Internet Relay Chat FAQ
All your internet relay chat (IRC) questions answered.
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What is IRC?
IRC stands for 'Internet Relay Chat'. It was originally written by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988 and is now used in over 60 countries around the world. IRC is a multi-user chat system, where people meet on Channels (chat rooms) to talk in groups, or privately - usually with a certain topic of conversation. There is no restriction to the number of people that can participate in a given discussion, or the number of channels that can be formed on IRC.
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How do I change my nickname?
Simply type /nick newnick. For example, /nick teadrinker will change your nickname to teadrinker.
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How do I find my friend on IRC?
Type in:
/whois nickname
Information about your friend and the channel they are in will appear in your status box (as long as they are logged in and have not set their personal mode to invisible). You could also send them a message by typing:
/msg nickname <enter message>
For example
/msg teadrinker what channel are you on teadrinker??
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Can I chat with a person on a different network?
No. Each of the networks is totally independent and separate and cannot talk to one another. So if you're connected to DALnet you will not be able to chat to someone on EFnet.
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Can I chat with a person on a different server?
Yes, as long as you are both on the same network, you will be able to chat to each other. Each network is composed of several servers, all connected to each other. All servers share the same information, and communicate with each other constantly.
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What is Lag?
Lag is the delay in time it takes for your signal to reach another user; anything more than 10 seconds will cause difficulties in communications. Minimise lag by choosing a server that is geographically close to you. You can check your lag time by using a Ping command (/ctp nickname ping), where the nickname can be your name or another user. The ping response time will be in seconds and will appear in the status window.
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What is a Netsplit?
A netsplit is the loss of communication between servers on a Network, which may be due to high server loads, loss of Internet communication links or a total or partial crash of the server itself. When a netsplit happens, large numbers of users will appear to leave the channel simultaneously. However, communications should eventually be re-established and all the users who were on the channel will be returned.
