EricG
Member

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Alive and well on VisorCentral.com
Posts: 861 |
quote: Originally posted by matty
i was never interested in anything resembling internet chat until i found VC (i've been addicted to this board ever since -- 1 year+ and going strong), and now i'm interested. but still a newbie to actual chat...
can someone explain what irc is? and what's the best mac solution?
I'd have to also agree with Matty on this.. I'd also like to add I've been "on-line" since 1984 (go C= 64!), just never really wanted to chat with anyone till finding VC!
What is IRC? (the great grandparent to AOL IM!)
quote from: http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/new2irc.html
1. What is IRC, and how does it work?
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) provides a way of communicating in real time with people from all over the world. It consists of various separate networks (or "nets") of IRC servers, machines that allow users to connect to IRC. The largest nets are EFnet (the original IRC net, often having more than 32,000 people at once), Undernet, IRCnet, DALnet, and NewNet.
Generally, the user (such as you) runs a program (called a "client") to connect to a server on one of the IRC nets. The server relays information to and from other servers on the same net. Recommended clients:
UNIX/shell: ircII
Windows: mIRC or PIRCH
Macintosh: Ircle
Be sure to read the documentation for your client!
Once connected to an IRC server on an IRC network, you will usually join one or more "channels" and converse with others there. On EFnet, there often are more than 12,000 channels, each devoted to a different topic. Conversations may be public (where everyone in a channel can see what you type) or private (messages between only two people, who may or may not be on the same channel). IRC is not a "game", and I highly recommend you treat people you meet on IRC with the same courtesy as if you were talking in person or on the phone, or there may be serious consequences.
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