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IRC DAY 7/29 and 7/30

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mouser:
Instructions for connecting to the #donationcoder channel on irc

Ok so connecting to irc is not so difficult.

The first thing you need is a program to do it, often called an irc client.

One of the most popular irc clients, and the one i use is a shareware program called mirc: http://www.mirc.com.
The download page for mirc is here: http://www.mirc.com/get.html

The rest of these instructions are for the mirc client, but you should be able to figure out how to use them to connect to the channel with a different program too, and perhaps other people can post instructions for other clients.

The basic idea of irc is not complex once you understand the basics.

First i'll give you the summary: you want to Connect to Any Server the EFNET network, and then join the #donationcoder Channel.


Now some more details:

Unlike instant messenger programs, in irc you rarely connect to a single person.  Usually you join "channels" which have multiple people in them; often you will be in many channels at the same time.

But before you can join any channels you must connect to a SERVER.  A server is giant collection of channels, thousands of them.
Now, try not to let your brain explode when i tell you that each server is part of a specific NETWORK.
There are thousands of servers, but only a few different networks.
Think of a network as a universe.  All the channels in a network are shared between all the servers on that network.

So if i tell you to meet me in the #donationcoder channel, it doesn't matter what server you choose to use to get there, but that server needs to be part of the EFNET network (where I hang out), otherwise you will be in a different universe and you won't see me when you go into the alternate reality channel on that network (maybe you will discover an alternate reality mouser who is better than me, i don't know).

To summarize: you want to Connect to Any Server the EFNET network, and then join the #donationcoder Channel.


Ok so when you first start mirc youll want to fill in your info in the dialog that pops up.  You don't have to (shouldnt?) fill in your real name and email, it's not important, just pick a nickname.

There is a great website to help beginners on irc, and it has a very gentle introduction to mirc with pictures here: http://www.ircbeginner.com/ircinfo/mirc.html

After you fill in your nick name, click on the "Servers" item in that dialog.

Select "EFnet" from the "IRC Network" dropdown list.

Then from the Servers list you are just going to try different servers until you find one that lets you connect.  Yes, it's a bit odd that there are so many here but some won't let you connect, but that is the way of irc.  So just select EFnet and a server near you and try it - if it won't let you connect, try another.  That beginners intro to mirc page above may help explain it better.

Ok so to try a server, just hit the "Connect to Server" button and wait while mirc tries to connect.  It will tell you what its doing and it's results.  If it fails to connect, just choose File -> Select server from the menu and try another server.

Once you connect you should be shown a list of some (but not all) of the channels on the server.  Remember you can (and most people are) be connected to multiple channels at the same time, they will appear as separate windows.

If you don't see the channels list dialog, hit the thirst button that looks like a folder with a # inside it.

Type in #donationcoder for the channel name and hit the Join button.

If you want to make it easier to join in the future, click the ADD button instead and add a permanent entry for #donationcoder (don't worry about the other options in the Add Channel dialog, just type #donationcoder for name and description and hit OK); after that you can just double click on #donationcoder to join it.

That's all there is to it!

The channel will never be empty - there are always a few of us in there, so if you join and don't see anyone, probably you did something wrong like you didnt join the EFnet network.

See you there, and please post any further suggestions.

If you are a real novice and succeed, post a note about any difficulties you had for others to learn from.

And if anyone feels like writing a little tutorial for how to connect using one of the alternative free irc clients or instant messenger tools, please do.  I'll make this into a web page later.

Good luck and please join us in the channel any time, and especially this friday and saturday!

mouser:
irc weekend is almost over... hurry up and visit if you plan to.

mouser:
irc weekend was a complete failure
we'll try again next month  :-\

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