InternetRelay Chat:
Talking On the 'Net

By Sally Nelson
Special To Transgender Forum

Crossdressers, transvestites and transgendered people everywhere!! Many ofyou have been using CompuServe, America Online or other commercial servicesto find and communicate with your sisters. This is an expensive way toconnect with others. Just think of the clothes and makeup you could havebought with that money!!! Fortunately, there is another way!

Internet Relay Chat is like the chat rooms on CIS and AOL. The bigdifference is that you can access these rooms at a fraction of the cost! IRCis a wide-open frontier. There are no Terms of Service, and you're free toname your own rooms. You can be in several rooms at once, as well as privaterooms. You type messages and receive in real time to and from your on-linefriends.

A problem with IRC, though, is that there are not a lot of TVs and friendsthere. Yet. That's why you're getting these directions.

What you'll need

An account on the Internet. If you can connect to AOL or CIS, you can get anaccount from a local internet service provider. There is an explodingcottage industry offering accounts at low cost. Make sure you get SLIP orPPP access. (Ed. Note: If you need Net access and live in the Bay Area contact Zoom.Com for great rates.)Then, you can browse the Web, get into IRC, access the usenetand ftp sites. In short, you can really exploit the Internet, at a fractionof the cost of AOL or CIS.

Once you have subscribed to a service, follow your provider's instructionsto get logged online. Work with them, and let them know that you want to usethe Web and IRC. They'll help you get set up with your system.

Once you have got your account set up and functioning, get software for IRC,if your service provider doesn't have it. This software will have all of theinstructions to get up and running. It can look a little intimidating, butit really isn't.

(Ed. note: for great free IRC software go to Prospero.com and follow directions. You'll be up in minutes!)

Many Internet providers have a way for you to get to the IRC through their Unix prompt without using fancy software.Just type IRC at your prompt and see if it works.If you do get a connection through a Unix command line make sure you type /help for more information.Here are some fast basics:

Once online through Unix type /nick fakename where fakename is your nickname or alias.
/help --- gets you to help
/join --- is the command to get on a channel when combined as /join #channelname where #channelname is what you want. ex: /join #crossdress
/list -min 10 --- is a command to show those channels with 10 or more people on them.
/msg nick --- is the command to send a private msg where "nick" is the other persons nick name/leave #channelname--- is the command to get out of the channel
/quit --- leaves the IRC

TV Rooms online

If you use a Windows or Mac program you won't need to know the IRC's strange command structure but you will need to know where the TV rooms are.

That is easy because there are really just three: #crossdress, #tvsex and #transgen. The # is a convention that stands for "channel"#crossdress and #transgend are general discussion groups, #tvsex is, well, a sex chat room.

If you think Transgender Forum should have its own chat room contact Cindy because she is looking for people to maintain a place for the gang here to meet and talk.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO IS TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.

I say that because I didn't, myself. It was incredible how much easier itwas when you actually read the instructions.

Besides the prospero.com software listed about there are some ftp sites where you can get the IRC software.

FTP sites with IRC clients

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