Archive-name: irc-faq

Last-modified: 1995/08/07

Version: 1.50



(1) What is IRC? 



    IRC  stands  for "Internet Relay Chat". It was originally written

by Jarkko Oikarinen  (jto@tolsun.oulu.fi)  in 1988. Since starting in

Finland, it has been used in over  60 countries around the world.  It

was  designed  as a replacement for the "talk" program but has become

much  much  more   than that.  IRC is a multi-user chat system, where

people  convene on  "channels" (a virtual place, usually with a topic

of  conversation)  to talk in groups, or privately. IRC is constantly

evolving,  so the way things to work one week may not be the way they

work the next.  Read the MOTD (message of the day) every time you use

IRC to keep up on any new happenings or server updates.



    IRC  gained  international fame during the 1991 Persian Gulf War,

where  updates from  around the world came accross the wire, and most

irc users who were online at the time gathered on a single channel to

hear  these  reports.   IRC had similar  uses during the coup against

Boris Yeltsin  in  September 1993,  where  IRC users from Moscow were

giving live reports about the unstable situation there.



(2) How is IRC set up?



    The  user  runs  a  "client" program (usually called 'irc') which

connects  to the  IRC network via  another program called a "server".

Servers  exist  to  pass  messages  from  user  to  user over the IRC

network.



(3) How do I use a client?



    First,  check  to  see  if  irc is installed on your system. Type

"irc"  from your prompt. If this doesn't work, ask your local systems

people  if   irc is already installed. This will save you the work of

installing it yourself.



    If an IRC client isn't already on your system, you either compile

the  source  yourself,  have someone else on your machine compile the

source for you.



(4) Where can I get source for an IRC client?



    You  can anonymous ftp to any of the following sites (use the one

closest to  you):   ***  If you don't know what anonymous ftp is, ask

your local systems people to show you ***



UNIX client-> cs-ftp.bu.edu /irc/clients

	      ftp.acsu.buffalo.edu /pub/irc

	      ftp.funet.fi /pub/unix/irc

              coombs.anu.edu.au /pub/irc

          ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de

              /pub/comp/networking/irc/clients

EMACS elisp-> cs-ftp.bu.edu /irc/clients/elisp

	      ftp.funet.fi /pub/unix/irc/Emacs

              ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de

                  /pub/comp/networking/irc/clients

              cs.hut.fi /pub/irchat

X11 client->  catless.ncl.ac.uk /pub

   (Zircon)   ftp.aud.alcatel.com /tcl/code

VMS ->        cs-ftp.bu.edu /irc/clients/vms

	      coombs.anu.edu.au /pub/irc/vmsirc

              ftp.funet.fi  /pub/unix/irc/vms

              ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/net/irc

REXX client for VM->    cs-ftp.bu.edu /irc/clients/rxirc

                        ftp.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de

                            /pub/irc/rxirc

                        ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/net/irc/VM

                        coombs.anu.edu.au /pub/irc/rxirc

                        ftp.funet.fi /pub/unix/irc/rxirc

MSDOS->         cs-ftp.bu.edu /irc/clients/pc/msdos

                ftp.funet.fi /pub/unix/irc/msdos

MSWindows->	cs-ftp.bu.edu:/irc/clients/pc/windows

		ftp.demon.co.uk:/pub/ibmpc/winsock/apps/wsirc

		ftp.demon.co.uk:/pub/ibmpc/winsock/apps/mirc

OS/2->		cs-ftp.bu.edu:/irc/clients/pc/os2

		hobbes.nmsu.edu:/os2/network/tcpip

Macintosh->     cs-ftp.bu.edu /irc/clients/macintosh

("Homer" and    mirrors.aol.com /pub/info-mac/comm/tcp

 "ircle")       ftp.funet.fi /pub/unix/irc/mac

                ftp.ira.uka.de /pub/systems/mac

Amiga->		gv.warped.com /pub/amiga/grapevine

		ftp.wustl.edu /pub/aminet/comm/net

		ftp.luth.se /pub/aminet/comm/net

		cs-ftp.bu.edu /irc/clients/amiga

(5) Which server do I connect my client to?



    It's usually best to try and connect to one geographically close,

even though that may not be the best. You can always ask when you get

on IRC. Here's a list of servers avaliable for connection:



USA:

		irc.bu.edu

		irc.colorado.edu

		mickey.cc.utexas.edu		



Canada:

		irc.mcgill.ca



Europe:

		irc.funet.fi

		cismhp.univ-lyon1.fr

		irc.ethz.ch

                irc.nada.kth.se

		sokrates.informatik.uni-kl.de

                bim.itc.univie.ac.at



Australia:

		jello.qabc.uq.oz.au



Japan:

		endo.wide.ad.jp



This  is,  by  no  means,  a  comprehensive list, but merely a start.

Connect to the closest of these servers and join the channel #irchelp



(6) OK, I've got a client and I'm connected to a server, now what?



    It's  probably  best  to take a look around and see what you want

to do  first.   All  IRC commands  start with a "/", and most are one

word.   Typing /help  will  get you help information. /names will get

you a list of names, etc.



The output of /names is typically something like this->



Pub: #hack      zorgo eiji Patrick fup htoaster 

Pub: #Nippon    @jircc @miyu_d 

Pub: #nicole    MountainD 

Pub: #hottub    omar liron beer Deadog moh pfloyd Dode greywolf

                SAMANTHA



(Note  there  are  LOTS  more channels than this, this is just sample

output -- one way to stop /names from being too large is doing /names

-min  20 which  will only list channels with 20 or more people on it,

but you can only do this with the ircII client).



"Pub"  means  public  (or  "visible")  channel. "hack" is the channel

name.   "#"  is the prefix. A "@" before someone's nickname indicates

he/she is the "Channel operator" (see #7) of that channel.  A Channel

Operator is someone  who  has control over a specific channel. It can

be  shared or not as the first Channel Operator sees fit.  The  first

person to join the  channel  automatically  receives Channel Operator

status, and can share it with anyone he/she chooses (or not). Another

thing you might see is "Prv"  which means private.  You will only see

this   if  you   are on  that private channel. No one can see Private

channels except those who are on that particular private channel.



(7) What is a channel operator? What is an IRC operator? 



    A channel  operator is  someone with a "@" by their nickname in a

/names  list, or  a "@" by the channel name in /whois output. Channel

operators are kings/queens of their channel. This means they can kick

you  out of  their channel for no reason. If you don't like this, you

can start your own channel and become a channel operator there. 



    An  IRC  operator  is someone who maintains the IRC network. They

cannot   fix  channel   problems.   They cannot kick someone out of a

channel for  you.   They   cannot  /kill (kick  someone  out  of  IRC

temporarily)  someone  just   because  you  gave the offender channel

operator privileges and said offender kicked *you* off.



(8) What is a "bot"? 



        "bot"  is short for "robot". It is a script run from an ircII

client or  a separate program (in perl, C, and sometimes more obscure

languages). StarOwl@uiuc.edu (Michael Adams) defined  bots very well:

"A  bot  is  a  vile creation of /lusers to make up for lack of penis

length".   IRC bots are  generally  not needed.  See (11) below about

"ownership" of nicknames and channels.



    It  should be noted that many servers (especially in the USA) ban

ALL  bots.   Some  ban   bots  so much that if you run a bot on their

server,  you will be banned from using that server (see segment below

on K: lines).



(9) What are good channels to try while using IRC?



    #hottub  and  #initgame  are  almost  always teeming with people.

#hottub is  meant  to simulate a hot tub, and #initgame is a non-stop

game of "inits" (initials). Just join and find out!



    To  get  a  list  of  channels  with  their  names and topics, do

/list -min 30 (on ircII) which will show you channels with 30 or more

members. You can also do this for smaller numbers.



    Many  IRC operators are in #Twilight_Zone ... so if you join that

channel  and don't  hear  much talking, don't worry, it's not because

you joined, operators don't talk much on that channel anyways!



(10) What  are  some of the foreign language channels on IRC? What do

     they mean?



    Some  of  the  most popular foreign language channels include #42

(which  is a Finnish channel), #warung (which is a Malaysian channel.

The word "warung" means "coffeehouse" or "small restaurant"), #polska

(a Polish  channel),  #nippon  (a Japanese channel, note that "funny"

characters  are  often  seen  here -- this  is Kanji. You will need a

Kanji-compatible  terminal program and Kanji-compatible irc client to

converse in Kanji), #espanol (a Spanish channel), #russian (a Russian

channel).



	These are just examples -- a large percentage of languages in the

world is spoken  on irc  *somewhere*. If  your language/country isn't

listed above, ask on #irchelp to see if there is a channel for it.



(11) Someone is using my nickname, can anyone do anything about it?

     Someone is using my channel, can anyone do anything about it?



        Even  while  NickServ  (see (14) below) registered nicknames,

there are not enough nicknames to have nickname ownership. If someone

takes your nickname while you are not on IRC, you can ask for them to

give it  back,  but  you can not *demand*  it, nor will IRC operators

/kill for nickname ownership.

        

        There are,  literally, millions of possible channel names, so

if someone is on your usual channel, just go to another. You can /msg

them and ask for them to leave, but you can't *force* them to leave.



(12) There aren't any channel operators on my channel, now what? 



        Channel  operators  are  the  owner(s)  of  their  respective

channels.  Keep this  in mind when giving out channel operator powers

(make  sure  to give them to enough people so that all of the channel

operators don't unexpectedly leave and the channel is stuck without a

channel operator).



        On  the  other  hand,  do  not  give  out channel operator to

*everyone*.  This  causes  the possibility of mass-kicking, where the

channel would be stuck without any channel operators.



    You have one option. You can ask everyone to leave and rejoin the

channel. This is a good way to get channel operator back.  It doesn't

work on large channels or ones with bots, for obvious reasons.



(13) What if someone tells me to type something cryptic?



    Never  type  anything anyone tells you to without knowing what it

is.   There  is a problem with typing certain commands with the ircII

client  that  give  anyone immediate control of your client (and thus

can gain access to your account).



(14) What was NickServ?  Is NickServ ever coming back?



    NickServ  was  a nickname registration service run in Germany. It

was  a  bot  that told  people who used a registered nickname to stop

using that nickname. NickServ has been down since the Spring of 1994.



	It is not likely that NickServ will be back. 



	Remember, nicknames aren't owned.



(15) What does "*** Ghosts are not allowed on IRC." mean? 

     What does "*** You are not welcome on this server." mean?



    On IRC,  you  cannot be banned from every single server.  Server-

banning exists only on a per-server basis (being banned on one server

does not mean you are automatically banned from another). "Ghosts are

not allowed on IRC" means that you are banned from using that server.

The banning is in one of three forms:



 * You  are  banned  specifically,  you  yourself.   Only  you can be

   responsible  for   this  (if  you are using a shared account, this

   obviously does not apply). Thus the responsibility lies completely

   with you and you have no one to complain to.



 * Your  machine  is  banned. Chances are it wasn't you who committed

   the wrongdoing.  Try using another machine on campus and seeing if

   you can use that particular irc server then.



 * Your  whole  site  is banned (where "site" == "school", "company",

   "country").   This almost certainly wasn't your fault. And chances

   are  you  won't  be  able to get the server-ban lifted.  Try using

   another server.



    The  most  general  answer  is  "use  another  server", but if it

bothers you,  try  writing to  the irc administrator of that site -->

/admin   server.name.here  --   plead   your  case. It might even get

somewhere!



(16) What  does  "You have new email." mean? What does it mean when I

     see "[Mail: 5]" in my status bar?



	IRC does not have its own mail. However, if your client tells you

that  you have new email, it simply means that you have received mail

in your account.  Leave irc (either by suspending it or quitting it),

and read the mail.



    You might also see "You have new email." when you start irc.  IRC

does not keep track of email between sessions,  so when you start irc

and have something in your mailbox, irc  will  tell  you you have new

email.



    The  "[Mail: 5]"  in  your  status  bar  tells you how many email

messages  you  have in your mailbox. Again, to access them, leave irc

and read them using your normal mail reader.



(17) I've  just tried typing /list but it scrolls by so fast! How can

     I slow it down to something more my pace?



    The  standard ircII  client (for UNIX) has an option called "hold

mode".  To activate it, type:  /set hold_mode on  -- then you will be

able to hit return after each screen's worth of data.



(18) I've done a /whois on myself and other people, but I notice that

     my  real name shows up in parentheses --  I  don't like this! It

     doesn't show up  in other people's parentheses. How can I change

     it?



    In  UNIX,  there  are  two  way  of  changing your IRCNAME and it

depends  on  which  shell you are using. If you are using csh or tcsh

(the  more popular UNIX  shells, when in doubt, try this first), type

this before you start irc:

setenv IRCNAME "what you would like to appear"



If  you  don't  want to type that every time you log in, put the line

exactly as it appears above into your .cshrc file.



If you are using sh, ksh, or bash, type this before you start irc:

IRCNAME="what you would like to appear";export IRCNAME



Or insert that line into your .profile





	In VMS, you must put this line in your login.com file:

DEFINE IRCNAME "what you would like to appear"



(19) What is a netsplit? What does it mean when I see:

     ***Signoff NickName (*.bu.edu eff.org)? 

     Why does NickName keep signing off? 



Netsplits  are  (unfortunately) a routine part of IRC life.  What the

above  message means  that  NickName, who you were on a channel with,

was on a  different server from  you.  This server split off from the

part of the net you were on.



Note that netsplits are all from a point of view of the user. After a

netsplit   rejoins   people  might say to you "where did you go?" --

because from their perspective, *you* split off.



The  only  thing  you can do during a netsplit is wait for the net to

mend  itself.  Changing  your server during a netsplit is a Bad Idea,

because you are likely to get nickname collided. By changing servers,

you may also be contributing to the lag.



As  long  as  you  don't  quit your client, any DCC chat or send will

still work, even during a netsplit (unless the netsplit is because of

a specific rare hardware problem).



(20) Where can I find GIF archives of IRC people?



        GIF archives of IRC people are available:



     ftp.funet.fi:/pub/pics/people/misc/irc  -- log in as "pictures".

     ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/comp/networking/irc/RP



(21) Where can I learn more?



    The best, basic,  IRC user's  manual is the IRC Primer, available

in plain text, PostScript, and LaTeX from cs-ftp.bu.edu:/irc/support



	You can also join various IRC related mailing lists: 



 * "operlist"  is  a  list  that  discusses current (and past) server

   code, routing, and protocol. You can join by mailing

   operlist-request@kei.com. 



 * "ircd-three"  is  a list that exists to discuss protocol revisions

   for  the  3.0  release  of  the  ircd  (irc  server), currently in

   planning.  Mail ircd-three-request@kei.com to be added.



NOTE!  These  are  not "Help me, where can I get started?" lists. For

that information, read the IRCprimer noted above. 



    Those  looking  for  more  technical  information can get the IRC

RFC (rfc1459) available at all RFC ftp sites, as well as

cs-ftp.bu.edu:/irc/support/rfc1459.txt



(22) Where can I get an updated copy of this FAQ? 



this FAQ is available from several sources:



	cs-ftp.bu.edu:/irc/support/alt-irc-faq

	ftp.kei.com:/pub/irc/alt-irc-faq



The latest copy will always be posted to these two ftp sites.



You can also look at this FAQ on the web, at:



http://www.kei.com/irc.html



(23) What  do  I  do  if I'm still confused or have additions to this

     posting?



	email hrose@kei.com or ask for help (in #irchelp) on IRC.

