How To Use IRC
In general, IRC allows people to chat to each other in various channels similar to America Online's chat rooms. However, unlike AOL, an unlimited number of people can be in a single channel to chat at the same time. IRC works by using a client and server technology. You download a chat client, which connects to the server. The server relays your messages from one person to another, or to everyone in the channel.
IRC has over a dozen different chat networks, which can be compared to the differences between MSN and AOL. The oldest and most pupular network is EF-net, followed probably by Undernet. Each network contains dozens of servers and thousands of users. Because of the popularity of these networks and the great difficulty in connecting to them, members of STARFLEET decided to form their own IRC network called FleetChat.
FleetChat.org is not officially sanctioned by STARFLEET, though it is owned and maintained by Fleet members. Even though Fleet benefits from their kind generosity, Fleet itself has no control over it. As a result, any problems that occur there are beyond the control of STARFLEET or Region 2. You must contact the FleetChat network administrators directly. This includes technical problems when accessing the network as well as personal problems that may result from interacting with others. What goes on there should be viewed with the same caution that you'd reserve for any other internet related activity.
Except for the Sunday night R2 chats, there probably won't be many people in the #sfi-r2 channel. However, a very few people may drift in during the evenings. The main #starfleet channel will more than likely have a few people in there at all times. Don't be discouraged if people don't chat with you directly since they may be busy with other things while online.
The easiest way to connect to IRC is via the AJAX based chat client here on the Region Two website. All you need is a recent web browser, such as Internet Exporer, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera. Just type in a name to use, you'll automatically be added to the #sfi-r2 channel It's just that easy! We'll handle the rest.
But if you don't want to take the easy route, you can download your own personal IRC client. There are many different ones available, though the most popular by far is mIRC. Make sure you download the version that is best suited to your needs.
While each chat client varies in use, most of them support the basic IRC commands. The first obstacle to cross is to connect to the FleetChat IRC network that STARFLEET uses. The commands to do that are listed below. Just type them in on the command line, which is usually a thin, line box at the bottom of the Status window. Just click in it, and start typing. To activate them, press the ENTER (or RETURN) key. To connect to one of Fleet's IRC servers, type one of the following lines:
/server songahm.fleetchat.org
/server greatlakes.fleetchat.org
/server irc.fleetchat.org
Once connected, you should see the message of the day displayed. At this point, you need to join Region 2's channel by typing the following in the thin, command line box at the bottom of the status window:
/join #sfi-r2
If you'd like to join STARFLEET's channel as well, type the following:
/join #starfleet
To type a message to the channel, click on the channel window. (You should see the name of the channel in the title bar at the top of the small window.) The top main portion of this window is where anything said in the channel appears. Just below that is a thin command line box is where you type what you want to say. This form of chatting is similar to the public AOL chat rooms or the group buddy chat feature. Just click in that area, type your message, and press the ENTER key. What other people say, and your messages are displayed in the larger area above where you type like this:
Hi folks. Occasionally, you will see someone perform an action that looks like this:
JohnDoe waves hello to everyone.
To perform this and similar actions, type the following:
/me waves hello
To send a private message to someone, type the following:
/msg nickname Your Message.
Private messages to you should appear in your window looking like this:
*nickname* Some sort of message.
Depending on your settings, a separate window may be opened. In that case, typing directly in that window's command line box will send it to that person without having to type the "/msg nickname" command. You can also use /query instead of /msg. This feature is similar to the AOL and AIM Instant Messages and to the ICQ chat feature.
When you're finished talking and want to leave. You can disconnect from the IRC network with a specific message by typing the following:
/quit Goodbye.
These commands should work across all the various IRC chat clients, like mIRC, pIRCh, IRCle, etc. If you have any further questions, please consult the Help files that come with your chat client. On AOL, go to keyword IRC.