IRC channel
Check it: #coffeehouse on irc.freenode.net is now in effect.
Why #coffeehouse?
#coffeehouse exists so that readers and friends of The Torn Identity have a place to hang out and chat with each other in real time. I used IRC way back when the “internet” first started, back before all the IM came out. Feel free to use the channel at any time, whether I’m there or not. It’s for your enjoyment, after all! In all honesty, I don’t know if anyone’s going to check it out, but I thought I’d play around with it and get back into the whole IRC thing. Feel free to invite your friends. Cheers!
Open your IRC client (see below for where to get one if you don’t already have one), and select a nickname and a server. Once you’ve connected to an irc.freenode.net server, you then join the channel #coffeehouse. Most IRC clients will have either a button for joining channels or an option on a dropdown menu, depending on the client’s interface.
From there, you just type your messages into an input line or box, and follow the conversation as you would in any chat room. There are some more detailed instructions, below, for registering your nickname and how to use some of the many functions of IRC.
Commands for #coffeehouse at irc.freenode.net
There are three sets of commands: NickServ, MemoServ, and ChanServ. NickServ is for anything relating to your nickname, such as registering it or identifying yourself as a registered user after you sign on. MemoServ is to send memos to the channel or to another user. ChanServ is for setting up and maintaining a channel.
IRC Clients
There are many options for Mac and PC. I actually use Trillian and mIRC, which are both very good. CNET downloads usually has the newest versions of everything: