IRC HELP Page
WHAT'S IRC?
IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. IRC is a place where you can meet and talk to (type to anyway) people from all over the world. IRC is broken down into many seperate types of networks, i.e. DALnet, EFnet, Undernet and some others. These are the three major networks of IRC. When you bring up your software to connect to IRC you will need to log on to an IRC server. Most software will bring up a list of servers that will allow you to connect to the various networks. The Undernet servers will have a server address that contains "undernet.org". For example a very good server is the Chicago undernet server and it's address is "chicago.il.us.undernet.org". There are many other Undernet servers available and most software will come with some already loaded or atleast have the option to add servers.IRC is not only broken down in to the three main systems (DALnet, EFnet and Undernet) it is also further broken down into "channels". A "channel" is nothing more than a room devoted to a specific type of conversation. As an example, on Undernet there is a channel called "mIRChelp" which is a channel where you can get help about using the mIRC software. Channels are named and you can see a list of the channels on any network by selecting "list channels" or typing "/list" once you are connected.
The number of channels on any network vary at any given time. This is because channels can be created by anyone at anytime and they can come and go at anytime. Normally a channel list will show from 800 to over 3,000 active channels at any given time. The channel list will not only show the names of the channels but will also show the number of people in a channel and very often will even show a topic line about the channel.
Some channels, such as #celebpics are "registered" or "sanctioned" channels. This simply means that it is a channel that is recognized by the "Undernet" and is a channel which has set channel operators and rules. Channels which are registered or sanctioned channels will most always have one user in the channel called "X" or "W". These are the channel robots which control certain things about the channel.
You will find that there are some channels which are much friendlier than other channels and certain channels which simply are intolerant of new users and new user questions.
WHAT DO I NEED?
The next thing you will need is some type of software that will allow you to enter and use the various IRC servers around the world. At the present time there are several types of IRC client software with the most popular being WS_IRC and mIRC. Both of these programs are available as shareware and you can download them from the Interent quite readily.mIRC is one of the most capable and popular IRC chat client software that is out today. This is because mIRC is free, it is extremely configurable and has many features that are not currently available on other IRC client software packages. The least of which is the fact that mIRC supports the ability to play and cause to be played sound files on remote systems. Because mIRC is the most popular IRC client software we highly recommend mIRC for your client software.
So how do you get mIRC? You can click here and get the latest version of mIRC from the mIRC page. Once your there select either the 16 bit or the 32bit version. If you are using Windows95 then get the 32 bit version. If your using Win3.1 then get the 16 bit version. Once you have it downloaded install it and then come back to this page for more information on how to set it up to get connected to #celebpics.
mIRC comes in the form of a .EXE file. All you got to do is run the program when you've download it and it will install itself. If you get one and it doesn't work and your not sure if you have a 16bit or 32bit dialer then get the other one and try it.
GETTING ON IRC!
IRC servers are what you have to connect to in order to get to IRC. There are a host of servers available for various nets including DalNet, Undernet, EFnet and so forth. Most of the time if you look at the list of servers that will come up in mIRC you can tell what you are about to connect with. For this purpose we'll focus on the Undernet servers.If you want to go to a channel on the Undernet, then you will have to connect to an undernet server. All of the undernet servers will contain 'city.st.country.undernet.org'. In other words a typical undernet server in Denver, Colorado, would be listed as denver.co.us.undernet.org.
Its not real important that you understand all the functions of the server, only that you know which ones will connect you to which systems. If you pick a DalNet server and connect and then join #celebpics you will not be joining the #celebpics channel on the Undernet, but an empty channel on DalNet.
For help on setting up mIRC, please click here