Connecting To IRC

There are several ways to connect to IRC. The most common is to use an IRC client. In order to use an IRC client you need to download it, install it and connect to the network of your choice. This can present problems in some circumstances, such as when you're at work so can't install software, or if you're behind a firewall that doesn't allow connections on the IRC ports. CGI::IRC clients are web based irc clients which can be run in a standard browser window. If you can't install a normal client it's worth giving them a go.

Once you've got a client the exact procedure to connect to an IRC network is slightly different for each one. Most installable clients will ask you for information/basic settings when you first start them up. After this they may invite you to choose a network to join, or may present you with a basic IRC window, so you can input commands. In most popular IRC clients:

/server irc.server.name

Will connect you to a server. If you're using a CGI::IRC instead then you may be prompted to put in a server when you're starting it up, otherwise the above line will probably work as well.

To join the Planetarion IRC server, type:

/server irc.netgamers.org

Once you're connected to IRC you'll probably want to login to channel services, set some user flags and join some channels.