IRC Basics
Internet Relay Chat is a fast growing medium for
communicating with people around the world over the Internet. Nowhere else
in cyberspace can you talk to so many people from so many places at the
same time. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week you can find people to chat with.
This file is split up into several sections covering
a variety of aspects of IRC and navigating within and around it.
Networks and What IRC Really Is
IRC can be compared to a very big party. At any given moment you will most
likely be able to find people who share common interests. There are thousands
of computers all connected to each other in what is called a Network. There
are also several major Networks around. Some of the larger ones are EFNet,
DALNet and UNDERNet. On any of these Networks there are many channels covering
more topics and conversations than could ever be covered in the real world.
Channels ranging from #chat all the way to something like #NorthChicagoBlockOf2600NAnd1100W.
The names may change but it really can get that specific. Comprising these Networks are the individual
computers which are called servers. Servers usually have names like irc.something.com or
.net. The servers are all connected to eachother in this Network and are synchronized so that people
on the different servers across the Network don't notice the difference between people on the same server or
a server thousands of miles away. Some servers are more powerful and quicker than others depending on their
connection to the internet as well as the locality of the server. If you are in Chicago then a server also in
Chicago will give you a better connection than one in China. For the most part it all depends on the actual
capacity of the server. If there are a lot of people logged onto a particular server, that machine might get
bogged down and be slower than other, less crowded machines. In general you should stick with the more local
servers for the Network you are on.
Regarding Networks, the largest of the Networks is
EfNet. It has thousands of servers connected into it with many channels. After Efnet is UnderNet and after
that is DalNet. The size of the server only affects the amount people you will encounter. For a more
personal, but sometimes more secluded IRC experience, the smaller Networks are the way to go. To talk to as
many people from as many places as possible, the larger Networks are the way to go.
Get me onto the IRC, NOW!
Quick instructions for getting onto IRC are as follows: Download an IRC
client from the following list:
-
Pirch - A very solid IRC client for Win95, WinNT
and Win 3.X
-
mIRC - Another very good IRC client with a lot
of options and add-ons
-
IRCLE - An IRC client for the Macintosh
Basic Terminology You Should Know
On the IRC there are some terms and concepts that you should be aware of.
-
Handle, or nickname. Nicks are short
for nicknames. They are the names people use when on IRC. Nicknames and
handles range anywhere from your first or last name to a name that is just
associated with you. Maybe your college nickname. Maybe your Marine call
name. Anything, it's up to you. Just remember to make it something that
people will remember and that it is 9 characters or less. Good nicknames
are Bob, Jones, sven or BruiseR. Bad nicknames are ones like FrtIrEwQu,
Gregleror or p3il1bRfw, because they are hard to remember and difficult
to address in conversation. Use your own discretion.
-
Channels. There are lots and lots of channels
on IRC. They exist for almost any topic or activity. There are channels
for specific cities, there are channels for people with common interests
and even channels for just general chat. The command to get a list of channels,
no matter what program you use, is /list. That will provide a relatively
large list of channels. All channels on IRC start with a #. #chicago
is a channel, whereas "chicago" isn't. So remember that when you are going
to a channel, or just IRC surfing to put a # in front or else you won't
get anywhere.
-
Operators are people whom you can trust in
general. IRC Operators, or Ops for short are the people whom have
been trusted highly enough to be given control over channels or, in some
cases, entire Networks or servers. You can tell the Ops from the rest of
the people by looking next to their nickname. If an @ appears, then that
person is an Op. They have the power to kick people off of channels in
cases of abuse or, in even worse cases of abuse, ban that person from that
channel. They are people whom you can generally trust not to lead you astray.
Basic IRC Commands
Here are some basic IRC commands to start you off:
-
/list is the command used
to get a full listing of the current channels on the server. be aware that
this command will normally load a large list because IRC has a lot of channels.
-
/join is the command you
use to join a channel. You can be on up to 10 channels at once. Typing
/join
#channel will join that channel.
-
/msg will send a private
message to another person. The format is /msg nickname message.
so typing "/msg joe hi,"
you will tell joe and only joe, 'hi.'
-
/whois will give you
more detailed information about a user. the format is /whois
nickname. Typing /whois joe will tell
you the following information:
-
Joe's username and host, i.e. joe@self-serv.net
-
What visible channels Joe is on and whether he is an op on any of those
channels, indicated by a @ next to the channel name
-
What server Joe is logged on from, such as irc.mcs.net or irc.ais.net,
etc.
-
/me is an emote command. the usage is /me
action. So entering /me says hello, people will see yournick
says hello.
-
/part is the command used to leave a channel.
Just type /part #channelname and you
will leave that channel, while still staying on the rest of the ones you
are on.
-
/server is the command to use to connect to
another server. Just type /server irc.machine.name
(port) and you'll log onto it. like /server
irc.ais.net 6667 will log you onto irc.ais.net
on port 6667.
-
/nick will change or set your nickname up. Typing
/nick joe will set your nickname to
joe.
Miscellaneous Commands and Information
-
Channel Modes. Channel modes are the attributes
that define channels.There are a few different channel and personal modes
you should be aware of:
-
Channel Modes:
-
+n - People online cannot message everyone on your
channel by typing /msg #channel (message).
A good defense against spammers.
-
+t - Only people who are ops can set and change the
topic.
-
+i - The channel is Invite Only. Only Channel
Ops can invite people into the channel.
-
+s - The channel is Secret. It will not show
up on channel lists.
-
+l (number) - The channel is limited to that
number of people.
-
Personal Modes:
-
+i - Invisible. You will not show up unless
someone does a /whois on your specific nickname.
-
General Terminology:
-
Acronyms people use to describe situations
or the like
-
afk - away from keyboard
-
lol - laughing out loud
-
bbiab - be back in a bit (also seen is bbias where
s stands for second)
-
re - re-hello, used when greeting someone after they
had just left for a little while.
-
irl - in real life. the non-online one, that is.
-
Other terminology:
-
:) - smiley face
-
:( - frowny face
-
:| - neither smiley nor frowny
-
:> - Hentai Smile
-
=^) - another smiley
IRC Clients
Links