IRC

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Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, is basically what ED calls it: multiplayer Notepad. To win in IRC, you go and talk, and be popular, and have friends, and get ops. Now for most things in life, you can just go read Wikipedia, but IRC is confusing as fuck, so let me break it down for the new /i/nsurgents to learn.

Clients

There are quite a few options to consider when choosing an IRC client. Here are a few.

mIRC (Windows)

mIRC is one of the most popular IRC clients out there.

Pros

• Very widely used.
• Sets the standard for IRC clients: logging, scripting, etc.

Cons

• Shareware.
• Scripting language is unusable in other clients, meaning that scripts are not portable without re-writing it in a different language.

ChatZilla (Cross-platform, firefox extension)

An OK client in the form of a Firefox extension. It's got the basic stuff an IRC client should have, like logging.

Pros

• Easy to use.
• Can be run in its own Firefox tab; just type "chrome://chatzilla/content/chatzilla.xul" in the address bar.

Cons

• Easily acquirable, even by newfags. Because of that, anyone who doesn't bother to configure their settings is autokicked from #insurgency.
• When logging, it creates a new file for every day. Not good if you're a nostalgiafag who likes to go back to look at old times.

HydraIRC (Windows)

Another okay client for Windows.

Pros:

• Channel Monitor window allows you to view messages from all channels.

Cons:

• Still in beta, and hasn't been worked on in ages.
• Advertises itself in /quit messages.

KVIrc (Windows)

This client is best known for its customizability; nearly every aspect of its theme can be changed.

Pros:

• Themes can be customized and changed if you're into that sort of thing.
• Activity Monitor option displays a neat little colored icon besides each nickname, showing how active they are. Helpful if you're an op and want to clean out spais/lurkers.
• Scriptable.

Cons:

• As with mIRC, scripts made for KVIrc can't be used in other clients. Not like there are many scripts out there for it anyhow.
• Tends to get rather slow on older computers.
• Like ChatZilla, logs are split into days, making them harder to search through.

irssi (Cross platform)

Console-based IRC client. Despite that, it's one of the best clients out there, if you know what you're doing.

Pros:

• Uses Perl as its scripting language. No need to learn a language you're only going to use for one purpose!
• Because it's console-based, you can put irssi on a shell and run it from any computer with an SSH client.
• Very fast, so it's great for old computers.

Cons:

• May be hard to use if you're used to GUI-based clients.
• Can't do much without scripts.

XChat (Windows, Linux, OS X [as XChat Aqua])

Nice, clean client with a good amount of features.

Pros:

• Able to use Perl, and a few other languages.
• Some popup menus are customizable, as are a group of buttons under the userlist.

Cons:

• Windows version is jewware because compiling it on Windows takes forever they're fucking jews.
• Shows all server notices in the current window; there doesn't seem to be a way to disable this. Very annoying if you're an IRCop.

Colloquy (OS X)

Decent client, More then enough for most irc use, however it locks up hard when any open channel or query gets flooded.

Snak (OS X)

Probably the best GUI client for OS X. But it's fucking jewware.

jmIrc (J2ME-enabled devices, such most cell phones)

An IRC client for...your cell phone? Yeah, a lot of apps like this one exist, but this seems like the best free one out there.

Pros:

• Well, with this, you can IRC IRL.
• A "Favorites" list allows you to keep a list of frequently-used commands.

Cons:

• It's made for a cell phone, so you're not gonna see a lot of features.
• On some phones, it may freeze up when trying to send a message.

Guide for new users

• Type '/server (server)' or use the connect to connect to a new IRC server (use '/server -m (server)' to connect in a new IRC window without disconnecting from the current server. There are several large networks like EFnet (irc.efnet.net) and Rizon(irc.rizon.net, aka animu central). Of other note are private servers irc.pirated.ws, irc.7chan.org, and irc.chatnets.net. Some places, like Rizon or Chatnets, or really any place except stone-age EFnet, has a NickServ. Register with NickServ (type '/msg nickserv register passwordhere realemailhere') and then '/msg nickserv identify password' to be identified. Some places, like #4chan on Rizon, require you to be registered with NickServ to join.
• Type '/j #channel' or '/join #channel' (it's the same) to join a channel. To part, just close it with the red X, or type /part #channel somemessage if you want to be fancy.
• To change nick, type '/nick newnickhere'. There is a limit on how long the nick can be; some networks only allow a maximum of 9 characters, while others let you go up to 18.
• To send a private message, use '/msg nick message here blah blah dongs'. In most clients, private messages appear in a little new window.

People on IRC

• Channel founders, +q, have a ~ by their name, and are the creators of the IRC channel. They can change all channel settings and modes.
• Super-ops, aka +a or admins, have a & by their name, have the same powers as ops, can access some ChanServ commands, and cannot be kicked by normal ops.
• Ops, aka +o, have an @ by their name. They can ban, kick, add and remove ops, change the topic, and make your life hell.
• Half ops, aka hops or +h, they have a % by their name. They can ban and kick, add and remove voice, change the topic and set a few modes.
• Voiced, or +v, have a +. They are just regular users who we trust for the most part and have been there a while. Also, if the channel is set +m (moderated, basically mute) they and the +o, +h and +v people can talk, while regular users can't.
  • A few channels set +v on join, usually if it's +m so that ops can remove voice from people who spam or whatever.

A user without a ~, &, @, %, or + is just a regular person. They may feel as clueless as you. Just use IRC, and you will learn. Weeaboos, check out irc.rizon.net, gamers, irc.gamesurge.net, and really just join random channels to see what's going on. On efnet, basically any word has a channel for it, so explore and lurk.

Note about Lurking: SAY SOMETHING EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. Many channels get sick of people just joining and watching, at least let them know who you are so someone doesn't kick you or something. So, you can lurk, but be sure to talk occasionally. The IRC world is extremely intolerant of newfags.

Tips for more experienced users

Secure noticing

To send a message to everyone on a channel with a certain level or higher, type this:

/notice (~|&|@|%|+)#channel message

where the symbol represents the minimum level to send the message to (see "People on IRC").

Use this to share sensitive information without spais finding out.

Services

There are IRC services on most servers, save for stone-age EFnet. Read:

NickServ

Use NickServ to keep others from using your nick and to keep ops/voice/etc. on channels.

• /msg nickserv register password email - Register your nickname.
• /msg nickserv identify password - Identify yourself.
• /msg nickserv ghost nick password - Get someone who's using your nick to quit. It can also be used in case you disconnect, but your old nick hasn't pinged out yet.
• /msg nickserv help - List all commands.

ChanServ

With a registered and identified nick in an unregistered channel where you are an op:

/msg ChanServ register #channelname password brief description.

Managing channel access

You can have services automatically op/voice/etc. people, depending on which system you use. Note that when giving a user access, that user must be registered with NickServ.

XOP system

/msg ChanServ xop #channelname add nick

Where "xop" is either:

• "vop" for auto-voice
• "hop" for auto-halfops
• "aop" for auto-ops
• "sop" for auto-superops

You can also change "add" to "del" to delete someone from your list.

Access level system

/msg ChanServ access #channelname add nick level

• Adds a user to the access list with that level. If a user is already on the list, their level will simply be changed to the specified level.

/msg ChanServ access #channelname del nick

• Deletes a user from the access list.

By default, the following access levels are defined:

• Founder - Gives +qo upon entering, allows full access to ChanServ commands. Only one user may have this status.
• 10 - Gives +ao upon entering, allows access to akick.
• 5 - Gives +o upon entering.
• 3 - Gives +v upon entering.
• 0 - Nothing.
• <0 - User cannot be opped.

ChanServ kick

Too much of a pussy to kick/ban someone yourself? ChanServ can do it for you!

/msg ChanServ (kick|ban) #channelname nick reason

Note that if the channel has signkick enabled (default), your nick will be displayed in the kick message.

HostServ

With a registered nick, you can replace your plain old hostname with a vHost, which is basically just a fake hostname.

To request a vHost, type:

/msg HostServ request vhost@goes.here

You will then have to wait for your vHost to be approved. Some networks do it automatically after about a few hours, while other nets have it to where it must be manually approved.