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IRC Beginners Guide
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*******************************************************
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO IRC - IN PLAIN ENGLISH (ALMOST)
Written for Swinburne Students
by Skud (skud@swin.edu.au)
*******************************************************
IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, and is a form of
communication used worldwide by up to 2500 people at any one
time. IRC is often described as being vaguely analogous to CB
radio, and this is not a bad description. The way it
basically works is that when you sign on, you can join various
channels (usually there are about 800 of them at any time) and
chat to people from all around the world.
To the newbie, IRC can be a bit daunting. This beginner's
guide attempts to give a decent overview of IRC with
particular reference to the Swinburne Student. I'll be
covering the following stuff:
1. How to get onto IRC
2. What to do when you first get there
3. IRC etiquette and how to behave on IRC (worth reading,
actually)
4. How to use various commands
5. How to get help
6. Other freqently asked quesitons
*************************
1. HOW TO GET ONTO IRC
*************************
IRC is available at Swinburne mainly through the OPAX system
on edna. The steps required to get onto IRC are basically -
* getting onto OPAX
* getting onto IRC itself
* getting to the rest of the world
Here is how to do it, in that order:
To get onto OPAX using the menu systems in the West Wing Labs
or the BA Building Labs, find a menu called "Network Services"
or "Mainframe" something or other. Then choose OPAX from
there. Alternatively, exit to the DOS prompt and type
"edna". (note: if you are in the BA labs, you will need to
type "cd tcp" first). You can also get to OPAX by dialling in
by modem and choosing option 11, but information about
dialling in should be available elsewhere.
To login to edna, use your student number and date of birth:
Login: 932335
PIN: 110575 <--- 11/5/75
Be sure to change your password using menu option 6 on OPAX.
While you are there, you can choose a nickname by which you
will login and which you can also use on IRC. These are
usually one word, and IRC requires that your nickname be no
greater than 9 characters.
OK, so you are in OPAX, and you have a nickname. Choose
option 5 from the menu - IRC. Take a look at where you are.
You have a screen with a large space at the top for text, a
status bar, and an input line at the bottom. The status line
tells you the time, who you are, what you are doing, how much
mail you have and so on.
Now in order to understand how to connect to the rest of the
world, it's a good idea to tell you how this works from a
slightly more technical point of view. This should not be too
daunting to read, so try not to be put off as it could be very
useful very quickly.
There are two main parts to IRC - clients and servers. A
client is what you directly interface with, and anyone can
have one. This is what we have on edna. The server is more
complex, and is the part of IRC which connects you to the rest
of the world. There are not so many of these around. To have
a server running, you need it to be connected to the rest of
the world by getting a link to another server, and they don't
really like handing them out.
At the time of writing, swinburne had a server called
irc.swin.edu.au (just edna in disguise really) but had no link
to the rest of the world. This may have changed by the time
you read it. Now, if you don't have a server link, there are
a couple of ways to connect to the rest of the world. The
easiest, from the users point of view, is for the people
running the client to have a file full of server names and the
client will automagically try to connect to these. In
reality, this seldom happens at swinburne. If IRC has told
you that there are 1 users, or something similar, you still
need to connect out using an IRC command.
This command is the /server command, and the syntax is
/server <servername> <port number>
The servername is compulsory, the port number is optional.
Here are a few servers you could try in Australia, and the
suggested order you try them in. Most likely you will connect
to the first one though.
jello.qabc.uq.oz.au
cairo.anu.edu.au
ircserver.cltr.uq.oz.au
defiance.vut.edu.au
tartarus.ccsd.uts.edu.au
If (and only if) you are having major problems with this, try
irc-2.mit.edu in the US. It should work, but has to go
overseas so is not really recommended.
Ok, so now you are on IRC, and attached to the whole world.
You should have seen a line saying "There are 2643 users..."
or something similar, and "on 893 channels". The one
remaining problem may be your nickname. As mentioned earlier,
there is a maximum of 9 characters, and also it may not start
with a number. However, you may get on IRC and get the
following message:
*** skud: Nickname is already in use
*** You have specified an illegal nickname
*** Please enter your nickname
Nickname:
In this case, you MUST choose another nickname, or you won't
be able to use IRC. Note that you can try to change back
later, by typing /nick and then the nickname you want.
You might also get a message from NickServ, telling you that
the nick is registered to another user. This doesn't mean
that you HAVE to choose another nickname, but somebody else
has registered the nickname which makes it semi-official that
you aren't meant to use it. So, you should definitely try to
find one that isn't registered to anyone else.
Ok, now lets take a look around....
*****************************************
2. WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FIRST GET THERE
*****************************************
This section will cover the following commands:
/LIST /WHO /NAME /WHOIS /JOIN /LEAVE /MSG /SET NOVICE OFF
As you probably noticed before, there are several hundred
channels on IRC. You can take a look at a list of them by
typing /LIST, but this is not recommended as there are so many
of them.
However, you can set parameters on list such as
/list -min 10 (shows channels with a minimum of 10 users)
/list -max 6 (shows channels with a naximum of 6 users)
/list -min 5 -max 5 (shows channels with exactly 5 users)
You will see output which tells you the name of the channel,
the number of users on it, and the topic (if one is set).
*** Channel Users Topic
*** #england 16 The English Channel [tm]...
*** #aussies 14 Elvis was here
*** #gaysex 18 Let's talk!
*** #usa 15 Good day to you all
*** #viet 18 * peace... you are wanted ...
That's an example of some channels from a list -min 15
So, pick a channel you are interested in. Say it is #aussies
(note that all channel names are prefixed by a # (hash))
type this:
/who #aussies
This will show you who is on that channel. You can use who in
other ways too... such as
/who *swin.edu.au (shows all Swinburne people on)
/who * (when used in a channel, shows all people on that
channel without typing the name of it)
/who -oper *.au (shows all Australian IRC operators)
The output is in the following form:
channel nick op user@host (IRCNAME)
eg
#SINN Skud H*@ kirrilyr@union3.su.swin.edu.au (insert
interesting IRCNAME here)
What this shows us is:
1. What channel the person is talking to
2. Their nick
3. Their op status... a @ indicates that they are the
operator of a channel, a * shows that they are an IRC
operator (or IRCop)
4. Their username@host details
5. An IRCNAME which most users can set as they wish but
which, at the time of writing, was set by default to your
first name when using OPAX.
So that's the /who command. Similar to this is /names, but
this only shows the names of people on a channel not all the
other details.
OK, so you've looked at some people. Lets say you want to
know some more about someone. Type /whois and then their nick.
eg /whois skud
This will give you more information, including what server
they are using and whether they are "away" or if they have
been idle for a long time.
Now you are ready to join a channel. Type /join #channelname
eg /join #sinn (#sinn is a primarily Swinburne channel). As
you join, you will be told the topic of the channel and who is
on it. Say hi. Be nice. Don't think you are a legend
because you are not - you are a newbie, and it is best to
admit is because people are generally pretty willing to help
you out if you ask nicely and aren't arrogant.
You can talk to the channel by just typing anything you want
in the input line at the bottom of your screen. Note that
what everyone says comes up in <> signs. If you see anything
come up in *'s, that is a private message. You can send a
private message by typing
/msg <nick> text
eg /msg skud this is a message
So you can talk to people publically or privately. When you
get sick of the channel, type /leave #channelname. Note that
when you are new, you can only speak to one channel at once.
When you become more proficient, you can type /set novive
off. This will allow you to join multiple channels and also
to execute some other tricky commands.
********************************************
3. IRC ETIQUETTE AND HOW TO BEHAVE ON IRC
********************************************
Ok, this is a pretty vital part actually. I won't carry on
for too long, but it should be noted that IRC has a culture of
its own, and this includes a set of values and standards which
members of that society should conform to. They are not
oppressive, but are intended to help people enjoy IRC as much
as possible.
DO:
- admit that you are new and ask politely for help if you need
it - people will usually be willing to help
- be tolerant of other users
- be friendly and talk to people, tell them where you are from
and about yourself. You will quickly develop friendships
- answer messages and public comments unless you specifically
don't want to
- preface any public comment with the name of the person it is
directed to, followed by a colon
eg skud: hiya, how are u
DON'T:
- flood the channel with heaps of messages in a row
- beg for channel ops
- preface a request for help with "can anyone help me?" - just
ask straight out
- be offensive
- take offense - it is often hard to tell what people mean
- beep uneccessarily
Some comment should be made here about the use of smileys or
emoticons. These are little smiley faces made of normal
keyboard characters which can be viewed by turning your head
sideways. For example:
:) or :-) normal smiley
:( sad
=B^) punk
:-/ confused/disgruntled/hmmmmmm
:*) drunk or sometimes just cute smiley
:P poking its tongue out
O:) halo
>:) horns
;) winking
etc etc
In particular, emoticons are used to convey non-verbal signals
of the writers intentions. If you are going to say something
like "good one loser" but mean it in a kind of joking way, put
a :) after it so nobody gets upset. Sexual innuendo is of
course rife on IRC and is usually followed by a ;).
Note also that if you are having a really bad day or someone
keeps hassling you or you are drunk or whatever, let the
channel know this - they will make allowances for it, usually.
IRC also has its own little language. Some of it is obscure
words, and some of it is in the form of acronyms. Here are
some common ones
lame - dismal, pathetic
lamer - someone who is lame
luser - a play on "loser" and "user" - ie a lame user
ops - channel operators
IRCops - IRC operators
bot - an IRC user who is actually an automated process
btw - by the way
brb - be right back
bbl - be back later
b4 - before
l8r - later
rofl - rolls on the floor laughing
Also, some people use numbers instead of letters in some
circumstances just to look c00l. Or they might say kool or
even k00l or kewl. Another word sometimes bandied about is
"elite" - this has no specific meaning that I can see, but
just generally means "good, legendary, cool". You may see it
spelt eleet or eleeet or even 3l33t.... you may begin to
blither at this point if you wish.
*********************************
4. HOW TO USE VARIOUS COMMANDS
*********************************
This will cover:
mode changes, actions, kicking, aliases, execs, ignores
MODE CHANGES
These are done using the /mode command. The most regular use
for this is to give someone ops on a channel. To so this, type
/mode #channel +o nick
eg /mode #sinn +o skud
This will result in you seeing
*** Mode change +o Skud on channel #sinn by <your name>
Other mode changes can be used to ban people, to make the
channel invite only and so on. The help files are fairly
comprehensive on this topic, so type /help mode for more
details.
ACTIONS
To bring up an action that looks like
* Skud yawns
type /me yawns (or whatever)
To send an action in a message, you can use /describe
eg /describe foo yawns will send a message to "foo" that comes
out looking like
*> Skud yawns
KICKING
Now this is not a very nice thing to do, but there are times
when it is necessary. Before kicking, you should probably get
a feel for the channel. Some channels kick light-heartedly
and expect you to rejoin and not take offence. Some only kick
if they really hate you. Similarly, some people get kicked
and rejoin immediately, no problems - but some will take
offense and hate you for life.
Anyway, the command is /kick #channel nick message
eg /kick #sinn lamer don't flood the channel
will result in
*** lamer has been kicked off channel #sinn by Skud (don't
flood the channel)
ALIASES
You can create aliases for commands using /alias.
Aliases can save you time by letting you type only a few
characters for a more complex command.
eg /alias m msg
this will let you type /m skud instead of /msg skud
/alias jeng join #england
you can join #england by typing /jeng
/alias swin who *swin.*
tells you what swinnies are on
/alias hug me gives $0 a huge hug
will hug someone if you type /hug nick
eg /hug foo
* Skud gives foo a huge hug
$0 is the first variable in what you type (eg the nick)
Aliases can get VERY complex, so you should probably read
/help alias to find out more.
Note that to save your aliases you can type /save then hit Y
and it will save all you aliases, sets, and ons to a file
called your .ircrc. This is automagically loaded when you
start IRC.
EXECS
On edna, you cannot use the /exec command. Normally it is
used for executing a unix shell command, but it has been
disabled on edna because we aren't meant to have shell
access. So if anyone tries to get you to /exec, just tell
them it's disabled.
IGNORES
Used to ignore someone who is hassling you.
Type /ignore <nick> all or /ignore <user@host> all
Instead of "all" you can use msgs, public etc etc. See /help
ignore for more details.
*********************
5. HOW TO GET HELP
*********************
There are many ways to get help on IRC, and this is a list of
a few of them...
* IRC help - type /help
* Ask someone on your channel (but be polite etc)
* Ask someone on a help channel, particularly #twilight_zone.
It's crawling with IRCops, but they tend to get annoyed if
you get on channel and say "Can anyone help me" - just ask it
straight out
* Ask me (Skud) - I'm on here a lot and can usually be fairly
useful (I hope) especially regarding stuff which is specific
to swinburne
* Read alt.irc in network news (Option 2 from the OPAX menu)
* Mail irc@swin.edu.au - this goes to Quentin Kelly, our IRC
admin. Note that he doesn't use IRC so he can't help you with
scripting problems or day-to-day stuff, but he can probably
help if there are problems with servers etc
* Mail me (skud@swin.edu.au) for help with scripting etc
* Post your question to swin.OPAX, swin.SINN, alt.irc etc
* Subscribe to SINN - Swinburne Information Network News.
This student-run electronic magazine often contains IRC hints
and updates. Mail listserver@swin.edu.au and include the
line "subcribe opax-l <name>" in the text. Or include the
line "help" to have the help file mailed to you
*************************************
6. OTHER FREQENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
*************************************
HOW DO I REGISTER MY NICK?
/msg nickserv@service.de register <password>
That will register your current nick, and you can access it
from other accounts using the password. Msg nickserv help for
more details.
HOW DO I RUN A BOT?
You can't do this on edna. If you have a stan account, you
can do it but it is rather complicated. But a general
description of how a bot runs is:
You create a file with all the required aliases, sets, and
ons. You run IRC as a kind of background job with this file
loaded. That's it.
Note that it is the ultimate lameness to run a cloned bot
(copied direct from someone else) or to write one whose intent
is malicious (flood bots, mass deop bots etc). A bot which
does nothing but hold a channel is fairly lame also. If you
have some point to your bot, then that is not so bad - for
instance, saving messages or sending out files - but you
should never run more than one bot without good reason as it
takes up bandwidth, and it is usually not necessary for a
channel to have more channel-holding bots than say one bot per
10 people.
HOW DO I CHANGE MY IRCNAME?
On edna, you can't. Normally, from a full unix account you
type setenv IRCNAME="whatever you want here" before running IRC.
WHAT DO I DO IF THERE ARE TWO OF ME? (A GHOST)
This happens sometimes when the terminal hangs. The way you
are *meant* to deal with it is to type kill -9 -1 from the
unix prompt. Obviously this is not possible on edna, nor can
you do it by /exec. You can get an IRCop to /kill the ghost,
but it will take you about 15 minutes to get it through their
thick heads that you are unable to do it yourself. As a hint,
IRCops who are aware of these problems include bry and jason,
and myself if irc.swin.edu.au ever gets a link. If you can't
get /killed, just wait. The other you will eventually die.
That's it for the moment. Mail me if you need any more
information or think that anything else should be included in
this file.
Happy IRCing, and remember - it can be addictive!
- Skud
--
* Kirrily Robert Time is an illusion... *
* kirrilyr@union3.su.swin.edu.au Lunchtime doubly so. *
* skud@edna.cc.swin.edu.au - Ford Prefect *