What is IRC?
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a virtual meeting place where people from all over the world can meet and talk; you'll find the whole diversity of human interests, ideas, and issues here, and you'll be able to participate in group discussions on one of the many thousands of IRC channels, on hundreds of IRC networks, or just talk in private to family or friends, wherever they are in the world. IRC is great fun and you'll sure meet lots of interesting people and find nice spots to hang out! But, IRC is not something that you should just jump into without first reading up on it. You could feel very lost if you do not know some basic commands before you enter IRC. A list of commands is available in this tutorial and it is recommend that you print out that page until you are familiar with the commands till you no longer need the printout. You need an IRC client now to connect to an IRC server, and give IRC a try. There are several clients available. Which program (client) you need depends on what Operating System you use. mIRC is an IRC client developed for Windows. When you use UNIX, DOS, OS/2, or a Macintosh you will need some other client.

What is mIRC?
To use IRC you need a small program like mIRC, an IRC client for Microsoft Windows. mIRC is a friendly IRC client that is well equipped with options and tools. mIRC is shareware, which means that you can download mIRC and try it out freely for 30 days to evaluate it. If during, or at the end of, the evaluation period you decide that you would like to continue using mIRC, you must register your copy. You can still use mIRC after 30 without registering.

Getting Started
Unlike the World-Wide Web, which first-time users can pick up quickly, Internet Relay Chat may seem difficult the first time you log on. Once you've mastered a few basic commands, however, IRC becomes very easy to use.

Logging on.
Just like you need a Web browser like Netscape or MS Internet Explorer to use the World Wide Web, you need an IRC client to connect to an IRC server. Once you have downloaded and installed an IRC client you can log on to some IRC server and talk away.

STEP ONE: Download mIRC

mIRC is distributed in a self-extracting cabinet; a small program that will unzip and install mIRC on your PC. You don't need any external programs to install and setup mIRC on your PC, just follow the instructions below.

In these instructions we assume you are using Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, NT or newer. In the unlikely event you are using a very old version of Windows, like Windows 3.1, 3.11, or Windows for Workgroups, an older 16 bit version of mIRC is available. This file is named mirc591s.exe

Now you're ready to download the mirc *.** (where *.** equals the latest version) cabinet from one of the addresses on the list of download sites and save it to your hard disk.

To download a file and save it to your harddisk instead of viewing it, click on the link to the file while holding the SHIFT key on your keyboard down. In several web-browsers (IE, Netscape, Mozilla) you can also right-click on the link and select 'Save this link as...' from the popup menu that will show. When your web-browser asks where to place the file, select a directory on your harddisk where you can find it back later.

Sometimes your web-browser will confront you with a warning message like: "Unknown File-type. No external viewer configured for this file. Do you want to configure a viewer now OR save file to disk ?" In these cases select "Save file to disk".

Also Internet Explorer will warn you how 'some files can harm your computer if it contains malicious code'. That of course is true, but mIRC does not contain such malicious code.

STEP TWO: Installing mIRC
Once you have downloaded mIRC, you are ready to install it. During the install procedure mIRC's files will be automatically extracted from the cabinet and all necessary steps for starting mIRC will be taken. If you're upgrading an older version of mIRC you will be able to keep all your old settings.

Open the Windows File Manager or Explorer with which you can see what files are found on your PC's hardisk. You can find its icon in the 'Start' menu, under 'Programs'. Locate the mIRCfolder which you just downloaded and saved to your harddisk. It is named mirc***.exe (where *** equals the latest version)To start the installation process just double click on the cabinet. The installation program will be started automatically.

• Determine the place on your harddisk where you want mIRC to be installed. Normally the proposed c:\program files\mirc will do fine. Upgraders just browse to the directory where their current mIRC version is found and select that as destination directory.
• If you want the installer to keep backup copies of all eventual older files, keep the "Make backups" option selected.
• If you want the installer to add a mIRC program group to windows and set up the mIRC icons, keep the "Add icons" option selected.

Select 'OK' and you're done! The installer will take care of all the work.

STEP THREE: Setting up mIRC
Now that mIRC is installed on your PC and the program group and mIRC icon are available in the program manager, this is what is required to set it up: First make sure you have an active connection to Internet. Normally you just have to start up the modem connection to your Internet provider to do so. Connecting to the Internet varies from ISP to ISP so refer to your ISP's help guides.

To anticipate any problems in the future always first start your modem and then mIRC. Double click the icon shortcut) to start up mIRC. mIRC will start and show the Options Dialog and require you to fill in some information: In the mIRC Options dialog (as above) you see an options tree structure. You can expand a branch of the tree (a Category) by selecting an item (Connect, IRC, Sounds,..) and clicking on the little 'plus' sign. A list of sub-items will unfold. At first only the main 'Connect' menu item seen above, has to be filled in. Select this item and enter the following information in the fields;

• Real Name: Your real name (ie, Tjerk Vonck)
• E-Mail: Your email address (ie, tjerk@mirc.com)
• Nick Name: A one to nine character alias to use on the chat system (ie,Kreet)
• Alternate: If someone else is already using the Nick Name you you've chosen on IRC

Once this is all set, click on the OK button to close the mIRC Options Dialog, Or press the large "Connect to Server" button in the Connect menu. mIRC is now set up and totally ready to use.

STEP FOUR: Using mIRC

Click on the File menu and select Connect to connect to IRC. Or select the lightning button in the Toolbar for the same effect, or use the large "Connect to Server" button mentioned above. After a short wait (up to 20 seconds)you will see some meaningless blurb appear in the status window. It is possible it takes a while for the connection to establish. Or mIRC has to retry a few servers and/or networks. Don't worry, sit back and relax - in the end it will work! When you join a channel, a new window will appear on your screen. The names on the right side column are those people who are currently joined in the channel. The left hand window is where everyone's conversation takes place. To say things to the people joined to the channel, just type your comments in the single row box at the bottom of the channel's window. To leave a channel, just double click on the close box, which is located at the top-left hand corner of the channel name's window.

HOW TO JOIN #POCKETMONSTERS IRC CHANNEL Highlight the server tab in mIRC options, (mIRC Taskbar, Tools, Options, Connect, Server), click add. Fill in the following:

• Description: #PocketMonsters
• IRC Server: irc.pocketmonsters.net

Click Add and the server list will now have the Pocketmosnters server which hosts channel #PocketMonsters highlighted. Click Connect to Server and it will connect to the Pocketmonsters server. Once it has connected to the server, at the bottom of the mIRC program will be a textbox where you type commands and chat text. If the nickname you have chosen is already being used by another person, you will be prompted to change your nickname before you can connect to the server. Only one person can have the same nickname.

HOW TO REGISTER YOUR NICKNAME

Once you have joined the server next thing you need to do is register your nickname that you have chosen with the nickserv. NickServ is a service that allows you to register and maintain your nickname. In the textbox below type:

/msg nickserv register password email@email.com

Where password is the password you have chosen and where email@email.com is your valid email address. IE: /msg nickserv register pocketmonsters pocketmonsters@pocketmonsters.net Remember your password because you will be prompted to enter it every time you reconnect to the IRC server. Password protecting your nick makes it so that others cannot use your nickname.

Type the command /join #pocketmonsters and within a few seconds you will be in the chatroom and ready to talk.

PLEASE NOTE: #Pocketmonsters chat is Moderated and follows strict guidelines. Please read the following rules and regulations before chatting.

Basic IRC 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.

Commands	Description
/JOIN # channelname	Joins the specified channel where 'channelname' refers to the channel that you wish to join. IE: /join #pocketmonsters
/ME does something	Performs an action on a channel. Unlike talking normally, actions include your nickname and then display what you have typed. Use /ME in the third person (verbs like 'is', 'does', 'runs', etc.). EG: /me is tired would display 'PocketMonsters is tired' instead of PocketMonsters; is tired, where 'is tired' is the actual normal chat conversation.
/MSG nickname message	Use the /MSG command to send someone a private message that only that person can read. It will open a separate window on the persons IRC client that you messaged and will open a window on your IRC client when the persons responds. Say you are 'PocketMonsters' and you want to talk to your friend 'Pikachu'. IE: /MSG Pikachu hello, how are you?
/SERVER servername	The server command connects to a IRC server that hosts IRC channels. IE: /server irc.pocketmonsters.net
/NICK nickname	Change the nickname by which you are currently known. Nicknames are usually limited to 9 characters, but some IRC servers allow longer nicknames. IE, if your default nick was 'PocketMonsters' and you want to change it to 'Pikachu': /NICK Pikachu NOTE: If you like the nickname that you have and do not want anyone else to use it, it is important that you register with the nickserv (think of it as a list of nicknames).
/quit [reason]	Disconnect you from IRC with the optional message.
/topic {#channel}	Displays the current topic of the channel. Usually lists current releases. IE: /topic #pocketmonsters