Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a simple chat system. To join an IRC you'll connect to an IRC-Server using your IRC-client. This page will explain how to quickly join an IRC and change your username. If you want to know a bit more about IRC read the wikipedia:Internet Relay Chat page.
IRC Clients
Allthough some IRC Servers provide a web-based interface, typically you'll need an IRC client installed locally in your system. There is an tremenuous amount of clients available since IRC is a very well established protocol.
Some popular clients:
- http://xchat.org Linux, Windows
- http://colloquy.info OS X, iOS
- https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/chatzilla/ Chatzilla Add-On for Firefox
- http://www.opera.com the webbrowser Opera has an in built IRC client
How to connect to an IRC with Opera
To connect to a IRC you need to know the servers address and the name of the chatroom. In this example we'll use the server freenode.net and the room #maschinenraum chatrooms are typically indicated by the # symbol.
- Install Opera
- Go to Menue → Extras → Email and chat accounts → Add account... → Chat (IRC) → Select username / email / nickname
Useful IRC commands
Configuring the IRC connection is done by sending the IRC server, called the nickserv a special message beginning with a shlash.
(In all examples replace the stuff between the {} symbols with your data and ommit the symbols)
Register a new nickname for the first time
/msg nickserv register {password} {email}Login with your nickname
/msg NickServ identify {password}Join (enter) a chatroom
/join #{channelname}Change a nickname
/nick {newnick}Leave current chatroom
/partExit all chats
/quit