Have you ever wanted to talk with other computer users in other parts of the world? Well guess what...You can! The program is called IRC, Internet Relay Chat, and it is networked over much of North America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. This program is a substitution for talk, and many other multiple talk programs you might have read about. When you are talking on IRC, everything you type will instantly be transmitted around the world to other users that might be watching their terminals at the time - they can then type something and respond to your messages - and vice versa. I should warn you that the program can be very addictive once you begin to make friends and contacts on IRC, especially when you learn how to discuss in 14 languages...

Topics of discussion on IRC are varied, just like the topics of Usenet newsgroups are varied. Technical and political discussions are popular, especially when world events are in progress. IRC is also a way to expand your horizons, as people from many countries and cultures are on, 24 hours a day. Most conversations are in English, but there are always channels in Russian, German, Japanese, Finnish, Bawel and other languages.

IRC gained international fame during the late Persian Gulf War, when updates from around the world came across the wire, and most people on IRC gathered on a single channel to hear these report.

If you are having trouble finding people to talk with, popular channels you may wish to check out include: #new2irc, #cafeole, #cybersex, #partyparty, #music, #love, #hottub. If none of those interest you, here is a list of all channels sorted by amount of users/group taken at 4pm, Saturday February 17.

Regarding IRC servers, we seem to have good luck with irc.ais.net (port 6665), irc.neosoft.com (port 6665), and irc.portal.com (port 9998), so you may wish to select one of those.

In this class, we will be using Homer for the macintosh, and ViRC for Windows. Each will be introduced during office hour sessions but can easily be mastered with the below information.

• /say <msg>: To send a public message to the current channel you are on. By default, anything typed without a leading command are interpreted as public messages.
• /action <msg>: Instead of sending a public message saying "I run away", you can use the action message "runs away" which is specially displayed "*** <your-nick> runs away". Actions should be entered in the third person.
• /msg <recipient> <message>: This command will send a private message to a single user or a public message to a channel you are not on.
• /ignore <nick> +all: If you don't want to listen to any public or private messages from a particular user, use the ignore command.

• /list: Used to list all current channels, this command is not recommended (showing hundreds of channels may take minutes).
• /join <channel>: This command will join an existing channel or create a new one with the given name. If you are on several channels at once, repeated join commands will let you change your current channel.
• /names [<channel> | *]: This command displays a list of all users on the given (or current) channel. Using this command without parameters lists all users on IRC, and is not recommended.
• /who [<channel> | *]: This command displays a list of all users, and certain user information, for the given (or current) channel. Using this command without parameters lists all users on IRC, and is not recommended.
• /topic <channel> [<topic>]: To display the channel's topic, use the simple form. To change the channel's topic, enter a new one with the command.
• /kick <channel> <nick> [<msg>]: (Operators only) Used to kick a user from a channel with an optional message. However, the command does not prohibit them from immediately rejoining the channel.

• /help [<command>]: This command provides general or specific help on commands and syntax.
• /whois <nick>: Displaying extra information on a particular user, the whois command shows you what server, client machine, and the idle time is for that user.
• /nick <new-nick>: If you want to change your nickname, use this command. If you have selected a nickname currently in use, you will be asked to choose another. IRC server you have connected to. Typically, you will not need to do this. However, your IRC server may split from the network and all users not connected to that server will "fall out" (signoff abruptly). Rather than sit on an empty channel or server, try switching to a server still connected to the net. Both irc.colorado.edu and irc.uiuc.edu are good servers to try.
• /away [<away-msg>]: If you walk away from your computer or are doing other work that leaves your IRC session idle, mark yourself as being away. Users that send private messages to you will be notified that you are not paying attention. Use the simple form of the command to denote that you are no longer away. command for setting just user information (in contrast to the channel mode comand). For example, to make yourself invisible to users who dont share a channel with you, try

                  /mode 
  <your-nick> +i
  

• /quit [<msg>]: This command quits the IRC program and optionally displays a short signoff message to other users.
• /dcc <params>: A complex command for setting up private "client-to-client" sessions, for chatting or exchanging files with other users.