Attention All Runescape Users...

An IRC Tutorial

Stop Using Runescape!!!
If you are using Runescape to only talk to your friends... STOP. Theres a better way to talk to your friends over the internet. Use IRC. The graphics of Runescape takes more of the computer's resources than the simple text of IRC. A lot of people use IRC. You could meet people from all over the world. I have met people from Europe, Scotland, Brazil, Costa Rica, Australia and many more places. IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat by the way in case you were wondering.

Client
Connecting to IRC is easy. All you have to do is download a program, or client, that can connect. If you don't want to download anything, you can connect using Mibbit.com. Here are a list of programs you can download:

ChatZilla
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/16
ChatZilla is an add-on for Mozilla Firefox. It also comes with Mozilla SeaMonkey if you have that.
Advantages: Gives a color and a symbol in the user list for the mode of each user i.e. op, halfop, voice.
Disadvantages: If you have an older, slower computer it hogs all the CPU every time someone says something.
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

mIRC
http://www.mirc.com/
mIRC, the classical IRC application.
Advantages: Puts the mode of the symbol next to every user's name in the user list and the chat pane.
Disadvantages: Only available for Windows.
Platforms: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2k/XP/Vista

Pidgin
http://pidgin.im/
Pidgin isn't really an IRC client. It's more of an IM client that can interface with IRC.
Advantages: Can also interface with tons of IM protocols.
Disadvantages: It doesn't support simple IRC commands such as '/connect' or '/rejoin' and doesn't show the mode of a user in the user list by symbol and doesn't have a picture for the administrator user mode.
Platforms: Windows, Fedora Core, CentOS/RHEL, and Source code is available.

There are many other clients out there than just these but these are the ones I have best experience with.

Connecting to a Server
The first thing you have to do is connect to a server. I am going to show you how to connect to irc.IRCworld.co.uk.

Connecting to an IRC server using ChatZilla
In ChatZilla to connect to it you type '/attach irc.IRCworld.co.uk' (without quotes). Information on the server will be displayed.

Connecting to an IRC server using mIRC
In mIRC a window will come up asking for that sort of information. Click on the 'Servers' tab on the left of the window and click the 'Add' button. A new window will come up. Under 'Description" type 'IRCworld.co.uk'. Under 'Server' type 'irc.IRCworld.co.uk'. You should only need a password if you registered your nickname with NickServ, which you will learn how to do later. Click 'Add' and a server called 'IRCworld.co.uk' should show up somewhere in the server list. Double click on that. Fill in a nickname into the nickname box and click the big 'connect' button. You shouldn't need to put in an email address or full name and you don't need a password until you register with NickServ, which you will learn how to do later. Just a nickname. The window should then display information about the server.

Connecting to an IRC server using Pidgin
To connect to a server in Pidgin, go to Accounts -> Add/Edit/Manage. Click the 'Add' button in the accounts window and a new window should come up. Under 'Protocol' go through the menu to 'IRC'. Where it says 'Screen name' type whatever nickname you want. Under 'Server' type 'irc.ircworld.co.uk'. You shouldn't need a password unless you are registered with the network (which you will learn how to do later) and you don't need to put any thing down for 'Local alias'. Click 'Save' and a new window should come up sending you messages from NickServ and a CTCP version message from a network service.

Connecting to an IRC server using Mibbit.com
Go to http://mibbit.com/ and click on 'Server' next to the drop down menu full of preset servers. A place you can type should come up titled 'Server Adress'. Type 'irc.ircworld.co.uk'. Type the nickname you want under 'Nick' and leave the 'Channel' space blank. Then click 'Go'. This will open up a tap that displays information on the network.

Joining A Channel

Joining a channel is the easiest thing to do in any IRC client. I will be telling you how to join a channel called '#lounge' on IRCworld. In every client I wrote about in this blog, you simply type '/join #lounge' to join it. You can ask for help from me (Bradj47/rockstar) in this channel. I will be writing another blog about how to make a channel and how to register your nickname so no one else can take it and so that you can get a lot more priveledges on a network. In Pidgin if you closed the windows that came up, you can go to the buddy list and go to Buddies -> Join a Chat. A new window should come up. Make sure the 'irc.ircworld.co.uk' account is selected. Type '#lounge' and click 'Join'. A password should not be needed.

Useful Commands
/nick - changes your nickname to something else.
Example: '/nick rockstar' will change my name to rockstar.

/query - sends a private message to another user on a network. It will also open a new tab for that user so you don't have to type '/query' every time.
Example: '/query rockstar hi' will send 'hi' to the user with the nickname 'rockstar'.

/whois - gives the user information for a user connected to the network.
Example: '/whois rockstar' will give user information on rockstar.

/list - gives a list of all channels on the network. I don't recomend doing this on a large network.

IRCworld Official Website
If you want any information about the IRCworld network, go to http://www.ircworld.co.uk