ircfaq.htm

First off you need to either have shell based IRC access or you need an IRC CLIENT for your machine such as Pirch, Mirc, Grapevine, Amirc or IRCLE. UNIX users can get IRC II for there machines and compile and run it form there. ( click here to see what clients are available for you machine: PC, AMIGA, MAC ) Once you have gotten your IRC client installed the next step involves learning some basic commands.

With most IRC clients an extensive help file is included. Don't hesitate to try the /help command.

Please Note a "/" is required for any IRC command to work.

The forward slash is the default command character. Commands on IRC are not case sensitive, and can be abbreviated to their first letters. Anything that does not begin with "/" is assumed to be a message to someone and will be sent to your current channel, or to a person you are chatting with in a private chat (see below).

HELP shows general help or help on the given command.
LIST lists all current channels.
JOIN to join a channel
PART to leave a channel (same as LEAVE)
QUIT exits your IRC session, (same as BYE and EXIT)
NICK changes your nickname
AWAY leaves a message saying you're away or not paying attention
WHOIS displays information about someone
INVITE sends an invitation to another user
KICK gets rid of someone on a channel
TOPIC changes the topic of the channel
ME sends anything about you to a channel or QUERY

/HELP [command] Shows general help or help on the given command.

/LIST [[{flags}] {channel mask}] Lists all current channels.
In the list you will see all channels (see below), except for those that are secret, with their number of users and the topic. The displayed list may be quite long, so you can limit it using flags. "/LIST -MIN n" for instance removes channels with less than 'n' users from the output.

/JOIN {#channel} Sets your current channel to the supplied channel.
Upon entering a channel, you are given useful details about it: a list of users talking in that channel, channel mode settings and the topic... Joining a channel does not cause you to leave your previous channel and you can normally join as many channels as your connection can handle or that the IRC server allows.
/JOIN #amiga
*** Now talking in #amiga

/PART [#channel] Makes you leave a channel. (same as LEAVE)
/PART #amiga
*** You have left #amiga

/QUIT [reason] Exits your IRC session. (Also BYE and EXIT.)
If a reason is supplied, it is displayed to other people on your channels.
/QUIT going to get a life!

/NICK {nickname} Changes your nickname to whatever you like.
Everyone who wants to talk to you sees this name. Nicknames are limited to 9 characters max. If your intended nickname clashes with someone else's as you enter IRC, you will not be able to enter until you change it to something else. Duplicate nicknames are not allowed; this is enforced by the IRC servers. Under some circumstances, two individuals may temporarily have the same nick but once discovered, both of them will be killed; a nick collision kill.
/NICK Guru
***MrAmiga is now known as Amigaman

/AWAY [away message] Sets your status as away with some info.
Sets a message explaining that you are not currently paying attention to IRC. Whenever someone sends you a MSG or does a WHOIS on you, they automatically see whatever message you have set. Using AWAY with no parameters marks you as no longer being away.
/AWAY Gone to get a beer.
*** You have been marked as being away
/AWAY
*** You are no longer marked as being away

/WHOIS {nickname} Shows information about someone.
/WHOIS MrAmiga
*** MrAmiga is ~Amigaman@cnc90411.concentric.net
*** on channels: @#Amiga @#Windows95 #Bar&Grill
*** on via server Kings.Ga.Us.Innernet.org
*** MrAmiga is away (Work)
/WHOIS Newbie
*** Newbie: No such nickname

/INVITE {nickname} {#channel} Invites another user to a channel you are on.
If you want a friend to join your channel you can invite him. He will see a message such as ***Mramiga invites you to #channel. This is required if your channel is 'invite only'.
/INVITE Friend #Bar&Grill
*** Inviting Friend to #Bar&Grill
If you receive an INVITE message, you can type "/JOIN {#channel}".

/KICK {#channel} {nickname} Kicks a user off a given channel.
Well, you guessed it, if there is a way to invite someone on a channel, there is also the ability to KICK someone out of it. For example ,if a person is behaving in an offensive manner by annoying people or flooding the channel with unwanted information, they can be forced out of the channel. Only 'channel operators' are privileged to use this command.
/KICK #Amiga Sailrmoon
***Sailrmoon has been kicked off channel #Amiga by MrAmiga (Get a clue)

/TOPIC {#channel} {topic for channel} Changes the channel's topic.
Channels have topics, that indicate the current topic of conversation. You can change this topic on a channel with the TOPIC command.
/TOPIC #Bar&grill Snarf is back
*** MrAmiga has changed topic to "snarf is back"

/ME {action description} Tells people about what you are doing.
At times, you may want to send a description of what you are doing or how you are feeling or just anything concerning you on the current channel or in a query.
/ME slaps Newbie with a IRC FAQ FILE.
* Mramiga slaps newbie with IRC FAQ FILE.

The same goal can be achieved towards a specific nickname or channel using:
/DESCRIBE {nickname|#channel} {action description}

MSG sends a private message
QUERY starts a private conversation
NOTICE sends a private message
NOTIFY informs you when people logging in or out IRC
IGNORE removes output from specific people

/MSG {nickname|channel} {text} Sends a (private) message to specified nickname or channel.
Besides chatting on IRC Channels you can also have private conversations or queries with other people on IRC. On most clients these conversations will be handled by separate window. You can use the /MSG command to send someone a message that only that person can read. If somebody else sends you a message or that person replies to your message a query window icon will pop up informing you somebody wants to talk to you personally.
/MSG MrElcee This message can be read by you only.
*MrElcee* This message can be read by you only.

In MrElcee's screen a window will pop up with the message you typed; "This message can be read by you only." Not all IRC clients support pop up windows..

/QUERY {nickname} [test] Starts a private conversation with {nickname} and forces a separate window to open.
This command differs from the MSG command only by the fact that it is used to start a private conversation. All text you type that would normally be sent to your chat partner if you used MSG now displays in an immediately opened private window 'to your chat partner' on your screen and is sent to the other person as well.

/NOTICE {nickname|#channel} {text} Sends a private message to the specified {nickname}or {#channel}.
The NOTICE command is just another way to send messages to other people. But, unlike MSG's, NOTICEs will never open a separate window 'to' the other person. It should be seen as a sort of whispering. It is recommended that robots or other automatons on IRC use notices (contrary to messages) to send information to people. You should never automatically (as by remote events or commands) send a message or notice in response to a notice sent to you.

/NOTIFY [nickname|on|off] Toggles the notify function or adds or removes {nickname} to the notify list.
As you start to meet people on IRC, you will want to add certain nicknames to your notify list such that you will be warned when they sign on or off IRC.
/NOTIFY MrElcee marl
*** Added MrElcee to Notify list
*** Added marl to Notify list
/NOTIFY
*** Deltax is on IRC
*** Snarf is on IRC
*** Mrelcee is not on IRC
*** Jkay is on IRC

/IGNORE [nickname|user@host] Ignore all contact from the specified people.
The day will come when you decide not (never?) to see or hear a specific person on your screen. This can be achieved using the ignore command. If people are flooding channels with useless text or they are otherwise harassing you, a wise response is to ignore those person. Ignore can be set to a nickname or by specifying a user@host format. You can use all kind of wildcards.
/IGNORE loser
*** Added loser to Ignore list
/IGNORE
*** Ignore is ON
*** Ignoring: *.*@*.unicomp.net *!*ap@159.148.109.88 *!*fishy@*.interaccess.com looser
/IGNORE looser
*** Removed looser from Ignore list

SO what are these neat channel mode thingies? well they allow you as an channel operator to set channel/user modes. Each command is used in the same method as other commands with the additional option of a +/- to either set or remove the applied mode change.

		Channel modes

	b 	ban somebody, <person> in "nick!user@host" form
	i	Channel is invite-only
        l       channel is limited, <number> users allowed max
	m	channel is moderated, (only chanops can talk)
	n	external /MSGs to channel are not allowed
	o       makes <nickname> a channel operator
	p       channel is private
	s       channel is secret
	t	topic limited, only chanops may change it
	k 	set secret key for a channel

		User modes

	ModeChar	Effects on nicknames

	i		makes you invisible to anybody that does not know

	o		IRC-operator status, can only be set
			by IRC-ops with OPER
	s		receive server notices
	v		gives a user a voice on a moderated channel

An example of the above commands showing the correct syntax and usage are as follows;

US.UNDERNET.ORG
CA.UNDERNET.ORG
EU.UNDERNET.ORG
CHICAGO.IL.US.UNDERNET.ORG
LONDON.UK.EU.UNDERNET.ORG

IRC.MIT.EDU
KINGS.GA.US.INNERNET.ORG
WASHINGTON.DC.US.INNERNET.ORG
Bergen.NO.EU.InnerNET.Org

IRC.CONCENTRIC.NET
IRC2.MAGIC.CA
IRC.PORTAL.COM
IRC.EPIX2.NET
IRC.BLACKENED.COM
IRC1.CERF.NET

To join a channel, type /join #channelname. Try "/join #irchelp" to give it a try... That's it! Once you get to the channel, you will see people talking. It will probably look like this:

<ChannelX> and you can get 133 p5s for a hell of a lot less than that
<Ezy> thats what I'm looking at... at this point in my life I'm on a severe budget :)
<mramiga> actually a p5 133 or 166 is pretty damn usable
<ChannelX> heh
<ChannelX> a 133 is very usable
<Ezy> "very usable" ..heh
<Sibbi> 166 is decent
<ChannelX> a 166 even more so tho I dont think its worth the extra $$
<ChannelX> you dont get that much of a speed increase
<Sibbi> I have a 166 on my desk at work, doest work
<ChannelX> better off with a 133 and more memory
<Sibbi> not some awful speed freak of a machine
<Sibbi> but then again it has a crap® cl pci card
<MrElcee> why doesn't it work, sibbi?

So great I'm in a channel, now what? well start with a hello or something to that effect. Bare in mind that you may enter in the middle of a conversation, be patient and give your self a minute to come to grips with what is being said before you join in. Channel names don't always represent what is being talked about, nor does the topic. In the channel window that opens once you join a channel you'll see an alphabetical list of people that are on the channel on the right side of the window. Some of them have a @ in front of their name to point out they are the channel operators. A Channel Operator is someone who has control over a specific channel. A Channel Operator can also decide if control is shared or not. The first person to join the channel automatically receives Channel Operator status. In the channel's title bar you will see the channel's name and perhaps its topic. If you choose to leave a channel, just type /part #channelname.

The most widely understood and spoken language on IRC is English. However, as IRC is used in many different countries, English is by no means the only language. If you want to speak some language other than English, (for example with your friends), go to a separate channel and set the topic to indicate that. Similarly, you should check the topic when you join a channel to see if there are any restrictions about language. On a non-restricted channel, please speak a language everybody can understand. If you want to do otherwise, change channels and set the topic accordingly.

It is not necessary to greet everybody on a channel personally. Usually one "Hello!" or equivalent is enough. Also, don't expect everybody to greet you back. On a channel with 20 people that would mean one screenful of hellos. It makes sense not to greet everyone, in order not to be rude to the rest of the channel. If you must say hello to somebody you know, do it with a private message. The same applies to goodbyes. Also note that using your client's facilities to automatically say hello or goodbye to people is extremely poor etiquette. Nobody wants to receive autogreets. They are not only obviously automatic, but while you may think you are being polite, you are actually conveying yourself as insincere. If somebody wants to be autogreeted when they join a channel, they will autogreet themselves. Remember, people on IRC form their opinions about you only by your actions, writings and comments, so think before you type. If you use offensive words, you'll be frowned upon. Do not "Flood" (send large amounts of unwanted information) to a channel or user. This is likely to get you kicked off the channel or killed off from IRC.Flooding causes network "burps", causing connections to go down because servers cannot handle the large amount of traffic. Other prohibited actions include: