ircle 2.5 help file.

This is ircle, a Macintosh-based, windowed user interface to the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. 

This window contains:

1. Brief Overview on IRC
2. How to quickly setup your ircle
3. ircle Basics and Windows
4. ircle Menus
5. command reference
6. Hints & Advice
7. General notes, Copyright Notice

1. Brief Overview on IRC

(If you know IRC, skip this section)
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a multi-user online chatting system. It allows users to talk to other users all around the world via the Internet. This is done by connecting a client program (such as this one) to a server. You need a connection to any network connected to the Internet and running TCP/IP, and the on your Mac the MacTCP or Open Transport network driver. In the Startup preferences you set your identity on the IRC net, and which IRC server of the nearly 200 available to connect.

On IRC, users are identified by nicknames of their own choice. Nicknames may be at most 9 characters long. Dalnet IRC servers allow longer names. The nickname is set via Startup preferences or the NICK command (see below).

Communication on IRC is done via Channels and Private Messages. Channels have names starting with # (public channels) and & (local). You can see a list of the channels currently in use via the /LIST command. There are thousands of channels to choose from. As soon as you join a channel with the /JOIN command, everything you type is sent to that channel and seen by all other users on that channel. You will see what the others type, respectively. You can send a private message to someone using the /MSG command. This message cannot be seen by other persons on a channel. If you get a private message from someone you will hear a special sound and the message appears in another color than channel messages.

2. Quick setup

Open the Startup preferences (File Menu). Choose your IRC server. If you are in North America try irc.epix.net, if you are in Europe try irc.funet.fi. 
Set your nickname. It may not contain spaces or other special characters. Basically only letters and numbers.
Set up your real name field. This info can be seen when other users on irc do a /WHOIS on you.
Close the dialog. Save Preferences (File menu).
Choose Open connection in the File Menu.
You should get something like this:

*** server connection established
*** Welcome to .... etc.

After this you are on IRC. Type command-J (JOIN) to join a channel. #macintosh or #mac is a good start. Popular channels are channels named after countries, and anything that is related to sex. (Yes, also on irc...). You can also try /LIST -MIN 20 to get a list of busy channels. Open the list window to see it.

if you get

*** Open failed
or
*** Name search failed.
Try another server from the popup menu in the Startup prefs.

You could also get:

*** .... (No Authorization).
That means that either your IP address cannot be resolved (contact your provider), or you are trying to connect to a server that doesnt server your domain/country. Try another server.

3. ircle Basics and Windows

When you start ircle you will one or more of the following windows: a main window called 'Console' or the nickname you are using, the Inputline, Channel List, Userlist, DCC and a Faces window.

The main window shows status messages when connecting or changing from irc servers. It has no use once connected and talking on a channel.

At the bottom of the screen is the Input line, a small floating window which also carries a line of status information. Everything you type will appear in the input line. When you press Return, the line gets sent to the current channel or, if it contains a command, that command is processed. A line is considered command if it starts with a '/' (slash). You can change this character with the /CMDCHAR command. See Section 2 on commands.
It also has buttons to change the text style of the text your are typing. 'P' makes text plain, 'B' bold, 'U' underlines text, and the othere buttons makes text inverted. Other users will see this once you send the message to a channel.
Shortcuts for the style buttons are: Ctrl-N: plain text, Ctrl-B: bold, Ctrl-V: inverse, and Ctrl-_ (underscore): underline.

Also in the inputline is a box showing how much memory is free in ircle. Once you are on a channel and windows get filled with text, you will see the bar in the box grow smaller. If only 32k of free memory is left you will get a warning dialog saying you better close some windows. The standard memory partition for ircle is enough for opening 1 or 2 channels, and use all sound options. If you wish to open more channels, increase the memory partition of ircle in the Finder using the Get Info command.

The Userlist is a window that shows info on all the users on the frontmost channel window. It has switches to show and control the channel's 'modes'. It also has shortcut buttons for the commands /OP and /DEOP, /VOICE, /KICK, /BAN, /BANKICK, /WHOIS and /QUERY. Selecting a user and clicking on a button will execute that command with the selected user(s). Double clicking on a user is the same as /WHOIS. You can select multiple user with âŒ˜-click.

Each line in the userlist shows the nickname and hostname of a user. If the nickname is red (bold on b/w screen), it is a channel operator, who can kick people off the channel, 'ban' them to keep them out, set channel modes, and give other users channel operator status too.
If a nickname is green (italic on b/w screens), is has a voice (mode +v) on a moderated channel. (see MODE). 
You may also see a 'G' or '*' between the nickname and hostname. 'G' means a user is gone (he/she has used the /AWAY command). '*' means a user is an IRC operator, the administrator of an IRC server, with special privileges.

The userlist buttons and switches are enabled according to your status on a channel, and if one or more are users selected.
Without operator status on a channel, you can only do a /WHOIS (get more info on a user), and a /QUERY (open an extra window to talk privately to a user).
If you are an operator, you can toggle the switches (see MODE) and use the other buttons.
/OP and /DEOP gives and removes operator status to/from a user.
/KICK will kick a user off a channel. Used with the option key pressed, it lets you kick a user with a message explaining the reason off the kicking.
/BAN will put a ban on the channel for any user that matches the nickname/hostname mask you set. This is for advanced users..
/BANKICK does a BAN and a KICK together. It can be used to get rid of annoying users. 'option' BANKICK lets you set a kick message.
/+Voice and /-Voice gives MODE +v and -v to a users, it allows users to speak on a moderated channel (mode +m). This is for advanced users too.

The DCC (Direct Client Connection) window has four buttons for opening a CHAT window, SEND and GET a file and closing a DCC session. With DCC you communicate directly to the other persons irc program. No data is sent through IRC servers, resulting in a faster connection.
To DCC Chat, select a user in the Userlist and click on CHAT. A new window will appear if the other user accepts your query.
To close the CHAT connection, click CLOSE or close the extra window.
To SEND a file to another user, click on a user in the userlist, select the transfer mode in the DCC window, and click SEND. A standard open file dialog will appear that lets you select a file. If you select a file, a DCC SEND query is sent to the other user, and if he acknowledges, the transfer will begin. You can see the progress of it in the DCC window. It also shows the speed of the transmission in characters per second (cps). 
The transfer mode available are:
TEXT: use this to send text files only. All text is translated to the ISO character set used by IRC so that it can be read on all other types of computers.
BINARY: use this to transfer common files to others: pictures like GIFs, JPGs, sounds etc. Binary only transfers the data fork of a Macintosh file. You cannot use this mode to transfers Macintosh applications.You need MACBINARY to transfer them correctly. Using MACBINARY only makes sense if the other user is using a Mac also. With Macbinary both the data and resource fork of a file are transferred.

To GET a file that is offered by a user, click on the line in the DCC window that is associated with the file and user, and click on GET. Ircle will ask where to put the file on your hard disc.

The Faces window shows color pictures of the persons on a channel. These pictures are stored in a file on your hard disc. You can use special commands to exchange faces with other users. It is not a supported feature of IRC itself, and it is limited to Macintosh users using ircle and Homer.

The Channel List window show output of the /LIST command only.

4. ircle Menus

Traditionally, IRC is controlled by typing commands. A line starting with a slash (/) is considered a command. Most commands can be used using menus and buttons also, but ircle has implemented this behaviour for user-interface compatibility to other IRC clients. 

Apple menu
   About ircle: Shows a dialog with version information and a button to register you ircle with a registration code you get when you pay the shareware fee.
   Help: this window.

File menu
   Open connection/Close connection: opens/closes a connection to the server set in the Startup preferences.
   Close window: closes the frontmost channel, dcc chat or query window.
   Start/stop logging: starts/stops logging all text coming in on a window. When starting a log, it copies the entire window contents (already there) to the file too.
   Flush server output: ignores all incoming data, until some Endof server message is received. Useful with long /LISTs
   Preferences: see below
   Save preferences: save the current settings to the file 'Ircle preferences' in the system folder.
   Save preferences as: save the settings to another file. You can double click on that file to launch ircle with that particular settings.
   Page Setup, Print: printer setup and printing of a window.
   Quit: closes an open connection with a user definable quit message, saves preferences if wanted and quits ircle.

Edit menu
   The Edit menu has the standard Cut, Copy, Paste, Clear and Select All items. Select All selects all text of the last window that was clicked in. It can be used to select all text of both the channel windows and the inputline.

Commands menu
   The commands menu contains shortcuts of common irc commands. See the Command Reference for an explanation.

Shortcuts menu
   Define: provides a means for user-defined shortcuts. They can be called via (Ctrl) âŒ˜-0 through 9. Insert '\n' into a shortcuts to be able to use return characters. Note that new settings work only after closing the definitions dialog.
   other items: the shortcuts themselves.

Font menu
   The Font menu lets you set your preferred font and size. This will affect the currently active window and all new windows opened afterwards.

Windows menu
   Cycle: select the next window of all available channel, dcc chat and query windows.
   Main (or your nickname): select the main window
   Userlist, DCC, Faces, Channel List: show or hide the userlist, dcc window,faces window or channel list.
   Tiles windows: rearrange all windows so that they are all visible. This may not work if you opened too many windows. The windows might get too small in that case.
   Stack windows: rearrange all window so that they are all on top of eachother, only showing their titlebar.
   other items: select channel windows and query/dcc windows.

Preferences

Preferences settings are stored in the 'ircle preferences' file inside your Preferences folder in the System Folder, but you can choose to save them in a separate file. When you double click on this file, ircle will launch using these preferences.

General Preferences:

Server: The server you want to connect to. This has to be a numeric IP address or a full host.domain name.
Port: Usually 6667, when in doubt check with your server administrator.
Nickname: The nickname you want to start with. Cannot contain spaces, or characters like !@#$&*():;'".
Username: The name that is attached to your machine name. Choose anything you like up to 12 letters not containing spaces, commas, exclamation marks and other special characters.
Real name: Your real name (or whatever evil thing you want to look like your real name)
Startup commands: fill in any commands you would like o execute at startup (e.g. /Notify someone). You can put multiple commands in this field using the semicolon (;) separator.
Mode: Invisible: you are invisible to other users if they are not on the same channel as you are.
   Receive Server Messages: you will be able to see all low level status messages between servers. Enable this if you are really interested. It may generate a lot of data..
   Receive Wallops: see the communication between IRC operators.

Color Preferences:

Colors: sets various message and (input) window colors. Click on a color box to change it.

Sound Preferences:

Sounds checkboxes: enables sound to be played when people sign on and off, are being kicked, when MODE changes appear and when NOTIFY find a person coming on- or off-line.
Use Speech instead of sound: Ircle will try to use Macintalk II or III (if installed) voices to pronounce server messages
Speak all channel text: Ircle speak all text coming in. If speech is busy and another line is coming in, it will not be spoken though.
Speak only text containing my nick: ircle speaks only lines on a channel that contain your nick.

DCC Preferences:

Auto DCC Chat: Ircle will automatically open a DCC Chat window of someone tries to do a /dcc chat with you.
Auto DCC GET: Ircle with immediately come up with the Save As... dialog if someone is sending a file to you using DCC Send.
Auto Save: Ircle will automatically save files transferred with DCC Send in a preset folder. If this folder cannot be found, Auto Save is disabled.
Enable XDCC: Allows a remote IRC user to DCC GET files from a selected folder on your computer. A user can use the /XDCC nickname LIST command to see a list of the file you offer.
I have a TIA Connection: This is an option in test for users that have a TIA connection. Normally it should be off.
DCC Send Block Size: the size of the block that ircle uses with a DCC send. The larger, the faster a DCC send will go, in general.

CTCP Preferences:

Disable CTCP and DCC completely: If checked, nobody can use CTCP commands with you, or DCC a file. Only CTCP Action keeps on working. You are immune to CTCP flooders..
Show CTCP Requests: whenever someone sends a CTCP command to you, you will be notified.
CTCP Flood protection: if checked it ignores any CTCP command coming in within a time frame of 1.5 seconds. This protects you from getting 'flooded off' when someone if flooding you. People who flood are lame anyway..
DCC Flood protection: if checked it ignores multiple DCC requests coming in a short timeframe.
Enable CTCP Sound: Enables the playing of sounds from your hard disc, in the selected folder, if someone send a ctcp sound command to you. Ircle can play System 7 sounds (snd resources) and AIFF files. It will try to play them from disk, saving memory. If that doesnt succeed it tries to play them from memory. If that doesnt succeed either, you will hear nothing. Ircle cannot play WAV files (PC sounds). You have to convert these to snd or AIFF using SoundApp or some other tool.
Finger reply: the text ircle sends when someone does a /ctcp finger on you.
Userinfo: user settable text field with a response to the /ctcp userinfo command.

Text Preferences:

Indent Text: causes channel text to be indented for clearer reading.
Show End of Messages: Shows '*** End of ...' at the end of /list, /who, /stats and other commands.
Server message prefix: Allow server messages to be prefixed by any text with of a maximum length of 8 chars. (IRCII uses ***).
Show the time with each message: adds a timestamp to a message.
   Only when away: timestamp only if you used the /AWAY command.
ESC clears inputline: if checked, the Escape key clears the input window text.
Show 'join/kick etc' messages: like it says.
Text Translation method: set the translation method to/from the ISO set used on IRC. 
Japanese Text: enables SJIS/JIS conversion routines. Useful with Japanese System software only.

Face Preferences:

CTCP Face Exist: allow users to check if you have a face file.
CTCP Face GET: allow ctcp face get
CTCP Face PUT: not implemented.
CTCP Face STATUS: shows available face commands.
Faces file: select a resource file that contains the faces.

Friends Preferences:
Opens a dialog that lets you enter 'friends': people that you like or dislike. People that you want auto-opped when entering a channel, or kicked, ignored, banned or protected (someone deopping that person will get kicked).
If you have some experience with IRC you can use this dialog to automate some of you commands. You have to be familiar with the nickname!username@hostname concept used on IRC.

Misc Prefs:

Auto connect on startup: after launching ircle, it tries to connect to a server immediately.
Auto reconnect when connection closes: ircle tries to reconnect if the connection was lost.
Close channel windows when connection closes: closes all windows if the connection is lost or closed. Unchecked enables you to see what was on the channels.
Alphabetically sorted userlist: the nickname in the userlist will be sorted
Numerate users: the entries in the userlist will be numbered.
Option key required to scroll through history: normally, you can use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through all the text you typed.
AppleEvent Scripting: Allow ircle to be remote controlled using AppleScript.
Auto rejoin channel after kick: Ircle tries to rejoin the channel you were kicked off.
Auto join after invite: ircle automatically joins the channel you are invited to.
Show hostname with incoming message/notice: shows the hostname associated with the nick that is sending a message/notice.
Maximum # of same hostnames: clonebot protection. If someone joins a channel where there are already # hostnames with the same identity, he gets kicked. 
Auto deopping users getting ops by servers: after a netsplit some users might get operator status by servers. This option prevents that.

5. Command reference

The following commands have currently been implemented:

syntax:
[]       means an argument is optional.
#        any number.
message  any text.
channel  is a channel name starting with # or &.
nick     is a nickname as used on irc..

/admin server              returns the name of the administrator of the given server.
/away message              marks you as being away (no message = not away)
/ban nick                  bans 'nick' from the current channel
/bye message               displays 'message' and quits IRC
/broadcast message         sends a message to all of your windows
/channel channel [passwd]  join a channel [with password]
/cmdchar c                 changes the command-prefix (default /) to the given character
/cping nick                shows response time for nick in seconds
/ctcp target command       issues a CTCP command. Do /ctcp target clientinfo for more info.
             sound sndname plays the sound 'sndname' at 'nick's computer
             sound         displays the list of available sounds on 'nick's computer
             xdcc  list    displays the list of available files on 'nick's computer
             xdcc  version shows the xdcc version (currently 1.0)
             xdcc  send #  asks 'nick' to send file number # to your computer
             action        = /me
             finger        shows the idle time and/or email address of a user
             source        shows where to obtain ircle.
             version       shows the (ircle) version.
             clientinfo    shows all ctcp commands of a client.
             userinfo      displays the userinfo field of a user.
             ping          pings a user to see he/she is still there
             face get      gets a face file from a user.
             face exist    shows if a user has a face file
             time           shows the local time of a user.
             
/date                      display date and time
/dcc command nick          issues a DCC command (explained below)
/debug                     shows all low level messages in ircle. use at own risk. unpredictable things may happen. for testing only.
/exit message              = /bye
/ignore pattern            ignore messages from nick!user@host (may contain wildcards)
        -pattern           removes a pattern from the ignore list
/info                      gives info about server
/invite nick channel       invites nick to channel
/ison nick                 shows if a user is on irc. not implemented on some servers.
/join                      joins channel last invited to
/join channel [passwd]     = /channel
/kick channel nick :msg    kicks nick from channel with message, clicking Kick in the user window does the same. Option click lets you set a kick message.
/leave channel             leave a channel, same as closing a channel window
/links                     show server connections
/links  mask                shows all servers matching mask
/list                      list channels. Note: on some servers you'll get disconnected because of the large amount of data /list generates. You cannot use wildcards -yet-
      -min #               list only channels with minimum of # users
      -max #               list only channels with maximum of # users
      -public              list only public channels
      -private             list only private channels
      -local               list only local channels
      -global              list only global channels
      -topic               list only channels with topic set
      -mask-               list only channels matching 'mask', for instance /list -*mac*
/lusers                    display statistics: the number of users on irc worldwide and the number of channels.
/map                       displays a map of all server connections (undernet only)
/massop                    gives operator status to everyone on a channel
/massdeop                  removes operator status from everyone but you on a channel
/massunban                 removes all bans from a channel
/me action                 sends an action description, can also be used on a dcc chat window (private action)
/mode channel parm         set channel mode:
        +p                 private channel
        +s                 secret channel
        +i                 invite-only channel
        +m                 moderated channel, noone can speak except users with mode +v
        +n                 no messages from outside channel
        +t                 only channel operator may set topic
        +l #               channel may hold at most # users
        +v nick            let nick speak on moderated channel
        +b                 ban list. Not implemented on some servers.
        +b nick!username@hostname  ban nick
        +k key             set channel password
        +o nick            nick becomes channel operator
        -x                 removes flag x, where x is one of the above
                           You can also you the switches in the Userlist window for this.
/mode nick parm            set user mode:
           +i              invisible user
           +s              receive server notices
           +w              receive wallops
           +o              IRC operator
           +d              deaf mode, for bots only.
/motd [server]             show message-of-the-day [of another irc server]
/msg nick message          sends nick a private message. Pressing TAB automatically sets the inputline to /MSG and the nickname that last sent you a message. Ircle remembers up 10 nicks until 15 minutes after the last activity.
/names channel             list users on channel
/nick newnick              change your nickname
/note                      unknown
/notice user|channel msg   (almost) like /msg
/notify                    show notify list
/notify nick               adds nick to notification list (show each signon/off)
        -nick              removes nick from notification list
put the /notify command in the startup command to have it run whenever you connect.
/omsg text                 send a message to all channel operators on a channel
/onotice text              send a notice to all channel operators on a channel
/op nick                   gives nick operator status
/deop nick                 removes operator status from nick
/part channel              = /leave
/ping                     pings a user. to measure the delay use /cping
/quote raw irccommand       sends a command to an irc server, exactly as typed.
/query nick                open window for private messages to nick
/quit message              = /bye
/server hostname [port]    switch to a different server
/silence                   show ignored users list
/silence mask              ignores users with selected mask
/signoff message           = /bye
/sound nick soundname      see ctcp sound
/stats                     show statistical info:
       b                   shows server ban list
       c                   returns a list of servers which the server may connect to or allow connections from
       h                   returns a list of servers which are either forced to be treated as leaves or allowed to act as hubs
       i                   returns a list of hosts which the server allows a client to connect from
       k                   returns a list of banned username and hostname combinations for that server
       l                   returns a list of the server connections, showing how long each connection has been established and the traffic over that connection in bytes and messages for each direction
       m                   returns a list of commands supported by the server and the usage count for each if the usage count is non zero
       o                   returns a list of hosts from which normal clients may become operators
       p                   ?

   
s                   ?
       t                   ?
       u                   returns a string showing how long the server has been up
       y                   show Y (Class) lines from the server configuration file

/summon user@host          invites user@host to IRC (host must be running a server) obsolete??
/time                      = /date
/topic channel text        set a channel topic (double clicking in the title bar of a channel lets you achieve the same)
/trace [user]              shows which servers are being used to connect to user
/type                      type a text file to the current channel
/unban                     opens the unban dialog, allowing to view and unban hosts with a simple click.
/unban nickmask            removes 'mask (nick!username@hostname) from the channel ban list
/users                     (x)
/version                   show server version
/who channel               list people on channel
/whois                     give information about nick that last joined the channel or sent private message
/whois nick                give information about nick
/whowas nick               give information about nick no longer online
/xdcc nick                 show users XDCC commands
/xdcc nick LIST            show users list of files to download.
/xdcc nick SEND #          get users files number #
/xdcc nick VERSION         show users XDCC version.

IRC Operator commands:

/connect target port       Force the remote server to try establishing a new server connection to the target server, on the specified port.
/die                       Used by IRC operators to force the server to exit and cease activity.
/hash                      reconfigure a server
/host                     
/kill nick comment         The KILL message is used to cause a client-server connection to be closed by the server which has the actual connection. KILL is used by servers when they encounter a duplicate entry in the list of valid nicknames and is used to remove both entries. It is also available to operators.
/oper nick password        Used by a normal user to gain operator privileges.
/rehash                    Used by IRC operators to force the server to re-read its configuration file.
/restart                   Used by IRC operators to force the server to restart.
/squit server comment      Close a server connection.
/uping                     unknown
/wallops message           message to all operators (deprecated)

Valid commands for /dcc are:

chat  - requests CHAT connection for nick or answers such a request.
send  - send a file.
tsend - send a text file.
get   - receive a file (to be answered to a SEND request).
tget  - receive a text file.
list  - list all DCC connections.

Valid commands for /xdcc are

list  - list files
help  - show help
send  - ask for a file

6. Hints & Advice

When selecting a non-proportional font keep in mind that IRC was originally designed for text terminals and some commands and messages assume a fixed-size screen. That may make output look strange in some situations.

7. General notes, Copyright Notice

The original Ircle program, up to version 1.5.6 was written by Olaf Titz, July 1992-July 1993. Compiled using THINK Pascal 2.0.1, thus Portions Copyright (©) 1988 Symantec Corp.
Ircle has been completely rewritten and enhanced by Onno R. Tijdgat (E-mail: ircle@xs4all.nl), September 1994-April 1996 using Think Pascal 4.0.2 (68k version) and Code Warrior 8 (PowerPC™ version)
User interface enhancements by Robert Ivens. German translation by Friedhelm Walldorf, French translation by Marc Reboul. We thank the many beta testers during the past months for their input, especially the people on #macintosh.
As of April 1996, we have hundreds of registered ircle users in 29 countries all over the world. We thank them for their support.

Updates and future beta versions of this program can be found on: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ircle and on several mirror sites.

This program may be copied freely, i.e. distributed on online services, cd-roms, bulletin boards etc. It is not allowed to resell Ircle solely, or as part of a software bundle, without previous permission from the author.
Ircle is shareware, you can try it for 30 days, and if you like it please register by paying the US $15 shareware fee. If you'd like to license multiple copies of Ircle, ask for the discount list.

Please read http://www.xs4all.nl/~ircle/register.html for the latest registration info and pricing.

Remember that we have put a lot of time in improving Ircle.. We will be continuing putting new features in with your help and suggestions.

I can usually be found on IRC by the nick Onno, both on EFNET and Undernet, on channel #macintosh.

Copyright © 1995, 1996 Onno Tijdgat/MacResponse, All rights reserved. 

THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 

System requirements: any Mac with System version 7.0 or higher and the MacTCP 2.0.x driver or Open Transport 1.1 or higher

This client has been tested with EFNet, Dalnet and Undernet and several other servers. This client is fully compatible with the RFC1459 (IRC) & RFC 1430 (Ident service) documents and makes use of the enhancements put in Undernet and Dalnet servers.
We cannot guarantee that all commands listed will work on all servers. You might encounter some stripped servers on the net..

Have fun!