Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a multi-user, multi-channel chatting
network. It allows people all over the Internet to talk to one
another in real-time. Each IRC user can choose a nickname or handle,
or if none is chosen, the login is used.
The commands for IRC are quite simple. To enter IRC mode with the nickname
"sam", use the command:
world% irc sam
The nickname you choose cannot be the same as one already selected by
someone else. If there is a conflict, the machine will tell you and you
*** Connecting to port 6667 of server world.std.com
*** Welcome to the Internet Relay Network, ved
*** Your host is world.std.com[world], running version 2.7.2g
*** You have new mail.
*** If you have not already done so, please read the new user information with
+/HELP NEWUSER
*** This server was created Sun Nov 22 1992 at 19:02:56 EST
*** There are 1003 users and 377 invisible on 146 servers
*** 74 users have connection to the twilight zone
*** There are 374 channels.
*** I have 1 clients and 1 servers
MOTD - world.std.com Message of the Day -
MOTD - Be careful out there...
MOTD -
MOTD - ->Spike
******
This is the login message you will see when you first enter IRC.
Within this message, you will notice some mysterious references. Then
it lists the total number of users, and shows the number that are
"invisible." This means that some of the channels will not be seen
when you use the "/list" command mentioned below. The login message
also mentions 74 users who have connection to the twilight zone. This
refers to the IRC operators, a higher category than the channel
operators mentioned later in this document.
All of the visible channels for IRC can be listed with the command:
/list
Notice the slash, which must be typed before any IRC command.
The listing produced by the "/list" command can be quite long.
You can moderate the length by using the command:
/list -MIN n
When n is the minimum number of users. Channels with less than n users
are not shown.
You can only look for channels by using the matching character "*".
To see all channels that start with the letter 'a' use:
/list #a*
Or to list a channel with part of the name Macintosh use:
/list #*mac*
You can join the channel of your choice by the command "/join
." To join the channel called "#peace," you would issue the
command
/join #peace
All channel names have a # sign before them. All these listed channels
have numbers after them. If the number "1" appears after the channel,
it means that it is empty, waiting for people to arrive.
Once you join a channel, you will type commands (always preceded by
the "/" as mentioned above) or just type the words you wish to have
displayed in the chat. The buffer will scroll, continuously displaying
the dialog, showing who said what. Each portion of text is entered to
the buffer by pressing the return key.
You can create your own personal channel by the command:
/join #mychannel
When you do this, you have become a channel operator or "chanop" of
the new "#mychannel," which gives you a good measure of personal
power, such as the ability to make the channel "private," or "by
invitation only," or "secret."
To render the channel created in the example above "private," issue
the command:
/mode #mychannel +p
The full range of commands of this sort are detailed. For more
information, consult the help files on World, which can be obtained by
issuing the unix command at the World prompt:
world% help irc
The subtopic "tutorial" provides detailed information on IRC.
The built-in help in IRC is useful also, especially if you already
know the name of a command you are wondering about. Just type:
/help
or for a particular topic, type:
/help
To quit the "help" mode in IRC, just press the carriage return.
You are free to quit any channel at any time with the either of the
two following commands:
/bye
/quit
To get started in IRC, there are very few commands you will need until
you gain more experience. Among those you are likely to use are the
following:
/who #peace
This will provide you with a list of all users that are participating
in a channel. Included in the listing will be the person's nickname
and the email address.
/whois wiz
This will give you the true identity of anyone in that channel. To
issue a private message to a person, for example, your friend "wiz,"
type the command:
/msg wiz Could I speak with you?
This allows you more privacy, just like drawing someone aside at a
cocktail party.
You may need to excuse yourself for a minute. This is easily done with
the command:
/away I have to get a snack. Be back in 5 minutes.
This will notify the others that you are still on the channel, but
must do something. In this example, the message "I have to get a
snack. Be back in 5 minutes." will be appear after a formal notice by
the machine that you are away. When you wish to return to the
channel, issue the command:
/away
This will put you back in action.
To notify someone on another IRC channel that you wish them to join
you on your channel, issue the command:
/invite
To issue an invitation to someone who is currently online on a given
machine, but is not in IRC mode, issue the command:
/summon user@host
Do not do this unless you are fairly sure that the request will be
welcome - it can be a fairly disturbing and sometimes irritating
intrusion.
If you you wish to notify others scanning the IRC list of a particular
topic being discussed within your channel, issue the command
/topic Discussion of UNIX for beginners
The notice "Discussion of UNIX for beginners" will appear after the
channel name in the list.
IRC has a full range of commands and options. This document contains
the basics for getting started. To discover more about IRC, consult
the help files within IRC (by the IRC command /help).
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Copyright 1995 Software Tool & Die, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Software Tool & Die, Inc., 1330 Beacon St. Suite 215 Brookline, MA 02146