clobot@caen.engin.umich.edu (Steve Roth) (12/21/90)
I'm not sure this made it out of the local machines here so I'm re-posting.
Please bear with me........
Note marekp@pnet91.cts.com (Marek Pawlowski) has provided a shorter
introduction and some basic commands in a recent article as well.
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THE BEGINNER'S/HITCHIKER'S GUIDE TO IRC
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Hello. One more IRC message/addendum (I admit, it IS large, but I hope
it is also clear. From what I have recently read here, it has appeared that
(for those users without irc locally) it is necessary to OBTAIN IRC to actually
talk to users on the irc channels. This is NOT so (ONE other person has
pointed out the port method and another has pointed a d/a of this. With the
advent of (heh) IRC v2.x, however, there is [to my knowledge; feel free to
reprimand me if I'm wrong] no more problem with this.)
If I were to go into explaining why we should not load up IRC locally,
I would say something like.... Once IRC is obtained via ftp & compiled, the IRC
must join the IRC network (the other machines running IRC must find out about
it) by you sending mail to the IRC administrators. If a lot of people (like in
this newsgroup) install IRC, this could slow down the network (internet),
slow down IRC update time, and result in IRC sites that may or may not be
permanent. (I don't think we would keep our programs running continuously,
would we?) This is something I think we should avoid. IRC is best administered
by the IRC administrators. If you would like to PERMANENTLY set up an IRC
program for your univ/college/???, then this is the way to go. In this case it
is best to figure out the nearest IRC site to connect to and do a few PINGS to
sites to find out which is closest to you. Here I quote from the IRC manual:
Irc Networking Protocol
We are very serious when it comes to networking our servers. Irc Server
connections must be done with intelligence and agreed upon by the network
coordinator. The Network coordinator has the right to remove you from
the network ENTIRELY if he feels you are not cooperating with the Network.
Please DO NOT just connect your server ANYWHERE - we have a specific place
we want you to be. If you are in DENVER we don't want you connecting your
server to FINLAND when you *could* be connecting it in Kansas. It does
not make legistical sense for you to do that.
....but of course, I would not ago into explaining why we should not
use IRC locally. =)
Ok. It appears there has also been confusion regarding what IRC
actually is. IRC is a program network that extends all over the world, using
the internet (port 6667 usually). It is also the client program name.
Software-wise, it is a lot like the CB talk package on CompuServe. It
consists of channels. By default, when you join it, you start out on channel
0. This channel is the no-channel. Channels may start out with a + sign. For
ex: +Apple, +Talk, +Cb, +Bored. + channels are limited to a maximum of ten
people. Channels may also start out with a number. Channels 1 through 9 have
no limit on the number of people. (I recommend we change our channel from
+Apple to a channel within this range.)
There are no less than 3 ways to actually reach (and use IRC). First,
there is the local client IRC program, which hooks up to the IRC computer
network. (TYPE I). You can also telnet/rlogin to an IRC port of some computer
running IRC if you have telnet/rlogin available. If this is done, you will
miss some of the features the program supports, but it is still possible to use
IRC. (TYPE II). Last, there are some locations you can telnet/rlogin to
that actually run the client program. These include BBS's and are like Guest
accts. (TYPE III). If anyone knows of any other ways to reach IRC, please
tell me! Also, if anyone knows a way to use the USENET to perform telnet/
rlogin action or a way to use the UUCP or BITNET to do the same, please
tell me. This would help out those users who may not be able to reach
IRC otherwise.
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TYPE I: In many locations now, there are IRC client programs that you
can run locally that interpret the signals that come over the IRC port (usually
6667 or 6666). Most generally display the information in a full-screen, vt100
emacs-like format, with an inverse bar at the bottom of the screen beneath
which you can type as new information appears above the bar. This type of
program makes IRC-usage VERY easy and quite addictive. (I've wasted LOTS of
time this way.) Most versions support macros, .ircrc files that are executed
automatically when you startup IRC, and MANY other features. Note these types
of programs are generally found on YOUR machine/computer (local). For example,
for me it is found in the dir. /usr/games/irc. Please skip forward several
pages if you have a TYPE I setup.
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TYPE II:Even if you have no IRC program available on your
computer, you are not totally in the dark. You can also irc by telnet'ing or
rlogin'ing to an irc location, assuming you have these programs available to
you. (These are internet commands; If you don't know if a TYPE I program is
available locally or if you are connected to the internet, you may want to
e-mail your computer counselors.) In a TYPE II setup, the screen does not work
in a full-screen mode, unfortunately, so certain things you cannot easily do.
(Such as macros) However, you can still talk on irc with no great difficulty. A
TYPE II setup is basically just a No-Emulation type-1 setup which is just a tad
harder to use (but still quite usable.) As I said before, you can irc by
connecting to an IRC location and port number. I have a list of those in the
USA (current as of 12/18/90 at 5:00AM) printed below. If you are in a foreign
country, please e-mail me at clobot@caen.engin.umich.edu and I will send you
the foreign site list.
Please pick sites which are closest to you and write them down/print
them. This will avoid excess network traffic overhead and also time-delays due
to signal travel time. I'll explain in a minute how to use this info.
Here are the sites I found: (In the USA)
fairhope.andrew.cmu.edu Carnegie Mellon
washington.andrew.cmu.edu Carnegie Mellon
byron.u.washington.edu University of Washington
hayes.ims.alaska.edu University of Alaska Fairbanks
eecs.cs.pdx.edu Portland State University
unicorn.cc.wwu.edu Western Washington University
hamblin.math.byu.edu Brigham Young University Math Dept
uhura.cc.rochester.edu University of Rochester - Rochester, NY
galaxy.ee.rochester.edu University of Rochester
cie.uoregon.edu University of Oregon Exchange's IRC Server
unix.cis.pitt.edu University of Pittsburgh
hydra.gatech.edu Georgia Institute of Technology
ux.acs.umn.edu [128.101.63.2] University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota
NeXT210.NOdak.edu North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND
medusa.cs.purdue.edu Purdue University
nic.stolaf.edu St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN USA
cec2.wustl.edu Washington University
albert.ai.mit.edu M.I.T, MA
lyman.pppl.gov Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
astsun.astro.Virginia.EDU University of Virginia
bucsd.bu.edu Boston University, Boston, MA
Xanth.cs.ODU.edu ODU (???)
betwixt.cs.caltech.edu Caltech
helium.elec.ufl.edu University of Florida
Ra.MsState.Edu Mississippi State University, USA
ucscb.ucsc.edu U of California, Santa Cruz
wsboss.usmsas.maine.edu UMaine, Portland ME, USA
wpi.wpi.edu Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA
quartz.rutgers.edu Rutgers
hertz.njit.edu njit (New Jersey Institute of Tech?)
polaris.ctr.columbia.edu Columbia University CTR, New York City
hub.cs.jmu.edu James Madison University Hub machine
daffy.cv.nrao.edu C'ville VA
garfield.mit.edu MIT Project Athena, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
galileo.apo.nmsu.edu Sunspot, NM 88349, USA
isca01.icaen.uiowa.edu Iowa Student Computer Association
oddjob.uchicago.edu University of Chicago - Astro
uafcseg.uark.edu University of Arkansas, Department of CSEG
ponder.csci.unt.edu Denton, Texas
cwns1.INS.CWRU.Edu Case Western Reserve University
uxc.cso.uiuc.edu University of Illinois
cunixa.cc.columbia.edu Columbia University
netserv2.its.rpi.edu Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
silver.ucs.indiana.edu Indiana University Server
karazm.math.uh.edu University of Houston -- Mathematics
Engr.uark.edu University of Arkansas Server
iroquois.utdallas.edu University of Texas at Dallas
minnie.cc.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin
longs.LANCE.ColoState.Edu Colorado State U., Engineering
horton.colorado.EDU University of Colorado International Server
monitor.colorado.edu Irc Monitor University of Colorado
zephyr.cair.du.edu University of Denver's International Server
arrakis.engin.umich.edu University of Michigan IRC Server
Please pick a site in the left column (locations are given in the right column)
Once you have a site or a few (note some sites have the same location) write
them down.
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TYPE III:There are some TYPE I, vt100 (and other emulation) IRC programs
available for use via telnet/rlogin. Some are located in Bulletin Boards
and others you can directly telnet/rlogin to. In a previous article two
BBS's were explicitly mentioned: mars.ee.msstate.edu, and freenet-in-a.cwru.edu
Please note that mars.ee.msstate.edu does NOT have global irc access; It is
only hooked up to one site, and not to the wordwide network, so this will
not work for us. I cannot tell if Freenet is hooked up globally or not as I
do not have an acct. on it.
SITES I KNOW OF: (IF YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHERS PLEASE e-mail YOUR LIST TO:
clobot@caen.engin.umich.edu (me!) )
Irc-server.engin.umich.edu 6666 (141.212.66.13)
(Direct telnet-to; works most of the time; supports a variety of
emulation; use port 6666. I quote from alt.irc:
"It should be made clear that this service won't work if your forward
and reverse nameservice lookups don't match up, such as in any
via.*.merit.edu host. If you connect and then your connection is
closed straight away, that's most likely what happened." But I
have no idea what this means. =) )
freenet-in-a.cwru.edu (?)
(Cleveland bbs; requires acct; use login: new)
fncom1.cwru.edu (?) (129.88.8.75)
(Cleveland bbs; requires acct; use login: new)
fncom2.cwru.edu (?) (129.88.8.76)
(Cleveland bbs; requires acct; use login: new)
fncom3.cwru.edu (?) (129.88.8.77)
(Cleveland bbs; requires acct; use login: new)
fncom3.cwru.edu (?) (129.88.8.78)
(Cleveland bbs; requires acct; use login: new)
tolsun.oulu.fi (?) (128.214.5.6)
(Finnish/English bbs; use login: box)
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HOW TO IRC: (Ircing for NEWCOMERS)
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************(A) TYPE I and III setups.***********************
For you, IRC will look for commands starting with a /
Anything else IRC will send to the channel you are on.
Here are some basic commands:
/nick name1 = set your nickname/id to name1
/join +Apple = join/step into channel +Apple
/names = get a list of all channels and the nicknames/ids of the
= people on them.
/names +Apple = get a list of the nicknames/ids on channel +Apple
/list = get a list of all channels, the number of people on
= each, and the topic on each.
/list +Apple = show the number of people and topic on channel +Apple
/whois SRoth = find out information about the nickname/id SRoth
/who * = show information about all people on your current channel
anything not = send to channel
starting with
a /
/msg SRoth hi = send a private message with the content 'hi' to SRoth
(you can send private messages outside of your channel
as well as inside, and only the person they are directed
to can see them.)
/help = show the first-level of help command (use /help
commandname for info about command commandname)
/quit = quit irc/stop using irc
Here is a same session: (I type in BOLD)
/usr/games/irc SROTH
(I start the program, with the nickname SROTH)
*** Value of DISPLAY set to ON
*** Welcome to the Internet Relay Network, SROTH
*** Your host is arrakis.engin.umich.edu, running version 2.5.1.bu.08
*** This server was created Tue Oct 23 1990 at 16:34:54 EDT
*** There are 41 users on 98 servers
*** 11 users have connection to the twilight zone
*** There are 3 yet unknown connections
MOTD - arrakis.engin.umich.edu Message of the Day -
* End of /MOTD command.
/JOIN +Apple
(I want to join +Apple)
*** SROTH has joined channel +Apple.
/NAMES +Apple
(I want to see who's on +Apple)
Pub: +Apple Indiana SROTH
(Indiana and SROTH {me} are on the PUBLIC channel +Apple)
*** Indiana has changed the topic to Apple Stuff
(Indiana just changed the topic)
/LIST +Apple
(I want to see the LIST for +Apple)
*** +Apple 2 Apple Stuff
(2 people, the topic is Apple Stuff)
> HELLO INDIANA
(I say hi)
<Indiana> Hi Sroth
(he says hi)
/WHOIS Indiana
(I see who he is)
*** Indiana is clobot@maize.engin.umich.edu (Indiana Jones) on channel +Apple
*** on irc via server arrakis.engin.umich.edu (University of Michigan IRC
! Server)
> SEE YA LATER!
(I say bye)
<Indiana> ok.bye
(He says bye)
/QUIT
(I exit)
************(B) TYPE II setup.**********************
For you, IRC will look for commands starting in column 1 (There is no
irc-character like a /)
HERE ARE SOME BASIC COMMANDS:
user accountname hostname servername realname
= register yourself with irc, with the account
= accountname and real name realname. The hostname and
= servername fields can be anything; The server is
= smart enough to put its own name in.
nick name1 = set your nickname/id to name1
channel +Apple = join/step into channel +Apple
names = get a list of all channels and the nicknames/ids of
= the people on them.
names +Apple = get a list of the nicknames/ids on channel +Apple
list = get a list of all channels, the number of people on
= each, and the topic on each.
list +Apple = show the number of people and topic on channel +Apple
whois SRoth = find out information about the nickname/id SRoth
who * = show information about all people on your current
= channel
msg anything = send 'anything' to channel; you can send text strings
= longer than screen width.
privmsg SRoth hi = send a private message with the content 'hi' to SRoth
= (you can send private messages outside of your channel
= as well as inside, and only the person they are
= directed to can see them.)
help = show the list of commands (please e-mail me at
= clobot@caen.engin.umich.edu and I will send you the
= help files if you would like them.)
quit = quit irc/stop using irc
Most sites on the previous long list use port 6667 as an IRC port. What this
means is that you can telnet/rlogin to port 6667 to get to IRC. If this
doesn't work, try site 6666. If this doesn't work, try another site.
This is best explained by example. Here is an example I used. (note the port
number is on the right.
telnet irc-server.engin.umich.edu 6667
(this hooks me up with the server here at University of Michigan)
Trying 141.212.66.13...
Connected to arrakis.engin.umich.edu.
Escape character is '^]'.
USER CLOBOT DONTCARE DONTCARE STEVE ROTH
(register account CLOBOT with irc; please note You can have spaces
only in the last field (realname))
NICK SROTH
(nicknames should be one word, and punctuation is not not recommended.)
NOTICE SROTH :*** Welcome to the Internet Relay Network, SROTH
NOTICE SROTH :*** Your host is arrakis.engin.umich.edu, running version
2.5.1.bu
.08
NOTICE SROTH :*** This server was created Tue Oct 23 1990 at 16:34:54 EDT
NOTICE SROTH :*** There are 81 users on 109 servers
NOTICE SROTH :*** 18 users have connection to the twilight zone
NOTICE SROTH :*** There are 5 yet unknown connections
NOTICE SROTH :MOTD - arrakis.engin.umich.edu Message of the Day -
NOTICE SROTH :* End of /MOTD command.
CHANNEL +Apple
(join channel +Apple)
:SROTH CHANNEL +Apple
(this means I just Joined channel +Apple)
:Indiana CHANNEL +Apple
(this means a person with nickname Indiana has just joined this
channel)
NAMES +Apple
(I want to find out who all is on +Apple)
NAMREPLY = +Apple SROTH Indiana
:arrakis.engin.umich.edu 366 SROTH :* End of /NAMES list.
(right now SROTH (me) and Indiana are here on channel +Apple)
LIST +Apple
(I want to see the list of +Apple)
:arrakis.engin.umich.edu 321 SROTH : Channel : Users Name
:arrakis.engin.umich.edu 322 SROTH +Apple 2 :Apple Talk
:arrakis.engin.umich.edu 323 SROTH :End of /LIST
(2 people on channel +Apple, with the topic
Apple Talk)
MSG Hi Indiana
(sends 'Hi Indiana' to the channel)
:Indiana MSG :hello
(and he says hello back)
WHOIS Indiana
(I want to figure out who Indiana is)
:arrakis.engin.umich.edu 311 SROTH Indiana clobot cola.engin.umich.edu +Apple
:Indiana Jones
:arrakis.engin.umich.edu 312 SROTH arrakis.engin.umich.edu :University of
Michigan IRC Server
(He is Indiana Jones [realname], using the computer
cola.engin.umich.edu [hostname], server arrakis.engin.umich.edu
[servername] (University of Michigan) and account clobot. His mail
address would be: clobot@cola.engin.umich.edu)
MSG See ya later!
(I say goodbye)
:Indiana MSG :OK. bye!
(He says bye)
QUIT
(I leave)
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For further IRC information, I direct you to the newsgroup alt.irc
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
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-clobot@caen.engin.umich.edu (Steve Roth)
-Indiana on IRC!