1. Let's meet boatsTo go on IRC, you gotta find a network, where you can meet with other people and talk.
The network for discussing FOnline games is usually
forestnet.org.
1. 1. Ports for docking your boatsirc.forestnet.org
Windows-1251 — 6667 / +7325 (SSL)
UTF-8 — 6662 / 6697 (SSL)
You need network address and port for joining an IRC network. Just "forestnet.org" won't work. Most networks are configured to have an irc subdomain for their IRC servers. This is why we use "irc.forestnet.org".
Ports on the other hand are different network outlets that the network listens on for traffic, and each is distinctly different.
In forestnet.org's example, you can see that:
port 6667 is for unencrypted communication, using Windows 1251 character encoding
port 7325 uses that same encoding but encrypted
port 6662 uses UTF-8 encoding and is unencrypted
port 6697 uses UTF-8 too and it's encrypted
1. 2. Character encoding, trivial subject reallyCodes for cyrillic and diactric characters vary between W1251 and UTF8.
This is why you get weird characters that don't make sense when people with different character sets write ąęćółżńźś and йцукенгшщзхъфывапролджэячсмитьбю.
The reason why your browser read those correctly is because it uses UTF-8 too. Your IRC client should too, and it's a good idea to enforce it.
1. 3. EncryptionIRC uses SSL for encrypting traffic. This is a feature that prevents anyone overhearing your conversations from understanding them. Your client will require the network to have a certificate for encrypted connections. That document is valid for 1-3 years so if you get errors about the certificate, it's probably not your fault. Poke net admins or tell your client to ignore certificate errors.
2. Fun things about the IRC protocol2. 1. To letOn IRC networks there are rooms. You can join one, or create one by joining into one that does not exist yet.
2. 2. Papers, pleaseCTCP (client-to-client protocol) lets clients talk to each other in simple request-automated-response. Predefined requests are usually:
VERSION - IRC client version, OS version and CPU info
USERINFO - user credentials used when joining the network
TIME - user's local time
PING - time in miliseconds to reach the user
All of those can be turned off if you're scared of 12 year olds finding out you're running Windows 8 on your mother's Pentium.
Some clients have other CTCP subjects to reply to.
Some networks, like forestnet.org, have services running on them. What interests us most is NickServ, the service for registering and authenticating people for their nicks. They prevent people from stealing someone's identity if they were a registered user.
To register a nick, just do
/msg NickServ register email passwordor something like that. NickServ will tell you the correct syntax if this one is incorrect.
Then, every time you log in to the network, you authenticate with
/msg NickServ identify password2. 2. 1. Security awarenessIf you're using mIRC, it's a good idea to disable CTCP VERSION. This client is notorious for being vulnerable to remotely inflicted stack overflows. Every version is like that, for god knows what reason. All that an attacker needs to know is what version of mIRC you're running.
There is also a decade old bug that will remotely disconnect you from the internet while using IRC if you:
have installed Norton Antivirus on the same computer, and still have it
use an old Linksys or Netgear router to connect with the internet
There is nothing you can really do about it, except for use a different AV and router. Or use a remote shell on a system that isn't vulnerable to this.
2. 3. Check your priviledgeThere are different levels of priviledge on IRC. The ones that are relevant to rooms only are:
chan owner - capo of the room, makes rules, sets chan topic, makes opers, bans people and kicks people if they're bad, can unregister the channel
op - short for operator, can do everything that owner does, except it can't unregister the channel, kick/ban owner, etc
half op - same as op but can't lay a finger on a full op and owner
voice - can talk in moderation mode, just like everyone with higher priviledge
2. 4. Modes that matter+m - moderation mode. Everyone without priviledges cannot talk in the room. Good for calming down flame wars.
+R - prevents people without a registered nick from joining the chan
+i - makes the channel accessible only if its oper-or-higher invites you
+p - private chan, will not appear in a whois listing
Note:
MODES ARE CASE SENSITIVE, okay?
3. Clients3. 1. Baby's first IRC clientqwebirc, mibbit, chatzilla, icychat
3. 2. The good stuffHexChat - nice and clean, has a 64bit version for Windows!
http://hexchat.github.io/downloads.htmlKVirc -
highly configurable client,
http://www.kvirc.net/?id=releases&platform=win32Irssi - very light, command-line client, very popular on remote shells
http://www.irssi.org/download#binaries3. 2. 1. Why bother?Logs stored on your HDD for you to use and quote
Automated away-messages
You can host bots
Scripting
Not dropping out of an IRC convo because your browser crashed
FAQQ: I can't connect to IRC, my host gets dropped. What is happening?
A: Old problem. Set your client to auto-reconnect or go on ForestNet's
forum and ask.
Q: Some people use irssi and their connection stays up for weeks! How do they do it?
A: They got a shell on a reliable server and have read
these two
articles, or just relevant parts of them.
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