IRC FAQ - The Basics

What is IRC, and how does it work?

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) provides a way of communicating in real time with people from all over the world. It consists of various separate networks (or "nets") of IRC servers, machines that allow users to connect to IRC. The largest nets are EFnet (the original IRC net, often having more than 32,000 people at once), Undernet, IRCnet, DALnet, and NewNet.

Generally, the user (such as you) runs a program (called a "client") to connect to a server on one of the IRC nets. The server relays information to and from other servers on the same net. Recommended clients:

* UNIX/shell: ircII
* Windows: mIRC
* Macintosh clients

Be sure to read the documentation for your client!

Once connected to an IRC server on an IRC network, you will usually join one or more "channels" and converse with others there. On EFnet, there often are more than 12,000 channels, each devoted to a different topic. Conversations may be public (where everyone in a channel can see what you type) or private (messages between only two people, who may or may not be on the same channel). IRC is not a "game", and I highly recommend you treat people you meet on IRC with the same courtesy as if you were talking in person or on the phone, or there may be serious consequences.

Some Details

Channel names usually begin with a #, as in #irchelp . The same channels are shared among all IRC servers on the same net, so you do not have to be on the same IRC server as your friends. (There are also channels with names beginning with a & instead of a #. These channels are not shared by all servers on the net but exist locally on that server only.)

Each user is known on IRC by a "nick", such as smartgal or FunGuy. To avoid conflicts with other users, it is best to use a nick that is not too common, e.g., "john" is a poor choice. On some nets, nicks do not belong to anyone, nor do channels. This can lead to conflict, so, if you feel strongly about ownership of such things, you may prefer networks with "services" like Undernet, DALnet, or other smaller networks.

Channels are run by channel operators, or just "ops" for short, who can control the channel by choosing who may join (by "banning" some users), who must leave (by "kicking" them out), and even who may speak (by making the channel "moderated")! Channel ops have complete control over their channel, and their decisions are final. If you are banned from a channel, send a /msg to a channel op and ask nicely to be let in (see the /who command in the next section to learn how to find ops). If they ignore you or /who gives no response because the channel is in secret mode ( s), just go somewhere else where you are more welcome.

IRC servers are run by IRC admins and by IRC operators, or "IRC ops". IRC ops manage the servers themselves and, on EFnet and many other networks, do not get involved in personal disputes, channel takeovers, restoring lost ops, etc. They are not "IRC cops."

Talking, and entering commands

Commands and text are typed in the same place. By default, commands begin with the character / . If you have a graphical client such as mIRC for Windows, many commands can be executed by clicking on icons with the mouse pointer. It is, however, highly recommended that you learn to type in the basic IRC commands first. When entering commands, pay close attention to spacing and capitalization. The basic commands work on all the good clients.

Some examples are given below. In these, suppose your nick is "yournick", and that you are on the channel #bolerooffire.

Your friend "MaryN" is in #bolerooffire with you, and your friend "Tomm" is on IRC but is not on a channel with you. You can apply these examples in general by substituting the relevant nick or channel names.

What you type
What happens

/join #bolerooffire
You join the channel #bolerooffire.

/who #bolerooffire
Gives some info on users in the channel.
@ = channel op, while * means IRC op.

hello everyone
Everyone on #bolerooffire sees hello everyone. (You need not type in your own nick.)

/me is waiting for another upgrade.
Everyone in #bolerooffire sees * yournick is waiting for another upgrade.

/leave #bolerooffire
You leave the channel.

/whois Tomm
You get some info about Tomm or whatever nickname you entered.

/whois yournick
This is some info others see about you.

/nick newnick
Changes your nick to "newnick"

/msg Tomm hi there.
Only Tomm sees your message (you don't need to be on the same channel for this to work).

/ping #bolerooffire
Gives information on the delay (round-trip) between you and everybody on #bolerooffire.

/ping Tomm
Gives information on the delay (round-trip) between you and just Tomm.

/dcc chat MaryN
This sends MaryN a request for a dcc chat session. MaryN types /dcc chat yournick to complete the connection. DCC chat is faster (lag free) and more secure than /msg.

/msg =MaryN Hi there!
Once a DCC connection has been established, use the /msg =nick message format to exchange messages (note the = sign). DCC does not go through servers, so it are unaffected by server lag, net splits, etc.

/help
This works in many clients. Try it!

/quit good night!
You quit IRC completely, with the parting comment so that others see "*** Signoff: yournick (good night!)".

NOTE: When you are not in a named channel, lines not beginning with a / have no effect, and many commands work differently or fail to work altogether.

Other help sources:

IRC Primer
IRC FAQ
IRC Tutorial
mIRC Download & FAQ
MAC IRC Clients


Info above from The IRC Prelude