I found this tutorial via google and was wondering if we should maybe use this rather than the current one we have. Tells you almost anything that you need to know. Firstly, what is IRC? IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. It allows you to talk to others in real-time in many different channels. It uses networks of servers, which users can connect to using special software, such as mIRC or Chatzilla. Why use it? There are many advantages. If you're looking for help on something, such as Delphi, Perl, HTML etc., chances are that there's a channel on IRC for it. There are many thousands of people connected to an IRC server, so there's always someone to talk to. You can also hold private one-one chats on IRC. Not only this, most people "idle" on IRC or have bouncers, so even if they aren't there, you can leave a message for them and they will see it when they return. What's a channel? Think of the AvengeX forum. It is split up into many different sections, such as "General", "Scripting" etc. If you want to talk about Scripting, you'd go to the "Scripting" section. An IRC channel is sort of like this. For example, #AvengeX, the AvengeX IRC channel, is for discussion primarily about the AvengeX website and community, whereas #delphi is for discussion about Delphi topics. Each channel on IRC begins with a #. Channels will usually have at least one operator, or "op". You can tell who these are, because they have an @ in front of their name. Ops have the power to kick and ban people from that channel, as well as change the channel settings, such as the topic, the number of people allowed in the channel etc. Sometimes, you will also see voiced people in a channel. Voiced people have a + in front of their name. This doesn't usually do much, but sometimes if a channel is moderated, then only people with voiced or op status can talk in that channel. How do I connect? First of all, you'll need an IRC client. I personally recommend mIRC, which can be found here. Once you've downloaded and installed your client, you need to edit your personal settings, such as your nickname etc. Then you can connect to a server. QuakeNet is one of the largest IRC networks and it's the one I'm on all the time. There are many others, though, such as Underet, Gamesurge etc. AvengeX's IRC channel is on QuakeNet. How do I join a channel? To join a channel, you need to use the join command. Simply type /join, or /j, into any window on your IRC client, followed by the name of the channel. For example, if I wanted to join #AvengeX, I'd type in /j #AvengeX, or /join #AvengeX. What's a query? A query is a one-one chat with someone. Depending on the IRC client you're using, you can usually just double click on their name to begin a query. Alternatively, you can type in /q followed by the name of the person you wish to query. Alternatively, for other clients, you can use the /msg command which will do the same thing. What's highlighting? Highlighting is a method of getting another person's attention on IRC. Think of a much less annoying version of nudges on MSN. If someone highlights you, your IRC client will usually try to get your attention in some way, unless you tell it not to. For example, it could flash, make a sound, or have a small popup, much like MSN's popup windows that appear when someone signs in. How do you do it? All you need to do is say their nickname, and they will be highlighted. What are some other useful commands? To "perform" an action, instead of writing it in asterisks, such as *Slaps Atomic*, you can type in * followed by your action. For example, if I typed /me slaps darkmonkey, the following would appear: KreatE^ slaps darkmonkey To leave a channel, you can simple close the channel window, or type in /part, or /p. To change your nickname, type in /nick followed by your desired nickname. To kick someone (if you have op status), type in /k followed by the name of the person you want to kick. If you want to find out some basic information about another person, such as what channels they are on, you can whois them. Type /whois followed by their name and it will appear. Something vaguely resembling the following will appear: (( /whois start )) —› darkmonkey is "Josh" ([email protected]) —› darkmonkey opped in #AvengeX —› darkmonkey voiced in #efT —› darkmonkey using *.quakenet.org (QuakeNet IRC Server) —› darkmonkey authed as "darkmonkey" (( /whois end )) You can quit IRC completely by typing /quit into any window. There are many, many more commands, which I'm not going to go through. Can I create my own channel? Yes. All you need to do is join that channel, and if that name is already in use by others, you will become an operator, and the channel is yours. What are bots? Bots are programs or scripts that perform special tasks on IRC. For example, on QuakeNet, almost every channel has either an L or Q bot. One of their basic functions is if there are several people you want to have op or voiced status on your channel, you can tell L or Q to give them that status every time they join the channel. There are also a huge number of user created bots, which can be found on some channels. One of the most well-known bots is fishbot, which responds to certain text. For example, if I typed in "fishbot", it would answer with "Yes?". What are channel modes? In the title bar of a channel window, you will usually see something like [+CnNt]. These are the channel modes. They are basically settings on the channel. For example, t means that the topic is locked, and only channel ops can change it. n means that no external messages can be posted on the channel. Others include l, which means there is a limit to the number of users that can be in that channel, m, which means that the channel is moderated, k, which means that there is a key (or password) set on the channel. Anything else? Well, there is a lot of things to learn on IRC, and what I've told you so far is only basic. If you want to learn more, the best way is to just use IRC.
I like our current better personally...its got screenshots etc that show where the things are located to connect.
