No idea how to use IRC? Absolutely lost and bewildered by the complexity of IRC? AustNet proudly presents a New User's Guide, aiming to give you peace of mind by offering simple solutions to get you connected in no time.
What is AustNet?AustNet is a multi-user, multi-channel chatting network. It allows people all over the internet to talk to one another in real-time. Each AustNet user has a nickname they use. All communication with another user is either by nickname or by the channel that they or you are on (A channel is a specific forum comprising of users).
- Each person has his own unique nickname
- A channel is a group of people talking
- There are thousands of channels and nicknames
How do I get on AustNet?In order to connect to AustNet, you must run a client. A client is a program that allows you to connect to AustNet servers. If you do not have a client, simply download the program matching your operating system from the table below. Once you have downloaded your client, you need to install it. Installation via Windows is done by opening either mIRC or Pirch. For Macintosh and Unix users, you will need to uncompress your downloaded files. Once you have successfully installed your IRC client, its time to advance to the next stage.
- You need a client to connect to AustNet
- A client is a program, like Internet Explorer, Eudora or Netscape, that resides on your computer
- You use your client to connect you to a server
| Name & Version | Size | Description |
| mirc511t.exe (Version 5.11) |
794 K | mIRC for Windows 95 |
| mirc511s.exe (Revision 5.11) |
708 K | mIRC for Windows 3.11 |
| pirch32s.exe (Version 0.92) |
1040 K | Pirch for Windows 95 |
| pirch16s.exe (Version 0.87) |
816 K | Pirch for Windows 3.11 |
Macintosh Clients
| Name & Version | Size | Description |
| ircle2.5fat.sit.bin (Version 2.5) |
402 K | ircle for Macintosh (Compatible with AustNet) |
| macirc.sit.hqx (Revision 5.02) |
316 K | MacIRC for Macintosh Users |
Unix Clients
| Name & Version | Size | Description |
|
ircii-2.9-roof.tar.gz (Version 2.9) |
517 K | ircII for Unix |
|
ircii-pana-72p1.tar.gz (Revision 7.2) |
1167 K | BitchX ircII for Unix |
How do I connect to an AustNet server?Now that you have your own IRC client, you need to connect your client to an official AustNet IRC server. Browse through the IRC servers listed in your client's server list, if you cannot find AustNet, see the comprehensive list of official AustNet servers. It is strongly recommended that the server you select is geographically located as close as possible to where you are situated. If all else fails, you can simply type the following commands to get you to an AustNet IRC server:
-
/server irc.austnet.org
This will connect you to an American AustNet server
-
/server au.austnet.org
This will connect you to an Australian AustNet server
-
/server ca.austnet.org
This will connect you to a Canadian AustNet server
-
/server eu.austnet.org
This will connect you to a European AustNet server
- You need to connect your client to an AustNet server
- If you are unsure, simply type: "/server irc.austnet.org" at your client prompt
- If you are further having difficulties with this, mail [email protected]
I'm connected! What now?Now that you have connected, you can join in the fun of chatting to other AustNet users. All IRC commands being with a "/" character. Anything that does not begin with a "/" character is assumed to be a message to someone and sent to your current channel.
The following commands are every-day IRC-life commands, that are essential for you to be successful move around AustNet. For extremely new users, it is recommend that you print them out and keep them beside you for future reference.
| Command | Description |
| /list | Lists AustNet channels, number of users and topic |
| /join #channel | Allows you to join in a conversation with other people who are also on the channel. If the channel did not already exist, it will be created and you will be in charge of it. |
| /part #channel | Will leave the channel that you specify. |
| /names #channel | Shows the nicknames of all users on the specified channel |
| /nick nickname | Change your nickname (limited by 15 characters) |
| /quit reason | Disconnects you from IRC, and leaves a reason |
| /whois nickname | Displays information on the specified nickname |
| /away reason | Leave a message explaining that you are not currently paying attention to IRC |
| /msg nickname message | Sends a message to another nickname |
| /invite nickname channel | Invites another user to a channel, if no channel is specified, your current channel is used. In this case, you have to be on a channel for this to work. |
| /topic channel | Changes the topic for your current channel |
| /mode channel mode |
Change the mode of the channel. Modes for channels are: m - make channel moderated s - make channel secret p - make channel private l is the maximum number of users allowed t - make channel topic limited o i - channel is invite only n - No MSGs to the channel are allowed (Message disabled) k - Password for a channel |
On AustNet, there are a lot of places where you can 'hang out' - those places are called channels. You can compare conversations on a channel to a conversation among a group of people : you see/hear everything that is said, and you can reply to anything that's said. What you type is received by everyone who's willing to listen - and everyone who is late will not hear what is said before unless repeated by one of the ones who were there (who said 'real life'). All channels on IRC have names. Channels begin with a '#' sign followed by some kind of text-string, like '#help' or '#newbies'. Usually, the name of the channel will indicate the type of conversation that's going on in there.
- All IRC commands begin with "/"
- To chat, simply /join #newbies and type what you wish to say
- Further help on IRC is available at http://www.austnet.org/support.html
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