Getting Started With IRC
Getting Started With IRC
Blog Article
IRC is a text-based chatting system that allows you to communicate with people from all over the world in real time. It is used for group communication in discussion forums called channels and also allows one-on-one chat and data transfer. It follows a client-server model and there are clients for many different types of computers (e.g. mIRC for Windows, IRSSI for Linux, or Colloquy for Mac).
IRC can be difficult to get the hang of at first. There is a lot of information to take in and the format is different from other chat systems. However, with a little bit of practice it becomes much easier. First of all, it's important to understand the difference between a server and a channel. A server is the central hub that all of the chat takes place over, while a channel is a specific topical discussion forum. A channel can be moderated or unmoderated depending on the rules of the community that uses it.
Most IRC clients have on-line help built in. To access this feature, simply type /help where you would normally enter a command (for example, /help who for the /who command). If you are new to IRC it is a good idea to use a nickname. Nicknames can be anything you want, but they must be unique on the server that you are connecting to. Most of the clients will ask you to choose a nickname when you first start up, but you can change it at any time.
Once you've chosen a nickname and logged in to your client, you can start talking in the channel that you joined. You can see what other people are saying in the channel by looking at their username in the main panel. To join another channel, type /join #[channel name] and press Enter or Return.
If you want to talk privately with someone, you can Online irc client ping them by typing @ their nickname. Be careful not to ping people too often, though, as this can be annoying. It's also bad form to dump large amounts of text into a channel, unless you are specifically asked to do so. It's usually better to use a pastebin or a gist for long texts.
Using the /quit command will disconnect you from the channel that you are in. If you are still logged in, you can rejoin the channel later by typing /join again.
IRC is a great way to connect with other people and discuss topics that interest you. There are a variety of networks that you can join and there are thousands of channels to choose from. Some are focused on a particular subject area, while others have a general discussion format. In addition, some channels are private and can only be joined by invitation only. It is a good idea to lurk in a channel for a while before speaking so that you can get a feel for the tone of the conversation and what the norms are.
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