United States of Hardcore

What is irc?

IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, and is simply a system used on the Internet for people to chat to each other in real time.

installing irc

IRC is relatively easy get started with.

The first thing you need to get started is an IRC client.
There are many IRC clients available. The most common of these are mIRC and Pirch (for Windows) and ircII for UNIX.

mIRC Homepage Download

Get mIRC

Pirch Homepage Download

using irc

Once you have downloaded and installed your client, you need to set your personal information.

This is fairly straight-forward.

 

basic irc concepts

Networks

The IRC network is divided into lots of networks. Each network is independant from the rest, so you cannot chat to people on different networks. It is usually the case that people find a particular network they like and stick to it. There are hundreds of small networks, and four major ones:

Servers

Each network is made up of numerous IRC servers all connected together. In order to get onto a particular network, you must connect to one of these servers.

Channels

Once connected, you can join a particular channel if you know the name, or you can view a list of the current channels active, and join one from there.
If you join a channel that does not exist, it is automatically created for you.

A channel is like a virtual room. You enter a channel and you can see a list of people also in the channel. Whenever someone says something to the channel, the message will appear in the window of everybody in that channel.

Each channel has a set channel name beginning with '#' (eg #HappyCore), a topic which can be set, a list of banned users, and a few options (such as moderated, hidden, etc...)

You can talk to the channel by typing in text bar at the bottom of the window.

Channel Operators

Many users have an '@' symbol in front of their nickname in particular channels, meaning they are Channel Operators (usually known as Ops).

This means they have the right to change the settings and topic of that channel, and also kick people out, ban them, invite people, the right to make other people operators on that channel (Op them), and take the operator status away from people (DeOp them).

When a channel is created, the person who created it, (who is also the first person to enter it) is automatically made channel operator. That is, of course until they leave.
 

simple irc commands

Generally, when you type a line of text in, followed by enter, the text is sent to whichever channel you happen to be in at the time.

However, if your text begins with the '/' (forward slash) character, it means it is an IRC command.

These are the most common IRC commands:

  • /NICK nickname
    Changes your nickname.
    eg: /NICK Bernie

  • /SERVER ircserver
    Connects you to an IRC server.
    eg: /SERVER irc.aimnet.com

  • /JOIN channel
    Makes you join a channel.
    eg: /JOIN #HappyCore

  • /NAMES channel
    Shows a list of names of people currently in that channel.
    eg: /NAMES #HappyCore

  • /PART channel
    Lets you leave a channel.
    eg: /PART #HappyCore

  • /TOPIC channel topic
    Changes the current topic for a channel.
    eg: /TOPIC #HappyCore Welcome to the channel where nothing happens

  • /MSG somebody message
    Privately sends a message to somebody.
    eg: /MSG Bob Hi there, Bob. How's life?

  • /QUIT (reason)
    Finishes your IRC session. If you state a reason then that shall be displayed to all channels you are in when you quit.
    eg: /QUIT It's all to intense for me!
     

More mIRC Commands from Homepage

other irc related resources

 

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