[Seilca]

The Basics of IRC

**This is still a work in progress. I also wasn't entirely sure where to put this**

I. Intro & Clients
II. Connecting
III. Channel Information
IV. Useful Commands
V. Other Info

I. Intro & Clients
I figured since MabiGuru will soon have an IRC channel of it's own, I might as well write up something concerning the basics for those who've never used it before.

IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, and was developed in the late 80's; despite its age, it's still commonly used by many today.
Connecting to IRC is possible on nearly any platform, and there are many, many clients from which to choose from. In this guide, I'll be using MIRC (However, avoiding most of it's GUI aspects), as it's the most commonly used client on Windows systems.

(Short) List of IRC clients.

Windows:

• mIRC: http://www.mirc.com/get.html
• HydraIRC: http://www.hydrairc.com/index.php?page=downloads
• XChat: http://www.xchat.org/download/
• IceChat: http://www.icechat.net/site/downice.php (Thanks Halinu)

Linux:

• XChat: http://www.xchat.org/download/ (Also search for xchat-gnome if on Debian and such)

Mac:

• Xirc: http://www.aquaticx.com/downloads.htm

Browser Based:

• http://chat.dairc.net/

(I'll add more clients to this list as time goes on)

II. Connecting.
Joining the MabiGuru IRC server/channel:
(ON HOLD)

Joining an example IRC server/channel:

In mIRC it's as simple as typing in..

/server irc.rizon.net 6667
(6667 is the most commonly used port number for IRC)

After you've connected..
To join a channel, type..

/join #channelname

III. User/Channel Information

MODES: Think of modes as different options that can be applied to channels (Aswell as users)
Modes are enabled and disabled through the command /mode, enable a mode by using + (Such as +v), and disable one by using - (-v; More on the /mode command is explained in the following section).
Here's a rundown of the most common modes..

o - Operator. Users with this mode will have an @ next to their names. Operators are the channel moderators, and have the power to kick, ban, change the topic, mute the channel, etc. Operator status can only be given by other Operators and the channel Owner.
(/mode #channel +o user)

h - Halfop. Halfops will have a % next to their name; this mode is rarely used, but halfops can kick/ban anyone who isn't an Operator and can set the channel topic.
(/mode #channel +h user)

v - VOICE. Users with this mode will have a + sign next to their name, and will be able to talk when +m is set on the channel..
(/mode #channel +v user)

m - Moderated/Mute. Disables people from talking in the channel, aside from Owner, Operators, Halfops, and those with Voice.
(/mode #channel +m)

b - BAN! This will ban the given mask. A channel can have a total of 20 bans stored.
(/mode #channel +b *@host.mask.com [This will ban anyone from that hostmask, * is used as a wildcard for the nickname, alternatively you could also do nickname@*, nickname@host.mask.* and many other variations])

k - Key. Think of this as the channels password, you can't get in without it. Not all channels have a key set.
(/mode #channel +k pass123)

IV. Useful Commands
Words within curly braces {} are OPTIONAL PARAMETERS.

/msg nick message
Ex: /msg Seilca Sending you a private message just to be annoying.
Description: Will send a private message to the specified user. Alternatively, in mIRC you can just double click on the users name to open up a new window to have a private chat with someone.

/me message
Ex: /me falls on the floor
Description: /me is used for actions and roleplaying, the above would result in a message to the channel like "Seilca falls on the floor".

/mode channel +|- mode {parameter}
Ex: /mode #channel +o Seilca or /mode #channel -o Seilca
Description: The above will set/unset Seilca as a channel Operator (More on modes are explained in the previous section)

/nick desired_nickname
Ex: /nick Seilca
Description: Will change your nickname. Spaces are normally not allowed in nicknames, and they cannot start with a number.

/join channel {key}
Ex: /join #channel pass123
Description: This command will enter you in to the specified channel; think of the key parameter as the channels password (Not all channels have one, mind you)

/part channel {reason}
Ex: /part #channel House is on fire
Description: Will remove you from the channel specified

/quit {reason}
Ex: /quit house isn't on fire, I just don't like any of you
Description: Will disconnect you from the server

/whois nick
Ex: /whois Seilca
Description: This will return the specified users hostmask, the channels they're on (If +s isn't set for that channel), and will tell you if the user has +r (Registered/Identified) set.

V. Other Info

Nickserv, Chanserv, and Botserv.
While these aren't available on every server, they exist to make your (IRC) life easier.

Nickserv:
(Taken from messaging Nickserv, as I couldn't put it in any better way)

"NickServ allows you to "register" a nickname and prevent others from using it.
The following commands allow for registration and maintenance of nicknames; to use them, type /msg NickServ command.
For more information on a specific command, type /msg NickServ HELP command."

How to register your nickname.
/msg nickserv register YOURPASSWORD YOUREMAIL

Afterwards, you will be sent an email to your given address with a code, when you recieve this message nickserve again with..
/msg nickserv confirm CODE


Identifying with nickserv.

To let nickserv know that you're the owner of the nick you're using, send the following..
/msg nickserv identify PASSWORD

For more nickserv information, you can use /msg nickserv help.

Chanserv:
(Again.. taken from Chanserv itself)

"ChanServ allows you to register and control various aspects of channels.
ChanServ can often prevent malicious users from "taking over" channels by limiting who is allowed channel operator privileges."

More on this later...

[Halinu]

Just to add, IceChat is a really good client too. I used to use that. :3 I probably will again too. XD;;

[Monday]

Here's a useful little one line script (if you can even call it that).

ON *:CONNECT:{ /nickserv identify password }

Basically, this automatically logs in for you so you don't have to type it every time you open mIRC (or whatever you're using).

Press Tools > Scripts Editor and paste it into the Remote section, then press save.

[Adura]

Replace http://www.xchat.org/download/ for windows with http://silverex.org/download/ seeing it's a free build.