After helping a couple of people out today with various IRC questions, thought I'd create a central guide to catch most questions.
I will likely update this as more questions pop up.
Starting with #tfp Chat
Whenever you become curious about #tfp chat, I suggest you click the chat button at the top right here on the boards.
This is a good way to get a "feel" of the channel. You can meet the regulars and see if you like the place.
When you click the aformentioned "chat" button, you'll automagically be dropped into the channel where we reside, so no further instruction is really needed.
Now, if you decide you want to visit on a regular basis, I
highly suggest you download a reasonable IRC client. The next section gives you the details on this.
Obtaining a Chat Client
A client called mIRC easily qualifies as the most used chat client for the Windows platform. mIRC and another client called X-Chat are probably the two most popular clients in the #tfp channel.
mIRC -
http://www.mirc.com/
mIRC is shareware that asks you to register after 30 days of use. I recommend you get it since it is easiest to get support for it, and it is what will be covered throughout this guide.
X-Chat -
http://www.xchat.org/windows/
X-Chat is a freeware chat client for Windows, linux/unix platforms, and MacOS X. Version 2.4.0 is now shareware, but the previous version, 2.0.10 is still freeware. A guide for X-Chat is below in this thread.
Installing and Configuring mIRC
Download the latest version of mIRC from
their website. Run the executable you grabbed and it will take you through the installation. This is self-explanatory and shouldn't require much guidance.
Once you have successfully installed mIRC, run the application. Time to get all configured!
You should now be seeing the mIRC application with the "mIRC Options" window open. It looks like this --
If you don't see this, hit ALT+O. That's a handy shortcut, by the way.
Also make sure that the "Connect" category is selected in that left-side menu.
Click the Add button on the right side of the window. You'll get a little box that looks like the following image. Fill in the boxes the way I have --
<img src=http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WADiAjIcIhv!rK4q2Mx0VLU3vIGbRlafjzRTmI4qQzkoFoOff5KFbtq6P0mAfzj0m2RY5d76QpmqRSaQQXJxnSGTZk6QDpDOt0zgzvgfDhF!7RvRXk*l0QVfUMZt5CO!MgAAAP****8/add%20window.jpg?dc=4675467208023178457></img>Then click Add. Now you're back where we first started.
Click on the second drop-down menu (the one that in the previous image said "Random US DALnet server"). Scroll all the way to the bottom and you should see the server we just added labeled as "TFP". Click it.
Cool. Now you want to set your Nickname and Alternative. As you saw in the first image, I used "Antagony" and "Antagony_". Now you can connect. Click the "Connect to IRC Server" button.
After ... oh say ... 10 - 30 seconds you should be connected to Shadowfire, the chat network that the #tfp channel is hosted on. Upon connecting, you'll see the mIRC Channels Folder. Like this image --
In the top box, enter #tfp as I have. Then click Join.
BLIGGIDY-POOFTAH! You should now be in the #tfp chatroom!
The next time you use mIRC, much less work is required. You'll only have to click the "Connect to IRC Server" button and then select "#tfp" from the mIRC Channels Folder.
But if you want to get fancy, you can actually configure mIRC to do that automagically for you. That's right, you can pop into #tfp with zero clicking. Check the
advanced section for details.
Basic IRC Commands
These are basic IRC commands that work regardless of what IRC client you use, be it mIRC, X-Chat, or even the web application linked to on the boards.
/nick username
This changes your IRC nickname. You cannot use spaces in your nickname. 18 is the maximum length for a username. You cannot change to a nickname in use by anyone else on the server (even if they are in a different channel), and you cannot use a nickname that has been reserved with NickServ. For more detailed info, see the
advanced FAQ section later in this guide.
/msg username message
This is an important IRC function. When you want to privately chat with another user, this is the command to use. You type "/msg" then the username of the person you wish to speak with, and then the message. For example, you type "/msg Antagony Hey thanks for writing this guide! I offer you oral sex to show my gratitude!". When you do that, I get a little window that pops up with your message. Then when I reply in that window, you too will have a private chat window pop up. Then we can chat `til our hearts' contentment in a neat little window just for us.
/me action
This is how you perform "actions" or "announcements" in a chatroom. For example, if I type "/me is tired of writing this guide!", then everyone in the channel will see "*Antagony is tired of writing this guide!"
/j #channel
This is for manually joining channels without using your chat client's Channels Folder. If you wanted to, when you connect to Shadowfire, you could just type in "/j #tfp" to get in our channel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What do you talk about in #tfp?
A: Everything. As the forum has a broad range of topics, so does the chatroom. Don't make the assumption that all we talk about concerns boobies.
Q: omg where r password 4 teh porn websiets??/?/
A: #tfp is not a place for finding pornography. #tfp is also not a place where everyone trades movies and pictures, either.
Q: Why did I just see 20 messages about people in the room quitting?
A: That's called a netsplit. Shadowfire, the IRC server that #tfp is on, is very crappy and you will see this often. It's no big deal. The people will be reconnected shortly.
Q: Is #tfp on the same server as the forums?
A: No. Shadowfire is a stand-alone IRC network. The Tilted Forum Project has no affiliation with Shadowfire aside from the fact that we use it to host our chat channel.
Q: What does SFW or NSFW mean?
A: SFW means Safe For Work. Likewise NSFW means NOT Safe For Work. Mark any images/links/whatever you drop into the channel in this fashion.
mIRC Advanced FAQ
Q: How do I get mIRC to automatically connect to Shadowfire and join #tfp when I open the application?
A: --I'll update this tomorrow with a mini-guide--
Q: How does NickServ work?
A: --I'll update this tomorrow with a mini-guide--
Q: What is a mIRC script?
A: A mIRC script is a little piece of software that serves as an add-on to mIRC for some extra features and functionality. An example of this would be the #tfp Script authored by our gracious admin, ZeroCool. It can be found at
http://kwsn.web1000.com/tfpscript.exe
Q: How do I show what song I'm playing in Winamp?
A: To do this requires use of a mIRC script. This is a very common feature in mIRC scripts, and most of them include it. The script mentioned in the above question has this feature. To get a different script, browse around
http://www.mircscripts.com/
Q: How do I get my channel window to be on my desktop instead of inside the mIRC application?
A: --I'll update this tomorrow with a mini-guide--
Q: Now that my channel window is on the desktop, how do I make it transparent?
A: --I'll update this tomorrow with a mini-guide--
Q: How do I pimp out mIRC with awesome colors and stuff?
A: --I'll update this tomorrow with a mini-guide--
edited by phredgreen to reflect current server