I've never connected to an IRC before... reddit / irc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thomyorkecantdance · 2017-02-06 00:30 I'd like to try it, but I've got some questions that I'd like answered first. What are all these different IRC networks? Like, freenode? What's that? Is there one standard place to go or.... yeah. I've heard that some IRC communities are pretty serious, and I'd hate to just drop in and be that one noob who has no idea what he's doing. Is there any etiquette I should be aware of? I'm pretty careful about my online footprint. Do I need to be worried about my IP address being shown to others? And if I decide to become a regular in any particular chatroom, is it O.K. to be anonymous? Or is that frowned upon? Finally, what are some essential tips and tricks I need to know? Lingo and slang? Reddit has Markdown; are there some universal ways to do things like italicise text, etc... Am I just overthinking this? Do I need to just jump into a chatroom and not worry about making a fool of myself? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- yunocchi · 2017-02-06 00:37 Welcome to IRC! To answer your questions (in order): 1. IRC itself is comprised of several IRC networks, such as freenode, Snoonet, Efnet, Rizon, DALnet, etc. all with their own collection of channels and themes to add their own personal touch. 2. You shouldn't have any fears about being a first time user on IRC. I'm sure that if you mentioned this when joining, someone would be happy to help you get started in their community. 3. On certain networks, your IP address is masked by default. You can obtain, in most cases, a vhost (vanity host) to further mask your IP. All you need to do is register your nickname. 4. Many IRC channels are usually inhabited by English-speakers. You should be familiar with some common lingo (i.e. lol, lmao, rofl, ftw, smh, etc.). It is not designed to be used with text formatting, although some clients support/allow this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thomyorkecantdance · 2017-02-06 00:42 Hey, thanks! I think you've pretty much answered everything -- I was already sure I was going to try it, but I just needed a little bit of extra reassurance. I don't want to pollute somebody else's tight-knit community or anything. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- yunocchi · 2017-02-06 00:43 I wouldn't worry about it. There are plenty of tight-knit communities out there that would love to have your loyalty. To help you get started, I'd follow the sidebar and get connected to Snoonet -- Plenty of cool channels to explore there! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thomyorkecantdance · 2017-02-06 01:10 Very interesting experience. Couldn't decide for the longest time which channel to connect to, so I chose #programming. Immediately got noticed and called out (spooky), then invited to a private chat. Turns out people don't really talk in #programming, it's all sub(chats? channels? whatdya callems?). Then talk immediately turned to where I was from and how my weekend was. Very friendly, but I'm not an outgoing person so that was a bit weird. Oh, and when I said I'd be disconnecting, someone asked me to "leave your tip before you go" -- what does that mean? Overall, *very* friendly, and I'll be visiting more channels soon, once I get my breath back haha. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- aperson · 2017-02-06 02:07 Using formatted text in IRC is the devil. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- not_perfect_yet · 2017-02-06 06:58 >Am I just overthinking this? This. No signup, next to no nothing. No encryption either btw. Since it's basically a text based protocoll, there are text commands that work in every client like /join #channelname /connect network.net and /nick your_new_nick. >is it O.K. to be anonymous? If you mean whether people are frowning on you keeping secret that you are John Smith, then it's ok. All people have nicknames. [this](https://kiwiirc.com/) is a browser based client I use sometimes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- gaiusm · 2017-02-06 11:16 Don't sweat it, IRC isn't a courtroom. 1) IRC is just a protocol. You cannot connect to "IRC" as such. You connect to an IRC network, which is somewhat like a website you'd connect to in a browser. More specifically, you'd connect to a server (a network is comprised of one or more servers). There are a few common networks such as Snoonet, Freenode, etc. A good place to check out networks and their channels is http://irc.netsplit.de/. 2) Everyone was a newcomer to IRC at some point. If communities are deemed private, they'll put restrictions on the channel (password, invite-only, secret etc.). The mere fact you can enter a channel usually means you are welcome. When you come in, make sure you introduce yourself, and usually you'll be welcomed. 3) Yes, you should be worried about your IP address being shown to all. You can always /whois yourself (first line of response) to see how others will see your hostname. Let's try and give a small overview. *a) You are not using a VPN/BNC/proxy: some servers might cloak (mask) your ip address by default; other servers might cloak it whenever you register your username; other servers might cloak it only if you specifically ask for a vhost; some servers just won't cloak you at all. Depends on the configuration and policy of the network/server. Anyhow, the server/network and their admins will always be able to track your ip address. *b) You are using a VPN(virtual private network), BNC (bouncer: PSYBNC, ZNC, etc.) or other proxy: Regardless of cloaking policies on the network/server, it will at most only reveal the ip address of the proxy you are using. 4) As IRC has different implementations on both client and server level (google IRC clients and daemons to see how many...), and each has major or minor differences, it's difficult to give a list. I'll give it a shot anyways. Commands are preceded by a forward slash (/): * A channel on a server is usually an independent community. To a degree, the owners of a channel are the highest authority of a channel. Network and server admins will usually only step in whenever the channel is in breach with the network policies or real-world laws. * Ops/halfops are moderators of a particular channel. They have nothing to do with network/server admins (although incidentally they could be the same of course). * /join <#channel> : join a channel * /leave : leave the current channel, or you can usually * /whois : get useful information about a user (hostname, channels, etc.) * /msg : self-explanatory I think. This is a private message, usually in a separate chat window/tab (client-dependent) * Networks usually have some services running to help you with administrative tasks such as registering your nickname or channels. These are usually called 'NickServ', 'ChanServ', etc. You can /msg them like any other user, but you could also use pre-defined macros like /ns and /cs. If in doubt, /whois the nickname and see if it looks trustworthy. Usually, services will be connected to the network through a specialized server. * For a full list of help from a particular service, you can always do /msg nickserv help (or /ns help), or similarly to the appropriate service. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thomyorkecantdance · 2017-02-06 11:53 Thank you! I really appreciate the help. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thomyorkecantdance · 2017-02-06 11:55 I'll not do that then, although apparently you usually can't anyways. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2017-02-06 14:28 [removed] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mollested_skittles · 2017-02-06 19:21 Read freenode faq if you want to be anonymous from the start you need to join a specific channel after you register your nick to get a "hood" to hide your ip. Also not all networks are without encryption. You might also like some different client instread of the web one at some point so you can automatically type in commands like joining multiple servers and channels. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pantheonqw · 2017-02-08 18:31 Very informative. Thanks! How to change nickname though? Any link on irc commands you could potentially share? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- gaiusm · 2017-02-08 19:57 /nick :) I'd suggest you just googled for basic irc commands, or for commands specific to your client or network :) All networks usually also have a #help or #support channel. You can usually also: /list *help* to get a list of all channel names where the word help is included. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pantheonqw · 2017-02-08 21:18 Will surely check, thanks!