbcsc500 | A new beta IRC client. Simple to use for the beginner, but advanced users may find it lacking. |
| PIRCH (Windows 95) | www.bcpl.lib.md.us/~frappa/pirch.html/ | Another IRC software package. |
| vIRC 96 (Windows) | www.megalith.co.uk/virc/ | vIRC is a new concept in IRC. Soon, this program will be totally integrated with the Win95 Shell and you'll be able to drag files from the Explorer onto a nick to DCC send them the file, and you'll be able to drag IRC servers onto the desktop for rapid connection to IRC. |
| Homer (MAC) | www.aye.net/HomerFolder/HomerIndexGFX.html | One of the earliest Macintosh IRC clients, now fallen into disfavor with the emergence of other, more user-friendly MAC programs. |
| ircLE (MAC) | www.ircle.com | One of the more widely used MAC programs. |
| irc II (UNIX) | irc II ftp site | The most widely text-based IRC client. |
Partial list of IRC Undernet servers,not for use by users accessing IRC thru AOL.
There are many Undernet servers available in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia; most of these servers will allow you to connect via ports 6660 - 6669. Your IRC client will probably give you a list of servers to connect with.
Now we all know that anytime a web page lists technical stuff, it immediately becomes obsolete. Therefore, instead of listing servers here, we suggest you look at the most current list of IRC servers available here. This website also lists TELNET clients.
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