Internet Relay Chat

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) provides a way of communicating in real time with people from all over the world. It consists of various separate networks (or "nets") of IRC servers, machines that allow users to connect to IRC. The largest nets are EFnet (the original IRC net, often having more than 32,000 people at once), Undernet, IRCnet, DALnet, and NewNet.

Generally, the user (such as you) runs a program (called a "client") to connect to a server on one of the IRC nets. The server relays information to and from other servers on the same net. Recommended clients:

• UNIX/shell: ircII
• Windows: mIRC
• Macintosh clients

Be sure to read the documentation for your client!

Once connected to an IRC server on an IRC network, you will usually join one or more "channels" and converse with others there. On EFnet, there often are more than 12,000 channels, each devoted to a different topic. Conversations may be public (where everyone in a channel can see what you type) or private (messages between only two people, who may or may not be on the same channel). IRC is not a "game", and I highly recommend you treat people you meet on IRC with the same courtesy as if you were talking in person or on the phone, or there may be serious consequences.

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Channel names usually begin with a #, as in #irchelp . The same channels are shared among all IRC servers on the same net, so you do not have to be on the same IRC server as your friends. (There are also channels with names beginning with a & instead of a #. These channels are not shared by all servers on the net but exist locally on that server only.)

Each user is known on IRC by a "nick", such as smartgal or FunGuy. To avoid conflicts with other users, it is best to use a nick that is not too common, e.g., "john" is a poor choice. On some nets, nicks do not belong to anyone, nor do channels. This can lead to conflict, so, if you feel strongly about ownership of such things, you may prefer networks with "services" like Undernet, DALnet, or other smaller networks.

Channels are run by channel operators, or just "ops" for short, who can control the channel by choosing who may join (by "banning" some users), who must leave (by "kicking" them out), and even who may speak (by making the channel "moderated")! Channel ops have complete control over their channel, and their decisions are final. If you are banned from a channel, send a /msg to a channel op and ask nicely to be let in (see the /who command in the next section to learn how to find ops). If they ignore you or /who gives no response because the channel is in secret mode (+s), just go somewhere else where you are more welcome.

IRC servers are run by IRC admins and by IRC operators, or "IRC ops". IRC ops manage the servers themselves and, on EFnet and many other networks, do not get involved in personal disputes, channel takeovers, restoring lost ops, etc. They are not "IRC cops."

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Commands and text are typed in the same place. By default, commands begin with the character / . If you have a graphical client such as mIRC for Windows, many commands can be executed by clicking on icons with the mouse pointer. It is, however, highly recommended that you learn to type in the basic IRC commands first. When entering commands, pay close attention to spacing and capitalization. The basic commands work on all the good clients.

Some examples are given below. In these, suppose your nick is "yournick", and that you are on the channel #coolness.

Your friend "MaryN" is in #coolness with you, and your friend "Tomm" is on IRC but is not on a channel with you. You can apply these examples in general by substituting the relevant nick or channel names.

What you type	What happens
/join #coolness	You join the channel #coolness.
/who #coolness	Gives some info on users in the channel. @ = channel op, while * means IRC op.
hello everyone	Everyone on #coolness sees <yournick> hello everyone. (You need not type in your own nick.)
/me is a pink bunny	Everyone in #coolness sees * yournick is a pink bunny
/leave #coolness	You leave the channel.
/whois Tomm	You get some info about Tomm or whatever nickname you entered.
/whois yournick	This is some info others see about you.
/nick newnick	Changes your nick to "newnick"
/msg Tomm hi there.	Only Tomm sees your message (you don't need to be on the same channel for this to work).
/ping #coolness	Gives information on the delay (round-trip) between you and everybody on #coolness.
/ping Tomm	Gives information on the delay (round-trip) between you and just Tomm.
/dcc chat MaryN	This sends MaryN a request for a dcc chat session. MaryN types /dcc chat yournick to complete the connection. DCC chat is faster (lag free) and more secure than /msg.
/msg =MaryN Hi there!	Once a DCC connection has been established, use the /msg =nick message format to exchange messages (note the = sign). DCC does not go through servers, so it are unaffected by server lag, net splits, etc.
/help	This works in many clients. Try it!
/quit good night!	You quit IRC completely, with the parting comment so that others see "*** Signoff: yournick (good night!)".

NOTE: When you are not in a named channel, lines not beginning with a / have no effect, and many commands work differently or fail to work altogether.

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You can learn a lot by joining a channel and just listening and talking for a while. For starters, try these channels: #new2irc, #newuser, #newbies, or #chatback. Busier alternatives include: #chat, and #ircbar.

For help with the mIRC client, try joining #new2mirc or #TownHall. For help with general IRC questions, join #irchelp.

To form your own channel with the name #mychannel (if #mychannel does not already exist), type /join #mychannel. The channel is created and you are automatically made an op.

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:-) is a smiley face, tilt your head to the left to see it. Likewise, :-( is a frown. ;-) is a wink. :~~( is crying, while :-P is someone sticking their tongue out. :-P ~~ is drooling. (-: a lefty's smile, etc. There are hundreds of these faces.

Here are some common acronyms used in IRC:

brb =  be right back                     bbiaf = be back in a flash
bbl =  be back later                     ttfn = ta ta for now
np  =  no problem                        imho = in my humble opinion
lol =  laughing out loud                 j/k = just kidding
re  =  hi again, as in 're hi'           wb = welcome back
wtf =  what the f--k                     rtfm = read the f--king manual
rotfl = rolling on the floor laughing

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Etiquette

Typing in all caps, LIKE THIS, is considered "shouting" and should be avoided. Likewise, do not repeat yourself or otherwise "flood" the channel with many lines of text at once. Be sure to use correct terminology, e.g., "channel", not "chat room", and "nick", not "handle".

While in a channel, follow the lead of the channel ops there. If you antagonize them, you may be "kicked" off the channel forcibly and possibly "banned" from returning. On the other hand, some channel ops are power-hungry and may kick or ban for no good reason. If this happens, or if someone on a channel is bothering you, simply leave the channel -- there are thousands of others.

 

Disconnected by /list?

If you get disconnected when using the /list command, try switching servers, or else recent channel lists are available on the WWW at <http://irchelp.org/irchelp/chanlist/>.

 

Harrassment and attacks

If someone starts harassing or flooding you, leave the channel or use the /ignore command. For more details, mIRC users see flood protection page, ircII users type /help ignore. It is a good idea to set your user mode to +i (invisible) to avoid unsolicited messages and harrassment -- if you are "invisible" generally only users on a channel with you can determine what nick you are using.

If somebody else is crashing or disconnecting you, see our Denial of Service or "Nuke" Attacks page. You can also log and report abuse when it violates server rules, which you can read by typing /motd.

 

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At this point, you are ready to "chat" on IRC. For the most part, the commands above should suffice for beginners, but things can go wrong in IRC.

 

Net splits

Networks can become divided (called a "net split"), thus separating you from users you had been speaking with. These splits are often relatively short, though common some days.

 

Lag

A more frequent problem is "lag", where there is a noticeable delay between the time you type something in and someone else reads it. Choosing a server near you is one way to try to lessen lag. Lag can be measured by using the /ping command (see the commands section above). Once you find a better server, the command for changing servers is /server server.name.here.

 

Server Lists

On most clients, typing /links gives a list of servers on your current net. Use this command sparingly, no more than a couple times in a row, or you may mistaken for a "link looking" troublemaker.

 

Ping? Pong!

mIRC users: Ping? Pong! in the status window just means your server pinged you to make sure you were still connected, and your client automatically replied with a pong. Don't worry about these.

 

Reminder about DCC chat

The /dcc chat command can be used to establish a one-on-one connection that avoids lag and will not be broken by a net split! Check your docs for usage info. In most clients, you can set up a DCC chat connection by both typing /dcc chat nick_of_other_person. To talk through that connection, type /msg =nick whatever (note the = sign). In mIRC, you can also start a DCC chat session by selecting DCC and then Chat from the menu and then entering the nick of the user with whom you wish to chat. A window opens for that dcc chat session.

 

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For further information about these issues, as well as about other commands, visit the web site <http://www.irchelp.org/>. There you can find many help files, such as:

• IRC Primer
• FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for alt.irc newsgroup
• IRC tutorial

At that web site you will also find more advanced information for specific IRC clients, including:

• ircII client and ircII scripts.
• Mac clients
• mIRC client for Windows

The mIRC client also has excellent built-in help files written by Tjerk Vonck (mirc@dds.nl). Select Ircintro.hlp from the Help menu.

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IRC scripts are sets of commands that your client will run. Many otherwise good scripts have been hacked so that if you load them, you can seriously compromise your security (someone can get into your account, delete all of your files, read your mail, etc.). There are also evildoers who try to send people viruses and other bad things. Just like in real life, don't accept anything from a stranger. There have been many incidents of this type, not just a few. Do not ever run a script unless you know what each line does, not even if it is given to you by a friend, as your friend may not have the expertise to detect well-hidden "trojans".

Automatic DCC get is a very bad idea! Once it is on, you are susceptible to dangers ranging from disconnection from your server to giving someone else control of your computer. Quite a few people have run into serious problems because of the DCC autoget setting.

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Now that you've read this introduction, get on IRC and enjoy! Or if you are interested in learning more, check out the many documents on the other below links