Using the ChatRoom.

[Yorick]

The easiest way to connect to the chatroom, which I'm sure many people will use, is simply going to be clicking the various "Live Chat" buttons that are around the site and forums. We're going to talk about a more difficult way.

About mIRC
mIRC is a pretty versitale and free chat program. It has servers all over the world and is used by quite a few different websites. So if you don't have it yet, you definitely will be able to find many uses for it.

You can download it from www.mirc.com. So go do that, then install it, and I'll be here when you get back.

Using mIRC
Once you have mIRC installed, you can open it up. It'll give you channels and servers and options. Don't be overwhelmed. Just close all of it. You should only have a status window.

Click the little button that looks like a hammer and we'll set your name.



So, enter in basically anything you want. Your name can be mud for all I care. Likewise, I don't think a working email is necessary. Nickname is how you'll be displayed, and alternative is if someone else has your nickname.

Press okay. Then open the status window.

Connecting to the server

Because we ignored the step where you choose a server (oops) we're going to do it manually. Also because the server we use isn't listed, for some reason that I don't know. So in the status window, type in: "/server irc.edgeirc.net" and click enter.



See that little button up in the top corner? It looks like a lightning bolt. If you didn't auto-connect, you'll click that to connect to the server.

Several lines will come up in the status window, and that's okay. You'll also get a popup of "Channel Favorites". Close that.

Joining a chat room, or "channel"
Once you're connected to a server, in this case, the EdgeIRC server. The first way we'll be doing this is manually. In your status window again, you're going to type "/join #totalcry", and that's our channel. Say hi to me.

The other way you can join a channel, which can be quite useful when you're new to a server, is you can type "/list" in the status window, and it will list all of the channels on that server.

FAQ
Q. mIRC keeps saying my trial will expire! What do I do?!
A. mIRC is like Winzip. It will say that until it turns blue in the face. Just ignore it.

Q. Can I connect to multiple servers?
A. Absolutely. Remember when we typed in "/server irc.edgeirc.net" to connect to this server? If you type "/server -m [IRCAddress]" you can connect to a second, third, or eleventh server.

Q. What is the @ next to your name?
A. The @ on someone's name means they are an "Op" or Operator. An Operator is someone who has registered and 'controls' the channel. They can change the topic, kick, or even ban users.

The + stands for "voice" and that is actually not important. It means that the Op can "moderate" the channel so that only people with @ and + can talk.

Q. How do I become an @ or +?
A. Each channel will set those rules on its own. For our channel, #TotalCry, only moderators and administrators of the forum and site will be @'s. If you join a channel that isn't registered, you will automatically become an Op. In many cases, you need your name to be registered to be an @ as well.

Q. How do I register my name?
A. This also changes between servers, but most servers use "Chanserv" to take care of Channel Registration and Nickserv to take care of Nickname Registration. If you type, "/nickserv help" or "/chanserv help" they'll give you a list of commands you can use.

Q. How do I turn on sounds?
A. If you open up the options window again and click "Sounds" there is an option that says "Beep on channel message", if you active that that, you'll hear a sound everytime someone speaks. After you turn it on you'll have to reboot mIRC.

Q. What other commands can I use?
A. "/nick [NICK]" will change your nickname.

Q. What about the Web-Based Chat?
A. In the web-based chat you can use most of the commands. I'm not sure about being on being in multiple servers, but you can be on multiple channels, change your nickname, and more!

WrapUp
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me! Please post in the topic rather than send me a Private Message, because others may have similar issues.

[OldMack]

Oh man ... That is really amazing!!! Very good job ... Congrats! This was a really really nice feature added to TotalCRY site.