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:
egister, log in with your preferred nickname and type this into the input line (capitalization is irrelevant):
/msg NickServ REGISTER [password]
Once you’ve done this, identify yourself with your password:
/msg NickServ IDENTIFY [password]
You must identify yourself within one minute of signon, if you are using a registered nickname, or the server will cut you off!! But don’t worry that you might forget, as the server will prompt you to identify yourself.
Here’s a quick reference to NickServ commands (you can always type in /msg NickServ help). These come directly from the server’s HELP page:
- REGISTER
Register a nickname - IDENTIFY
Identify yourself with your password - ACCESS
Modify the list of authorized addresses - LINK
Make your nick an alias for another - SET
Set options, including kill protection - DROP
Cancel the registration of a nickname - RECOVER
Kill another user who has taken your nick - RELEASE
Regain custody of your nick after RECOVER
e and prevent others from using it. If the nick is not used for 28 days, the registration will expire. The following commands allow for registration and maintenance of nicknames; to use them, type /msg NickServ [COMMAND]. For more information on a specific command, type /msg NickServ HELP [COMMAND].
NOTICE: This service is intended to provide a way for IRC users to ensure their identity is not compromised. It is NOT intended to facilitate “stealing” of nicknames or other malicious actions. Abuse of NickServ will result in, at minimum, loss of the abused nickname(s).
MemoServ
MemoServ’s commands include:
- SEND
Send a memo to a nick or channel - LIST
List your memos - READ
Read a memo or memos - DEL
Delete a memo or memos - SET
Set options related to memos
IRC users to send short messages to other IRC users, whether they are online at the time or not, or to channels. Both the sender’s nickname and the target nickname or channel must be registered in order to send a memo.
By default, any user with at least level 10 access on a channel can read that channel’s memos. This can be changed with the ChanServ LEVELS command.
ChanServ
ChanServ’s commands include:
- REGISTER
Register a channel - IDENTIFY
Identify yourself with your password - SET
Set channel options and information - ACCESS
Modify the list of privileged users - LEVELS
Redefine the meanings of access levels - AKICK
Maintain the AutoKick list - DROP
Cancel the registration of a channel
rol various aspects of channels. ChanServ can often prevent malicious users from “taking over” channels by limiting who is allowed channel operator privileges. Available commands are listed below; to use them, type /msg ChanServ [COMMAND]. For more information on a specific command, type /msg ChanServ HELP command.
Note that any channel which is not used for 14 days (i.e. which no user on the channel’s access list enters for that period of time) will be automatically dropped.
Advanced stuff
The makers of mIRC have kindly provided a page listing some common commands that should work in most clients:
IRC offers far more than any ordinary chat room! You can use IRC to trade files, trade private messages, and much more. I’m still a big newbie to all this, so I don’t know how much help I can be to anyone. But if you have questions, feel free to ask me and I’ll do my best to find out for you.
I hope everyone enjoys the channel!