Using a TCP/IP connection
to the Internet.
identity on the chat service you log onto. Some chat sites don’t have this facility,
so you don’t have to worry about it there. Others like TalkCity ( href="http://www.talkcity.com">www.talkcity.com) offer free nickname registration.
Upon registration you get a password and some of them even offer free Web space.
which you have registered yourself. Enter your nickname and password and hit the
"connect" button. The chat site verifies your identity and logs you in.
—max 25 to list only channels with less than 25 or more than 25 users.
interesting to you. In case you are using a graphical chat client you can double click on
a channel name to join it.
the people in the channel. Whatever you type will be visible to all users logged in. Go on
say "Hi" to people, introduce yourself and start chatting! You can also chat
privately by typing /msg
just double click on the nickname you need to chat privately with.
useful IRC commands
that nick.
channel name" is unique, and you have your own channel and are its channel operator.
the help section of your chat client.
Using a shell account
In case you use a shell account, things are a bit
different. Most ISPs provide a default chat server that you can connect to, for example,
VSNL’s default is Talkcity.
To chat from a shell account do the following:
Here
service and NOT your VSNL login name. Port number by default is 6667.
chat client and press "enter". Public messages are visible to everyone on the
channel.
/msg nickname, you can also type "/query
your subsequent messages to the specified nick. Issue a /query without any parameters to
end a private chat session.
There is one disadvantage of using IRC on a shell account.
Any user on IRC can do a /whois of your nickname and find out your ISP login name and even
your IP address. To prevent this type in the following commands at the Unix shell prompt:
After doing this, log on as explained above. Now when
someone does a /whois of your nickname, he/she will see "It’s a secret"
instead of your login name.