IRC

A vital part of the club community is our IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel, #see@irc.mergo.net - it's basically our chatroom. Unfortunately, a lot of people these days don't know how to set up and use IRC. Never fear - we're here to help! We'll add to this guide as required/requested.

Choosing a Client

You need an IRC client to be able to connect to IRC. The clients available depend on what operating system you're running.
Clients for Windows include mIRC (mIRC with SysReset is often more useful), XChat and Chatzilla.
Clients for Mac include Colloquy, IRCle and Snak.
Clients for Linux include XChat and Chatzilla.
Install a client before proceeding to the next step. If it asks you to set it up with a nickname, do so; it should be pretty much self-explanatory.

Connecting to the Server

If your client supports irc:// links, you can just click on this link to launch the channel in your client. Otherwise, continue with the following steps.

Your client may ask you to choose a server from a list, and if so you can add SphereNET, which is the server our channel is on:

Description SphereNET
Server irc.mergo.net
Ports 6667

However, all clients will give you some kind of command line (this is where you type in text to send to the channel as well as IRC commands) and the easiest way to connect to the server is to type in
/server irc.mergo.net
and hit the return key.

SphereNET supports SSL on port 6697.

Connecting to the Channel

Channels on IRC are the equivalent of chatrooms. Channel names always begin with #.

When you connect to SphereNET, you will automatically join the channel #trivia. We occasionally play trivia or read bash quotes here. You can stay in the channel or leave it (close it with the "x" button in the corner as for any other window, or type /part #trivia) as you wish.

What you want to do is join #see. If your client flashes up a list of channels and asks you what channel you want to enter when you connect to the server, you can type in #see there. Otherwise you can use the command line again and type in
/join #see
and hit the return key.

Registering and Identifying

It is usually a good idea to register your IRC nickname. This ensures that no one else can use it on the server. The NickServ service registers your nickname for you. To register your nick:

If you aren't already using the nickname you want to register, type /nick newnick and hit return to change to newnick.
Type /nickserv register password email to register your nick under the password password and email address email.
If you want to keep your email private type /nickserv set hide email on
If you want to register more than one nick, use /nick to change to another nick and then type /nickserv group nickname password, where nickname is a previously registered nick and password is its password. This groups your nicks together, so you identify to them all with the same password and any permissions you have in channels (like voice and ops) are applied to all of your nicks.

Once your nick is registered, you will need to identify every time you connect to the server, otherwise your nick might be changed by the server. You do this by typing /nickserv identify password, where password is the password to the nick you are currently using.

Many IRC clients have a nickserv manager or similar (sometimes it's a plugin), which will automatically identify you when you connect to a server. You might want to investigate what options your client has.

Common IRC Commands

/server address connects to the server address (often irc.something.ext) in the current window. If you want to stay connected to your current server, try /server -m address, which should connect to the new server in a new window.
/nick newnick changes your nick to newnick.
/join #channel to join #channel.
/part #channel [message] to leave #channel with an optional [part message].
/quit [message] to quit the server with an optional [quit message].
/me does something sends * nickname does something to the channel, where nickname is your nick.
/msg nick message, /query nick message and /notice nick message all send a personal message to the person with nickname nick. /notice sends a message to their current window, /msg opens a new window for them but not for you, /query opens a new window for both of you.

Common IRC Modes

User Modes

+v is voice. These users can speak when the channel is in moderated (+m) mode. It's not very useful for anything else, but is often used to indicate channel regulars. Voice is denoted by a + next to the person's name in the channel user list.
+h is halfop. Halfops can kick regular users and voiced users, set and remove voice on users, set some channel modes and change the channel topic. Halfops can also ban and unban users from the channel. Halfop is denoted by a % next to the person's name in the channel user list.
+o is op. Ops have all the powers of halfops, but can also ~~abuse~~ employ them on users up to op level (ie. ops can set/remove +h and +o, and kick +h and +o). Op is denoted by a @ next to the person's name in the channel user list.
+a is admin. They have all the powers of ops but can use them on users up to admin level. They can also manipulate the auto-voice and auto-op lists... beware! Admin is denoted by a & next to the person's name in the channel user list.
+q is the channel founder. The founder has all the powers of an op and cannot be kicked. Founder is denoted by a ~ next to the person's name in the channel user list.

The symbol that appears by a name in the user list is the symbol for the highest rank they currently have.

Channel Modes

+m is moderated. Only users with voice or above can send messages to the channel when it is in moderated mode. We don't use this much.

Questions?

If you have any IRC questions, feel free to ask in the channel or contact us, and we'll do our best to help you.