(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, or use the TELNET client. 
"telnet ircclient.itc.univie.ac.at 6668". Please only use the latter when 
you have no other way of reaching IRC, as this resource is quite
limited, slow, and *very* unreliable.

(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.bu.edu /irc/clients
	      ftp.acsu.buffalo.edu /pub/irc
	      ftp.funet.fi /pub/unix/irc
              coombs.anu.edu.au /pub/irc
                     (NB. if there is something related to IRC and it can't
                      be found under coombs.anu.edu.au:/pub/irc then it isn't
                      worth having).
	      ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/comp/networking/irc/clients
	      slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/irc
	      there is also a client avaliable with the server code.
EMACS elisp-> cs.bu.edu /irc/clients/elisp
	      ftp.funet.fi /pub/unix/irc/Emacs
              ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/comp/networking/irc/clients
	      slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/irc/emacs
              cs.hut.fi /pub/irchat
X11 client->  catless.ncl.ac.uk /pub
              harbor.ecn.purdue.edu /pub/tcl/code
VMS ->        cs.bu.edu /irc/clients/vms
	      coombs.anu.edu.au /pub/irc/vms
              ftp.funet.fi  /pub/unix/irc/vms
              ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/net/irc
REXX client for VM->    cs.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.bu.edu /irc/clients/msdos
                ftp.funet.fi /pub/unix/irc/msdos
Macintosh->     cs.bu.edu /irc/clients/macintosh
                sumex-aim.stanford.edu /info-mac/comm
                ftp.funet.fi /pub/unix/irc/mac
                ftp.ira.uka.de /pub/systems/mac

(5) Which server do I connect 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:
		cs-pub.bu.edu
		irc.colorado.edu
                irc-2.mit.edu

Canada:
		ug.cs.dal.ca

Europe:
		irc.funet.fi
		cismhp.univ-lyon1.fr
                disuns2.epfl.ch
                irc.nada.kth.se
		sokrates.informatik.uni-kl.de
                bim.itc.univie.ac.at

Australia:
		jello.qabc.uq.oz.au


This is, by no means, a comprehensive list, but merely a start. Connect
to the closest of these servers and join the channel #Twilight_Zone
When you get there, immediately ask what you want. Don't say "I have a
question" because then hardly anyone will talk. 

(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 (10) below about "ownership" of
nicknames and channels.

	It should be noted that many servers (especially in the USA) have
started to 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 20 (on ircII) which will show you channels with 20 or more
members. You can also do this for smaller numbers.

	Many IRC operators are in #Twilight_Zone ... so if you join
that channel be prepared for a lot of senseless dribble, more like what
you find on the other channels listed above (#hottub).  What was once a
place of people who could help you has turned into just another place
for those who have nothing better to do with themselves than just be
there.  If you find other documents saying go there to ask questions,
ignore them.  They should be considered to be out of date.
     
(10) Someone is using my nickname, can anyone do anything about it?
    Someone is using my channel, can anyone do anything about it?

        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.  If you goto #Twilight_zone, you will find
a bunch of people who will refuse to do this for you, yet they will do it
for themselves or their friends or use /kill for even less reasonable uses.
        
        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. 

(11) 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.

(12) 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).

(13) What does "*** Ghosts are not allowed on IRC." 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
   noone 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!

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

        GIF archives of IRC people are available:

     ftp.funet.fi:/pub/pics/people/misc/irc (NORDUnet only)
     ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/comp/networking/irc/RP

(15) 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-pub.bu.edu:/irc/support ... Another good place to start might be
downloading the IRC tutorials.  They're avaliable via anonymous ftp
from cs-pub.bu.edu in /irc/support/tutorial.* 

	You can also join various IRC related mailing lists: 

 * "operlist" is a list that discusses current (and past) server code,
   routing, and protocol. *WARNING* this mailling list has a *LOT* of
   flame traffic from those who think they know everything but in reality
   have no better idea than you.  You can join by mailing
   operlist-request@kei.com. 

 * "irchat" is an elisp client. You can join the irchat mailing list by
   mailing irchat-request@cc.tut.fi.

 * "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.

 * "vmsirc" is a list for the questions, problems, and discussions
   related to the vms IRC clients. Mail vmsirc-request@vax1.elon.edu
   (with "subscribe" in the message body).

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-pub.bu.edu:/irc/support/rfc1459.txt

(16) What do I do if I'm still confused or have additions to this document?

	email hrose@kei.com or avalon@coombs.anu.edu.au

