IRC, we need you, you need us

[dizzie]

First, a famous quote from wikipedia, because I find it suitable, and i'm lazy

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a protocol for live interactive Internet text messaging (chat) or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file sharing.


IRC was created in 1988. Client software is available for every major operating system that supports Internet access. As of April 2011, the top 100 IRC networks served more than half a million users at a time, with hundreds of thousands of channels operating on a total of roughly 1,500 servers out of roughly 3,200 servers worldwide.

So yeah... Come join the geeksquad on IRC, where all the action and fun happens. And trust me on this. Sometimes you'll even get help faster there. Sure we all check this forum more than 5 times a day, more if we want help. But on IRC there are more than 4 people to help you


So how do you break out your IRC virginity ?


1. Install a IRC client (might already have xchat installed, a nice and robust gtk client, well used,  by many. VastOne, and Jed are among two I know of using it) - There are many alternatives. irssi and weechat are two good alternatives (personally I use weechat)


2. Connect to IRC (we have our home on freenode in #VSIDO) To do so, point your irc client of choice to the server irc.freenode.net, when connected. type this : /join #VSIDO, and you are in! (xchat users have freenode in the serverlist already, so just click it and hit connect, the rest of use have to it more manually. weechat users do /connect irc.freenode.net. Irssi users do /server irc.freenode.net. The join command is the same (/join #VSIDO)


3. In the channel there are a few special users, one is ChanServ the freenode service bot, and then there is my bot Jovo, that keeps logs of the channel among other useful stuff. She (yes its a she, get over it) also have a very useful Google command for the lazy ones, who don't want to use their web browser


There isn't much strict about what you can and cant do in #VSIDO, just be civil and we're cool


Few people are moderators in the channel. We'll hide there, but will step forward if someone steps out to be an ass, which rarely happens (thankfully, we are grown ups in #VSIDO!)


Other than that, come join us, come have fun :-)

[VastOne]

Very nice dizzie.. Thanks for this write up!

The IRC is a fun and educational place...we try to keep it light, entertaining and share a wealth of knowledge

We even have a resident savant who does not bite ... (not too often anyway)

[Digit]

i suppose we could get a webchat n link for those in situations inhibiting their ability to install an irc client...  like this ('cept have it be for #VSIDO, obviously ~ i dont recall where/how i got that, thought it best to post the idea before i go off searching, get distracted and forget this suggestion)

[dizzie]

My own weechat guide : http://fredslev.dk/129/


But really, if people wants to come talk to us, they'll figure it out

[Digit]

i just noticed, in the original post, you have it as /server in irssi.  i didnt know that.  ^_^  i have used irssi for years, and /connect is how i always did it.