Basic IRC Tutorial

Table of Contents

1. Purpose of this tutorial
2. What is IRC?
3. Choosing and installing an IRC client
4. Configuring your IRC client
5. Basic Usage and Commands
6. Credits

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to familiarize users new to IRC on what IRC is, how to install a client, and some basic commands to be familiar with.

This tutorial assumes only basic computer literacy.

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What is IRC?

IRC is an acroynm for Internet Relay Chat It was developed in the late 1980's and was really the first chat interface on the Internet.

While it does not offer some of the modern conviences of today's chat programs such as Yahoo and MSN, it is very stable and is still used quite often.

There are not any cute, graphical smilies and what not that most users have come to expect. It is strictly textual. It is, however, very robust and can be extended using bots and scripting.

Users can chat privately with other users, even in a seperate window if they so choose. It is also possible to send and receive files through IRC, but this tutorial will not touch on that as it is, in this author's opinion, a more advanced topic.

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Choosing and installing an IRC client

There are two components to IRC. One is the server. Orth and OneST8 have set up the server already. All you have to do is to connect to it. In order to connect and interact with other users, you will need to download and install an IRC client program.

Please note that a user can log into the IRC server through the web interface, however this author recommends getting a stand-alone client as the capabilites and the user interface are nicer.

There are a number of IRC clients out there. Two that are perhaps the most popular are X-Chat for Windows and mIRC. Both of these clients are well developed and supported. Both also require registering within 30 days for $20.00 US.

There is a totally free and legal version of X-Chat that may be downloaded from here. (Note: This is the version the author uses and highly recommends.)

Once you have downloaded your client of choice, (I am using X-Chat for the purposes of this tutorial) go ahead and install it just like you would for any program in Windows.

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Configuring your IRC client

Now that we have the IRC client installed, it is time to configure it so that you can enjoy IRC.

When you first start X-Chat, you will see the X-Chat: Server List window as shown here:

As denoted by the arrow, there are several fields to fill in here. These are:

• Nick Name: This is the name you would like to be known as while in IRC.
• Second Choice: If the name you chose for your Nick Name is already in use, X-Chat will use this one instead.
  
• Third Choice: If your first and second choices are in use, this one is used.
  
• User Name: Anything can go here, as it does not have much bearing on using IRC.
  
• Real Name: Put your name here. Or if you do not want anyone to know your real name, put another name instead.
  

Now we are going to want to tell X-Chat where to find the server. You will see a larger list of servers already listed, however we are going to want to add Layonara manually.

To do this, simply click the "Add" button as shown with the arrow. This will add a server called "New Server" in the list. You can change this to say Layonara or leave it as is. I recommend changing it as it will make things easier in the future.

Simply click the "Edit..." button to further the configuration process.In the "Servers for Layonara" section at the top left (note the arrow), we are going to want to change what is listed there. By default, X-Chat puts in a generic address. We need to point our client to Layonara's IRC server. To do so, click the "Edit" button. You will now be able to type in this field. You need to type irc.layonara.com/6667. The "6667" is the port number that the server listens on. That is a very advanced topic, so that is all I am going to say on ports.

The next area that needs our attention is under the lower arrow. There is a line that says "Channels to join:". Basically a channel is a room. You can join any number of channels that are on an IRC server. All channels begin with a "#". There is only one room we need concern ourselves with currently and that is #nwn. So type that in the line and click close. The other options are not going to be discussed in this tutorial, however, there will be a more advanced tutorial to explain some other options.

This puts us back at the first window again. Ensure the Layonara server is highlighted in the list and click the middle button at the bottom, labeled "Connect". If everything was input correctly you should see this:

The arrow notes two important features. The first is the text area where you will type all your commands as well as type what you want to say to others.

Below this there will be one or more tabs. Initially, there will be just one. Once the client connects to the server however, there will be at least one more, called "#nwn" which is the channel we want to join.

Other tabs that can be down here are other channels or windows you have open to talk to a user one on one privately. Also note, your screen may be white. I prefer the black theme and hence, I use it.

Your IRC Client is now configured! Read on to learn a little on how to get around in IRC.

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Basic Usage and Commands

So, now we are connected to Layonara IRC. Great. But what do we do now?

First off, let us examine the chat window briefly:

There is one main difference between this window and the one above, and that is the user list on the right side of the window. This lists all users that are currently in that channel. You will note little, round, colored dots next to certain names. The only color of any real importance at this point is green. That signifies the user is a Channel Operator. What does that mean you ask? It means they are in control of what happens in the channel. All of the GM's are Channel Operators, or just "ops" in IRC lingo. Usually this means nothing, however an op can kick a user out of the channel and even ban a user from rejoining the channel. So, what they say goes. Remember that. Now, you probably want to know how to use this thing called IRC. I shall now list some common commands you may want to know. One thing to note. All commands start with a "/".

First up, IRC has a very nice help system. To access it, just type /help. Follow the onscreen instructions at that time.

Next, if you want to say something, just type it normal. For example, Hello everyone!, will print that in the main window with your username before it so everyone knows who is talking.

Typing /me before anything will allow you to emote. For example, /me yawns will print Luna yawns in the main window.

It is possible to change your nickname, or nick, in IRC simply by typing /nick {new nick}.

If you want to say something to only one person just type /msg {user to message} {message}. Only that person will see what you said.

To open a seperate tab for a private message with a user, type /query {user}.

A couple of important feature that are handy in X-Chat are autocompletion of usernames and command history. Autocompletion is great. If you wanted to say something to Leanthar, for instance, just type Le and hit tab. As long as no one else has an Le starting thier username, it will complete it. It may be necessary to add one or two more letters before hitting tab.

Command history is a real time saver! X-Chat will remember past commands you have typed. Just push the up arrow on your keyboard to scroll through them.

Those commands will get you started with IRC. I hope to see you all there! Stay tuned for a more advanced tutorial soon.

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Credits

Submitted: July 1, 2005

Author: Luna

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