[TUTORIAL] How to IRC

[Mitch 2111]

How to IRC, by Mitch

Table of Contents:

I. Introduction

a. SwiftIRC server information

b. Shoutbox vs IRC

c. Introduction of Common Clients

d. Nickserv registration

II. X-Chat Tutorial

III. mIRC Tutorial

IV. Additional Information for Staff

V. Closing & FAQ

I. Introduction

a. SwiftIRC Server Information

irc.swiftirc.net #joinsg

(if irc.swiftirc.net is not responding, connect to one of the servers listed here: http://swiftirc.net/...hp?page=servers -- it is best to use the server closest to you, ports shouldn't matter so use one that is best with your connection. SSL doesn't matter either, use if it if you want or not)

best NA server: helix.fl.us.SwiftIRC.net | ports: 6666, 6667, 6668, 6669, 7000

germany: hades.de.eu.SwiftIRC.net | ports: 6667, 6668. 6669, 6670, 7000

france: lunas.fr.eu.SwiftIRC.net | ports: 6666, 6667, 6668, 6669, 7000, 8080

france2: mercury.fr.eu.SwiftIRC.net | ports: 6666, 6667, 6668, 6669, 7000. 8080

united kingdom: tripwire.uk.eu.SwiftIRC.net | ports: 6666, 6667, 6668, 6669, 7000

netherlands: vesta.nl.eu.SwiftIRC.net | ports: 6666, 6667, 6668, 6669, 6670, 7000, 8080

Hey everyone, this is going to be a difficult tutorial to write but I'm going to do my best to show all of you how to use IRC. Yes, you can use the IRC Chat tab at the top of the webpage, but once I show you this way you'll end up loving it.

b. Shoutbox vs IRC

First off, I want to justify why we're dropping the shoutbox and moving to IRC:

- The shoutbox was using a watered down version of the IRC protocol. So in essence, you are using the shoutbox. We'll be implementing a light-resource intensive alternative to the shoutbox that connects to our IRC channel as soon as we find a good alternative.

- IRC is more powerful and customizable.

- The IRC Channel will still be up if all the services in our gaming community crash, as we witnessed late last May.

- It is easier to go back and see what people said in IRC, unlike the broken archive system in the shoutbox.

- We have more control over what we want to do with our IRC.

- The servers are linked to the IRC channel, so you can check your status of your favorite servers easily. It will also allow staff members to be more in touch with the servers, giving instantaneous needed support to all our servers.

... there are many more reasons, but those are just a few just to start off. If you need me to justify even more, talk to me personally and I'll explain to you all the advantages and even the slight disadvantages from switching from the shoutbox to IRC. I guarantee you at the end that it is a good switch.

c. Common IRC Clients for Windows

First off there are multiple clients you can use.

The three I would recommend for all users of IRC on Windows (from new users, to normal users and power users) are X-Chat and mIRC.

I apologize first hand that I won't be writing any guides towards using this on a Mac. Hopefully Youtube/this tutorial can help you out as much as it can there, but unless you're willing to buy me a Mac -- you'll have to find how to do these things on your own . Linux users on the other hand, I'm pretty sure you should be well-versed in these things - if not, google up how to use irssi and learn from there. I don't have too much experience with Linux/irssi and can't really help you there.

The three clients are:

Y-Chat // X-Chat 2 (http://www.silverex.org/download/)

X-Chat (http://xchat.org/)

mIRC (http://www.mirc.com/)

Out of the three, I recommend Y-Chat the most because it's fully free and pretty easy to use. mIRC is indeed the most popular and widespread, the only thing that annoys me is that it keeps pestering you to buy the product after 30 days (and makes you wait 30 seconds before you can hit the continue button). X-Chat is also decent, but it's the exact same as Y-Chat just with better looks. Either or, I will be writing a tutorial on all three, it's up to you on what you want to choose.

X-Chat and Y-Chat are definitely easier to learn and I feel like it has a sleeker interface, but mIRC is definitely more powerful and has more extensibility in terms of scripts, bots and what not for IRC (X-Chat has scripts/bots as well but not as many as mIRC).

Y-Chat is completely free, X-Chat and mIRC are both shareware.

d. Nickserv Registration on SwiftIRC

You must register your nickname on Nickserv with swiftirc! There is a video below on showing how to register yourself with Nickserv. Once you register yourself, remember your password because you'll need to log in every time to identify yourself. There are ways in X-Chat and mIRC to have it auto enter in your password, if you want to know how - either meddle around with mIRC and X-Chat settings to do so or ask me personally.

NOTE that your current username might already be taken, so you might have to modify yours a little bit (e.g. Mitch --> xmitch, Mario --> sGMario, Sandy ---> Sandddy, etc.,)

Serious impersonation of other members is not tolerated and you will be punished if caught.

[Mitch 2111]

II. X-Chat Tutorial

[Mitch 2111]

III. mIRC Tutorial

Remember to join #joinsg !

Also remember to identify yourself every time you connect! (/ns ID <password>)

If you need help having yourself auto-identify yourself everytime you log into the server, let me know and I can show you how to do it.

[Mitch 2111]

IV. Additional Information for Staff

PM me personally to get access to the private staff channels and for a small personal tutorial on how the server bots work.

I need all staff to register their nicknames on nickserv.

tentative~

+o --> JCS & IRC Team

+h --> ADV, ENG, RO

+v --> SO (TBD), Server Bots

[Mitch 2111]

V. Closing & FAQ

FAQ-

Justice: What about asia?

I suggest you use whatever country you think is closest to you. Best bet would either be America or potentially the Netherlands/Germany. If those don't work than you can always try UK or France. It shouldn't matter honestly, you'll have a little more delay relaying messages but your end experience will still be the same.

[Guest Sandy Balls]

plzno