Short basic mIRC guide

This is a little guide how to install and run the IRC client called mIRC. If you have questions feel free to contact me either by mail or IRC using the webbased client (b1uemchen)

What is IRC?

IRC stands for "Internet Relay Chat" and is a chat system where people meet on "channels" (Which can be compared to chat rooms used at "normal" chats).
There are many different IRC networks, and most of these networks consist of several different servers that are connected to each other. One of the largest IRC networks is Efnet which host the #tildruin channel.

How do I get on IRC?

There are two ways to get on IRC. Either you can download and install an IRC client, or you could use a web based IRC client. The simplest thing to do is to use a web based IRC client since you won't need to install anything etc. The problems with web based IRC clients are that they have very few features.
The other way to go is to download an IRC client and install it on your system, and don't worry it isn't that hard :)

Where can I get an IRC client?

There are loads of different IRC clients available on the Internet but since I'm using mIRC this guide will concentrate on it, but I guess it could be used to get other IRC clients to work (I said guess, so no promises)
You can find mIRC at: http://www.mirc.com/get.html

Once you're on the site click on the link to the file, and save it to your disk.

How to install mIRC?

Locate the installation file on your hard drive (named mirc602.exe when this was written) and double click it. Now just follow the installation process choosing destination directory etc and now you're done installing mIRC.

Setting up mIRC

Before you start mIRC make sure your Internet connection is activated. Once you start mIRC the "Options Dialog" will pop up and you'll have to fill in some information.
These are the things you should fill/change:

IRC Network: Choose Efnet. You will now have a list of Efnet servers to choose from. Try to choose a geographically close server (for Europeans I recommend EFnet: EU, NO, Homelien)

Full name: Your name or any nick
Email Address: Your email or any other mail if you want to keep your address for yourself
Nickname: The name people will see
Alternative: The name that will be used if your first choice is taken

Now go to the Identd sub-item (Connect - Identd) and check (select) the Enable Identd Server box. Fill in the following information:

User ID: Use any name
System: UNIX
Port: 113

Now click the ok button and you're ready to start.

Get online

Click on the first button up to your left and your client will connect to the selected server. A Status window will pop up and some text will flash by. At the end of this text I will be a line saying: End of /MOTD command.

You're connected!

Now the mIRC Channels Folder will pop up and at the top of it there is a textbox saying "Enter name of channel to join". Type #tildruin and press the join button and your done!

If mIRC say thing like "Connection refused", "Connection timed out", "No authorization" or "Unknown host" when you try to connect please try a different server. (See Setting up mIRC)

IRC commands

There are many useful commands you can use while you're on IRC. These commands can be used with all clients and should be written in the channel text field

For normal users:

/join #channel_name: let you join another channel (opens new window on mIRC, but changes channel on the web based client) Note that all channels starts with #

/nick new_nick: Let you change your nickname while you're connected

/msg person message: sends a private message to a chosen person

/whois person: let you see some basic info about a person such as ip/ipname

/part: leave the current channel

/quit message: disconnects you from IRC with a message like: *** b1uemchen has quit IRC (your message)

/me action_description: /me says hi will be shown like: * b1uemchen says hi

Hm... what's the + or @ before nicknames?

As you might see some users got a "+" or a "@" before their names. These are symbols for voiced (+) and op-ed (@) persons.
Operators/op-ed persons are the people who run the channel. They have the powers to kick and ban persons and set different modes to the channel. So if an operator says anything it's best to follow that :)
The only thing the voice (+) does with a person is that he/she can speak if the channel is moderated by one of the operators.

What/who is |jassy|/|shalott|?

|jassy| & |shalott| are the rulers of the #tildruin IRC channel. If you care about your future on the channel (and in this world) you should obey ther. When they says sit you will sit… ;)
Never talk bad of them cause they will and can hunt you down, and in that case I feel really sorry for you. They shall be worshiped as a Goddess and if you're lucky they'll give you thier blessing...