IRC Guide for Archmages
Contents
Introduction
Most players of Archmage and its clones use Internet Relay Chat (IRC) to communicate with other members of their guilds and with other players. IRC is “an Internet service accessed through software programs that features real-time communication on channels devoted to specific topics.” (www.education-world.com/help/glossary.shtml). Before there was Yahoo! Chat and instant messaging, there was IRC.
In order to access any IRC network, you will first need to acquire an IRC client software. There are many of these available. Some are free to use, and some require a fee. The most popular IRC client software is Tjerk Vonck’s mIRC (http://www.mirc.com/). mIRC is a Shareware application available only on Microsoft Windows platforms. Use beyond a 30-day trial period requires a modest $20.00 USD registration fee. The instructions in this guide apply specifically to mIRC. Some other IRC clients, including free ones and those for non-Windows platforms, are listed at the end of this guide.
Downloading and Installing mIRC
Download mIRC by following the download links on the publisher’s website (http://www.mirc.com/). Install by running the executable and following the wizard.
Connecting to an IRC Network
The first time you launch mIRC, you will be presented with the mIRC Options dialog box. On the left side of the dialog box is a Category tree. On the right side of the dialog box is where you can modify the settings for the selected category.
1) If it isn’t selected already, select the Connect category. 2) Fill in the Full Name and Email Address fields. 3) Select a Nickname to use while chatting. 4) Click the Red Flower button (next to the Connect to Server button). The Servers category is selected for you automatically. 5) Select the IRC Network that you wish to connect to. Most Archmage guilds and players connect to the GalaxyNet Irc Network. 6) If you wish to select a specific IRC Server you may do that as well. Most IRC networks are contrived of multiple servers connected together. Under normal circumstances, they all go to the same place. 7) Click the Connect To Server button.
Once you click the Connect To Server button, mIRC will attempt to connect to the selected IRC network, and the mIRC Options dialog box will disappear. If you need to access the mIRC Options dialog box again, you can do so by selecting Options under the Tools menu.
Joining IRC Channels
IRC servers understand a series of commands that you can execute from any IRC window typing a forward-slash (/) character followed by the command and any parameters. The /join command is used to join new IRC channels. Using the status window, typing /join #ChannelName will connect you to the IRC channel #ChannelName. Password-protected channels can be accessed by including a password after the channel name. For example, /join #ChannelName MyPassword will connect you to the IRC channel #ChannelName that is protected by the password MyPassword.
Special Note: When using the /join command with mIRC, it's always best to use the Status window in the event that you accidently make an error in the command.
Most Archmage guilds have both a public and a private channel. The public channel is typically not protected with a password. The private channel generally is. Talk to your guild leader for information specific to your guild.
You can be connected to more than one channel at the same time, but you can only connect mIRC to one IRC network at a time. If you need to connect to multiple IRC networks, then you can launch multiple instances of mIRC.
Some IRC Etiquette and Fun Stuff
First and foremost, it is not polite to type in all capital letters on IRC. This is interpreted as yelling. Under normal circumstances, keep the caps-lock key off.
Second, AOLbonics are generally frowned upon in IRC channels. This is the term used to describe replacing full words with shortened versions such as “u” for “you” and “2” for “too”. In AOLbonics, the phrase “I’ll see you later” is written “I’ll c u l8r”. Particularly for Archmagers, GalaxyNet is a multi-national network though is conducted, primarily, in English. For many of the users, English is not the first language and such truncation is confusing.
Abbreviations are generally fine. Abbreviations are common phrases used to shorten longer phrase. “I’ll be back later” is sometimes written as “bbl” and “I’ll talk to you later” is sometimes written as “ttyl”. If someone uses an abbreviation and you don’t know what it means, simply ask them.
Sometimes, you’ll see someone perform an action such as *Josh welcomes Jim to the channel. This is done by using the /me command as in /me welcomes Jim to the channel. Use this command in the window for the channel that the action should be performed in.
Some Other IRC Clients
As promised, here are some other IRC clients. Read the documentation for the client you choose to understand how to use it. By far, these are not the only clients available. A search on your favorite search engine will likely turn up many more.
For Windows:
- IceChat (Free - http://www.icechat.net/)
- Xircon (Free no longer maintained – http://www.xircon.com/)
- X-Chat (Shareware – http://www.xchat.org/)
For Linux:
- X-Chat (Free – http://www.xchat.org/)
- BitchX (Free - http://www.bitchx.com/)
For Macintosh:
- Snak (Shareware - http://www.snak.com/)
- Ircle (Shareware - http://www.ircle.com/)
