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IRC
Page history last edited by Er Qi Yang 6 mos ago
Guide to using IRC for help and support
Author: Qiyang
One big advantage of using open source software(oss) is that help is almost always readily available online. One of the many ways you can gain access to help is from its online chatroom in Internet Relay Chat(IRC).
This guide below covers some additional topic that would help guide you along in using IRC to get help.
| Installing IRC client |
| 1. |
Installing an IRC client is easy. Whether you are a Linux user or Windows user.
For Windows user, you can follow this link to download and install a free open source client.
http://www.xchat.org/download/
For Linux user, you can follow the above link too. However, there is a much simpler way (assuming you are using a newer release of Linux).
Launch the Add/Remove Software tool.
For Fedora user, it would be located in System>Administration>Add/Remove Software
For Ubuntu user, it would be located in Applications>Add/Remove Software
Search for the term xchat.
Click on the checkbox and click apply button. It will automatically download and install your IRC client.
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| 2. |
After you had install it, you can then launch it.
For Windows user, look for it under Start > Applications > [Fill in the blank please? I am not a Windows user!!]
For Linux user, look for it under Applications > Internet > IRC
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| Connecting to IRC server |
| 1. |
Now that you have an IRC client installed, we would need to connect it to a IRC server.
When you launch xchat, you will be prompted to enter some data on a screen.
Select your Nick name. Other people will recognise you by this nick name.
In case it has already been taken, enter your Second choice and Third choice.
Under Networks, select FreeNode. "Freenode provides discussion facilities for the Free and Open Source Software communities, for not-for-profit organizations and for related communities and organizations."[source: http://freenode.net/]
Click on the Connect button.
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| 2. |
After connecting to the FreeNode network, you are now able to join any channel on the network. Many open source projects have channels on the network to provide community support and help.
Some of them includes :
Fedora:
#fedora - IRC support channel for Fedora Core operating system
#Fedora-EOL - IRC support channel for Fedora Core operating system that have reach End of Life
Ubuntu:
#ubuntu - IRC support channel for Ubuntu operating system
You can join a channel by using the following command:
/join <channel>
Example:
/join #fedora
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| 3. |
Follow the channel rules!
Many of the channels have rules that you have to abide by. Examples of such rules can be found on the websites, such as Fedora's, and Ubuntu's. Most of the channel will post a link to their website on the channel's title.
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| Registering your nick(optional) |
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This step is really unnecessary. Unless, of course, you are a regular contributor, and people on the channel knows you by the nick name, then, you may really want to consider registering your nick.
By registering your nick, you are able to protect your nick from being used by other people. It does not mean that other people are not allowed to use your nick, but it means that if someone else is using it, you can stop the person from using your nick. Of course, there are ways to stop people from using it completely, as will be discussed.
Note: The below instructions are applicable only to FreeNode network. While it might work in other network, it has not been tested before.
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| 2. |
Choosing a nick.
Choose a nick name that has yet to be registered.
If a nick has been registered, you will see a message from NickServ.
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This nickname is registered. Please choose a different nickname, or identify via /msg NickServ identify <password>. |
You can change your nick name with the following command:
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| 3. |
Registering the nick.
Once you have select your nickname, you can register it.
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/msg NickServ REGISTER <password> <email> |
Once you register it, you will receive an email with a command to execute to verify your nick.
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| 4. |
Identifying yourself.
Everytime you connect to IRC, you can identify yourself by using the following command
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/msg NickServ IDENTIFY <password> |
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| 5. |
Reclaiming your nick.
If somebody else is using your nick and you cannot use it, you can reclaim your nick with the following command
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/msg NickServ GHOST <nick> <password> |
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| 6. |
More help with your nick.
To get more help with your nick, you can use the following command to see what are the available command, and what they do.
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IRC
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