what is irc?
IRC, short for Internet Relay Chat, is a textbased chat-system. Contrary to webchats, the participiants don't chat over the internet. As the name indicates, the IRC-net is based on not only a single, but on many different servers, all connected to one-another. This allows an almost endless number of users on the irc-net.
how do i get on irc?
To be able to use irc, a so-calles client is needed. The client allows the user to access the irc-net and participate in virtual discussions.
Newbies don't habe to worry about available servers, the client brings a list of the most common ones.
The final choice of a client lies with the user for there are many different ones. However, it's important to chose the right client for the
operating system for not every client runs on every os.
how does the client work?
Most clients are very easy to handle. First, you have to choose a nickname and a server from the serverlist. Then click the button labled 'connect'
to get connected to the IRC-network.
When the connection to the server is stable, information and hints about how to behave on this server are displayed.
Now, a 'channel' (those are the chatrooms) has to be choosen to chat on. On almost every IRC-server exists a channel #help. This is where you can
join to ask general questions about irc.
You are ready to join a 'real' channel now. Follow the rules, some channels may have stated special-ones in their topic. Please write in the language which is used in this channel. If you are not able to handle this one, please choose a chennel where your native language is spoken.
a short reference of the most important irc-commands
Please keep in mind, that this is only a small selection of commands. Channel- and IRC-operators e.g. have a much grater variety of commands for user-administration at thier hands.
⁄join #channelname
that's how to join a channel
⁄part #channelname
that's how to leave a channel
⁄quit
that's how to close the connection to the server
⁄query nickname
opens a private chat-window with the specified chatter
⁄whois nickname
gives information about the specified chatter
⁄msg nickname text
sends a message, which only the specified chatter is able to read
a short reference of the most important rules of conduct
capitals
Please do not write whole words or sentences in captials, this is classified as shouting and considered very rude.
colors
Please configure your client to not use colors. Colors are not liked on IRC. How colorful the output of your client is is your choice, but please don't bother the other chatters by dyeing every second word a diffrent color.
speach
Please don't chatter away in your native language if another one is used in that channel.
away-messages and nick-changes
Some clients give you the possibility to comment a change from active to
interactiv-status with a small message. Please don't use this function for many channels consider this as spam.
Some chatters use the nick-change-function to show when they're absent (e.g.
user|athome, user|work, user|bathroom). Many channels don't tolerate this.
Nobody is interested in your whereabouts. If you're in the kitchen making some
steak or using the toilet - the result for everybody else is the same: you are
not there.
links
Even if the webpage you're surfing on is the funniest you've ever seen - check if it's okay to paste links on the channel before spamming it with 25 links.