The IRC Help file

This is a small list to help you get into the IRC network, and more specifically onto DALnet with the mIRC program. It is intended as a quick start kind of document only. For more in-depth help and explanation, go to http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/faq.html

[1] Download and instal the program from http://www.mirc.com

[2] Open the installed program. Don't connect yet.

[3] You will hopefully have the mIRC Options box open. If not, open it

[4] Fill in the 4 boxes :
Full Name------------ you don't need to put your real name here. Everyone can see all the information you put here
E-Mail address ---- as above, although the program automatically puts your ip number here
Nickname ------------ this is what you will be known as on the irc. You can change it
Alternative ------------in case your first choice isn't available.

[5] Now, you are ready to connect to a server. There are many to choose from, and people on one server cannot talk to people on a different one. I used to go with DALNET. You can do things like register your nick and register a channel, but Now I use EFnet because it is more reliable.

You will also want to choose a server close to you to minimise delays. On the IRC Options page:

(category Connect), Select from the two top boxes . The first box called IRC Servers should be set to All, and the box below with no name set to the closest EFNet server. Then click Connect to IRC Server...

[6] After you hit Connect, the program will try to get onto your chosen server. This can take 5 seconds or 5 minutes, depending on the server. Be aware that you will not be authorised to connect to all servers, you may have to try a few to get on.

[7] When you connect, the connect page will scroll quickly up with the welcome page of the server you just joined.

[8] Now find an interesting channel. You can try List Channels icon (4th from left) to get a huge list, or you can just type in /join #any_name_you_like and see if anyone is there.

[10] That's it.

Some shorthand explained:

:) ----------------------------------- smiley, happy, joking (also jk for joke)
:( ----------------------------------- sad, unhappy
ppl --------------------------------- people
lol -----------------------------------laughing out loud
rofl --------------------------------- rolling on the floor laughing
hehe, haha, jaja etc.----------------- laugh
bbl --------------------------------- be back later
cya -------------------------------- see you
wtf --------------------------------- what the £u(k!
np ---------------------------------- no problem
afaik --------------------------------as far as I know
imho -------------------------------- in my humble opinion

some jargon explained

OP ----------------------A person who 'has op' of a channel. Controller. You can be oped if you found a channel, Or if someone makes you one on an existing channel.
KICK -------------------OP's can kick anyone off a channel if they feel like it, although you usually have to annoy then enough first by..
FLOODing -----------Large amounts of text sent rapidly. Screws up the servers and gets you
BANNED -------------from the channel, or even the server
SWEARING----------Don't unless you are sure you wont get kicked or banned
ALL CAPITALS-----Is considered shouting and will get you kicked or banned
BOT --------------------Short for robot, a program that operates on the irc, looking after channels etc. Don't use them yourself unless you really know what you are doing, as they can mess things up and get your ip banned from the server.

Some useful controls in mIRC

Control K ----Will let you put colours onto the irc. Don't use them unless you are sure you won't be kicked or banned.
Tab ------------Type the first few letters of someone's nick, then press tab and the program will fill out the rest.
Copying ------You will need to left click+drag and hold down the selected text while pressing Control C.
paste ---------Good old Control V.

have fun, and try not to get too addicted to it! It may be a good idea to just listen for an hour or so, browse the channels etc. before you jump in. If you like someone then right click on their nick, U-central and add them to your address book if someone is annoying you, right click and Ignore!

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