IRC channel again?

I know that Fred Raud made a channel on 4-irc a few years back, but would anybody be interested in a new one?
All other programming comnuities has one eg. #php #linux #c and so on, and it's very helpfull as it's sometimes easier to explain things when you're doing it in real time.

It would preferably be created on quakenet as it's the biggest irc network there is and it's very stable.

I would ofcourse make a guide to set up mIRC as it seems people had trouble with it the last time.

So are you for or against?

I'm all for this. Is there anymore support for this?

I think it would be a great tool for all of us to converse in real-time situations.

I'm BACK! (sorry for the wait)



Ok, so last time i posted this 5 people was for it and nobody was against it - so let's try.



This time I have created a channel on the freenode.net irc-network, wich quote (actually copy/paste):



"...provides discussion facilities for the Free and Open Source Software communities, for not-for-profit organizations and for related communities and organizations"

(www.freenode.net)



Guide for windows users on how to connect to the freenode irc-network with mIRC:



1. Download mIRC at www.mirc.com

- mIRC is a very popular IRC client for windows. (There are LOTS of irc clients out there, but mIRC is very userfriendly, so I suggest that first time IRC users use it.







2. Install mIRC

- just follow the setup-wizard






3. Run mIRC

- just ignore the first window that pops up and press "continue". Later on it will say that your evaluation time has expired (like mine) and the "continue" button will be grayed out for a couple of seconds, but will return.






4. Fill in your personal information

- doesn't have to be your personal information - you can just fill in something.

When you're done press the "servers" tab on the left.

5. Choose a server

- Since the freenode IRC-server isn't in the serverlist when you install mIRC we have to add it. (Actually it is in there, but it's the wrong one)

So press the "add" buton.







Fill in the following information:



Description: Freenode Server

IRC Server: irc.freenode.net

Ports: 6667



And press the "add" button.







Make sure that our "Freenode Server" is highlighted in the serverlist, and press "Select".







6. Connect

- The "Connect" tab will now automaticly open again so just press "Connect".







Alot of server messages and such will now run across the screen.






When you see this message in red:



[freenode-connect VERSION]



Congratulations! - You are now connected to the freenode IRC server!



7. Join the #plctalk channel

- Ok, so a "chatroom" on an IRC-network is called a "channel" and all channels has this "#" sign infront of their name - so our plctalk channel is called #plctalk. There are LOTS and LOTS of other channels on the freenode network such as #c, #c++, #php, #css, #sql and so on.



To join a channel type "/join #channelname" - to join our channel type "/join #plctalk"



When you do this our channel opens.







Now you are connected to the network, in our channel, and ready to talk

In the mIRC window you can see the channels that you are in (you can be in 20 channels at a time) on the left and wich persons are in the channel on the right.







People with an "@" infront of their names are operators or "adminstrators" of the channel commonly refered to as "ops". Usually people will "de-op" themselves so that they look like regular users of the channel to avoid having to deal with people asking them for all sorts of things, and only "op" themselves if needed.



People with an "+" infront of their names are "voiced" - This only has effect if an op as changed the mode on the channel so that only voiced and ops can speak. This isn't relevant for our channel.



You can try joining other channels. If you join a channel that isn't already taken it's yours, and you will be op on that channel, but as soon as you leave it will be open for anyone to take. To keep your channel after you leave you have to register you nick with nickserv (/msg nickserv help) for more info. And then register your channel with chanserv (/msg chanserv help) for more info.



Some other usefull commands are:

/leave #channel - to leave a channel (you can just rightclick > leave in the channel-list)



/whois <username> - without the "< >"'s to find out information about that user. (You can just rightclick > whois on the user in the user-list)



/msg <username> - without the "< >"'s to send a private message. (You can just doupleclick the user in the user-list)



When you want to leave just close the window - you will automaticly be disconnected.
Next time you want to log on you don't have to chose server again, you just press connect.



This is just something that I threw together pretty fast, so if you have any questions - don't hesitate to ask.



One more thing - The reason that I'm always online (I'm _jesper) on IRC is because I use a bouncer also know as a BNC - This keeps me online even when I close my computer, but costs alittle money. This means that you can private message me at any time, and I will recieve it when I come online.

Hope to see you online

Jesper,


That was a very well done, high speed intro into connecting to IRC! I was able to follow it very easily. I have been using MiRC on and off for the past 10 years and this was a good refresher...

Bob