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-=-=-=-=-=-=-
July 26th, 1991 - written by Ronald van Loon (rvl).
[ PART ONE : BASIC COMMANDS, PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS ]
IRC for beginners - an introduction
===================================
[NOTE: IRC II, the client we are using in our group, has most
of this information on-line. If you are stuck, type /HELP and
hit return - if that doesn't work, just try again till it does.
To escape from /HELP mode, keep pressing return until your edit
line (the line at the bottom of the screen) is empty.]
Most of the information in this file can be found in the following
files :
/HELP INTRO
/HELP NEWUSER
IRC - what is it
================
Irc is a multi-user, multi-channel chatting network. It allows
people all over the internet to talk to one another in real-time.
Each irc user has a nickname they use. All communication with
another user is either by nickname or by the channel that they or
you are on.
More about channels later on.
IRC - some basics
=================
IRC is based on a client-server model. Clients are programs that
connect to a server, a server is a program that transports data
(messages) from one user (client) to another. The client we use
at 3DCV is called IRC II (version 2.1.x), originally written by
Michael Sandrov.
IRC II
======
All IRCII commands begin with a "/" character.
Anthing that does not begin with a / is assumed to be a message
to someone and send to your current channel, or to a person you
are QUERYing. In the following I will describe the more common
commands used in every-day IRC-life.
If you are not sure about the spelling of an IRC II command,
type the prefix of that command - and press the ESCape key twice.
IRC II (from now on IRC) will give you a listing of COMMANDS and
ALIASes that start with that prefix. Don't forget the "/" in front
of the command, though.
Example :
/W <ESC><ESC>
IRC: *** Commands:
IRC: *** WAIT WALLOPS WHILE WHO
IRC: *** WHOIS WHOWAS
IRC: *** Aliases:
IRC: *** W WA WH WI
IRC: *** WLOFF WLOG WLON WS
[Note : This is an example. Your screen may show more Aliases,
and less Commands than shown here, or less Aliases and more
Commands - in other words "your mileage may vary" ;-)]
BASIC IRC COMMANDS
==================
In the following, everything you have to type is preceded with a
colon (:), everything that the client program does is preceded
with IRC:
-----
/LIST Lists all current irc channels, number of
users, and topic.
----- Example :
: /LIST
IRC: *** Channel Users Topic
IRC: *** +test 1 this is a test channel
IRC: *** #KOFFIE 1
-----
/NAMES Shows the nicknames of all users on each
channel
----- Example :
: /NAMES
IRC: Pub: +test @rvloon
IRC: Prv: * ronaldvl fred
-----
/NICK <new_nick> Change your nickname (everyone who wants to talk to
you sees this name - also, at the moment, nicknames
are limited to 9 characters max. Your nickname will
be the same as your login by default. You can also
set an environment variable, IRCNICK, which value
will be used instead.)
----- Example:
: /NICK harry
IRC: *** rvloon is now known as harry
-----
/QUIT Exits irc. You can also use /BYE, /SIGNOFF and /EXIT.
-----
/HELP <topic> Gets help on all IRCII commands.
----- Example :
: /HELP HELP
IRC: *** Help on HELP
IRC: Usage: HELP [command]
IRC: Shows help on the given command.
[ To save space, rest of explanation deleted ]
-----
/WHOIS <nick> Shows the "true" indentity of someone
----- Example :
: /WHOIS fred
IRC:*** fred is fred@131.211.145.24 (Fred Appelman) on channel *private*
IRC:*** on irc via server prisma.cv.ruu.nl (The CV stand-alone IRC-server)
IRC:*** Command last received: 6322 :is the idle time f
-----
/AWAY <away-message> Leave a message explaining that you are not currently
paying attention to IRC.
----- Example :
: /AWAY I am answering Mother Nature's call. Back in 5 minutes.
IRC: You have been marked as being away
-----
/AWAY without any additional argument will remove the away-message.
----- Example :
: /AWAY
IRC: You are no longer marked as being away
-----
COMMUNICATION - PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS
=====================================
Use the /MSG command (usually /M is an alias for /MSG) to send someone
a message that only that person can read.
Usage :
-----
/MSG <nick> <msg>
----- Example :
: /MSG rvloon Where did you put the Motif C++ headerfiles ?
This will appear on your screen as :
IRC: -> *rvloon* Where did you put the Motif C++ headerfiles ?
And on rvloon's screen as :
IRC: *YourName* Where did you put the Motif C++ headerfiles ?
(provided your nickname is "YourName" of course).
-----
To answer to such a message, you have two options :
1) You type /MSG <nick_of_person_who_sent_you_the_message> <reply>
2) You type /MSG , <reply>
The comma (,) is an abbreviation for "last person who sent me a
message". In a similar fashion, the dot (.) in a /MSG command is
an abbreviation for "last person who I sent a message".
QUERY
-----
You can have a private conversation by only using /MSG. However, typing
"/MSG ," or "/MSG <nick>" gets cumbersome. That's where the QUERY command
comes in handy.
Usage :
/QUERY <nick>
All subsequent text will be send as private messages to <nick> ; all
subsequent text, that is everything you type in the bottom line which
doesn't start with a '/'. Also, messages are not sent until you press
<RETURN> or <ENTER>.
Use /QUERY with no arguments to end a private conversation.
I will now show you an example of a private conversation, and the output
on both screens :
1) : /NAMES
2) : /QUERY rvloon
3) : Goodmorning
4) : Pretty good, even the weather's fine
5) : /WHOIS rvloon
6) : I have to get back to work, I'll drop by later
7) : /QUERY
Output on my screen :
1) Prv: * ronaldvl rvloon
2) *** Starting conversation with rvloon
3) -> *rvloon* Goodmorning
*rvloon* morning, how is life ?
4) -> *rvloon* Pretty good, even the weather's fine
5) *** rvloon is rvloon@131.211.145.35 (Ronald van Loon) on channel *private*
5) *** on irc via server prisma.cv.ruu.nl (The CV stand-alone IRC-server)
5) *** Command last received: 46 :is the idle time for
*rvloon* do you have time for some coffee ?
6) -> *rvloon* I have to get back to work, I'll drop by later
7) *** Ending conversation with rvloon
Output on rvloon's screen :
3) *YourName* Goodmorning
-> *YourName* morning, how is life ?
4) *YourName* Pretty good, even the weather's fine
-> *YourName* do you have time for some coffee ?
6) *YourName* I have to get back to work, I'll drop by later
[ END OF PART ONE. PART TWO WILL DEAL WITH PUBLIC CONVERSATION ]
Ronald van Loon (rvloon@cv.ruu.nl, rloon@cs.ruu.nl)
3D Computer Vision Research Group, Utrecht University,
Utrecht, The Netherlands.