Quake || Connection || Irc || Net Speak
Introduction IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a system of servers which allow people to connect and join various chat channels to talk. Most clan members will get to know how to use it because match organisers use it to announce server ips, etc. Also, a lot of clans hang out in their own personal talk channels. The program isn't too difficult to use but can be confusing to begin with so here's a step-by-step guide to get in there :).
Basic Irc Usage 1. Mirc The irc program most people use is Mirc. Download it here. 2. Setup After installation Mirc will reside in your C:\Mirc directory. It generally places a shortcut on your desktop so click it. Click the X on the About box and up pops the options box. It's here that you enter the server details to connect to. UK users are best off using the Quakenet server. Simply click "Add" and up pops another window. Description and Irc server are the only things to concern yourself with. The port is always 6667. Enter Quakenet as the description and irc.quakenet.org as the server. Next type in your Quake nick in the fullname and nickname boxes, and an e-mail address in the appropriate box. 3. Connection That's all the setup you need, now click Connect to Irc Server and it should connect rapidly. You will find yourself in a text window called Status. From here you can query channels to see their topics or see who's in them. You also use this window to join new channels. 4. Simple Commands The main command you use is /join #channelname. Note that all channels begin with a #. So, for example I would type /join #clanmkc to get to my clan's channel. Another useful command is /who #channelname. This command brings up a list of the people in the selected channel. This can be useful if you're being nosy or to check whether it's worth going in a channel. Another nosy command is /topic #channelname. This shows you the current topic in a channel. That's about all you really need from the status window. Now join a channel. 5. In a Channel
The above shot shows me in my clan's channel, very lonely :(. One thing that confuses a lot of people is @Q. Q isn't a person, it's a kind of artificial person who stays in the channel at all times to keep it open. Without Q the channel would have to be created from fresh every time and you'd have to reset everything, like the topic, the welcome message and the authorisations. Above you can see the topic and welcome message. The XC MP3 is an add-on I use that let's me play MP3's and displays their name for other people in the channel to see. On a basic level, that's all you need to know. You type messages at the bottom and they appear for every other person to see. There's very little delay and it provides an excellent forum for discussion. To leave either shut down Mirc or type /quit.
Advanced Irc Usage 6. Getting your Own Channel You can create a channel of any name you like and people can join it. There is no limit on this, except channels cannot contain forbidden words. However, clans need permanent channels, which are open and ready to enter at any time. All you need is to be a clan and you should have a website or somehow be able to prove you are a clan. The next requirement is that you have four people in your channel. So, create the channel with the name you want. Tell the other three to join but don't give them ops. If it is a channel you have just created you will have the @ in front of your name. However you must also be auth'ed. To auth for the first time do as follows: 1. Type /msg Q hello. Q will give you a username and password. 2. Type /msg Q auth username password. You will be told if you have auth'ed successfully. Now join channel #feds. Politely ask someone in there to give you a "Q". The topic usually contains a stock phrase which you must copy. It's a very busy channel and if you annoy them by ignoring this rule they may just ignore you. Also, if no one responds don't spam the message, just wait a couple of minutes before repeating. They will eventually respond. They check your site etc and will then hopefully give you a Q. You will be made the owner, which gives you the highest level of authorisation. I'll come on to authorisation next. That's it you own a channel. 7. Op Status Notice in the above picture I have a @ before my name. This means that I am "op'ed". If someone comes into the channel I can kick them out (using the /kick <user> command). I can also ban them. Op'ed users can also change the topic (using the /settopic #channelname <topic> command) or the welcome message (/welcome command). Each channel has a list of users which details their privileges (read about this in the next section). Q will automatically op someone if that person has identified themselves to Q. This means that they must have auth'ed. See the previous section for how to auth yourself. As the moderator of the channel you will want to tell Q to op certain people, namely the members of your clan. Talk them through getting auth'ed and adding the commands to their perform options in the menu File/Options/IRC/Perfom. Next you type /msg Q chanlev #channelname Fred +aov Fred now has auto-ops and only needs to auth himself to be op'ed by Q. Notice above that Q op'ed me without me asking. In my Mirc Options (Connect/Perform Section) I have the following commands listed: /j #clanmkc - When I connect to the server Mirc automatically joins #clanmkc for me. Once op'ed for the first time you type: /msg Q hello. Q will then give you a password to use in future to op yourself. However, Q won't op you unless the channel owner gives you auto-ops. For a list of the commands available after being op'ed type /msg Q showcommands. 7. Managing Auto-Ops Each channel has a list of authorised users. Once op'ed you can obtain the list by typing /msg Q chanlev #channelname. This will display a list of all op privileges in the channel and the level of authority that people have. The flags are as follows: +a - This means that if you have auth'ed Q will op or voice you What does this mean though. Essentially you want clan members to have flags +aov. This means that Q will op them and they can change the topic and kick people, etc. /msg Q chanlev #channelname Fred +aov That's the command you will use most often. A common thing in channels is for frequent visitors or "friends" of the channel to have voice if they aren't a member. This is like the next stage down from ops. The only power it gives is that if you set the channel mode to +m then only the ops and voiced people can be heard. Other people in the channel won't be able to speak. Giving voice to users isn't necessary but it's a nice gesture. Finally there are moderators. This should be people you trust to be responsible as they will be able to add and remove people from the list. Do the same as above but type +aovm as the flags. To remove flags you use a minus sign. Supposing someone has left the clan but still comes in. Use the /msg Q chanlev #channelname command to check what status they have. If it is +aov and you only want them to have voice then type /msg Q chanlev #channelname Fred -o. It's as simple as that. To remove them completely then remove all flags -aov. That's all there is to sorting out auto-ops. One thing to note is that a user can de-op anyone with less than or the same level of access. So your +aovm moderators cannot remove your ops if you are the owner +aovmn but can remove each others. 8. Safety / Protection I've told you everything you really need, however there are some things to consider. One problem of being in a channel is that unscrupulous people can see your ip, your location on the internet. Without sufficient defences on your part you can in theory be attacked or hacked. This is extremely unlikely unless you make enemies so be nice :). To protect yourself I recommend Zonalarm, linked in my resources section. This is an effective firewall and 999 times out of 1000 you'll be safe :). Also, if you have ops don't op people if you aren't certain who they are. Just because they are named whatever means nothing. Right click their name and click Whois. This will bring up information in the Status window including their ident which is an identifier for every user that doesn't change no matter what your nick. A responsible Channel Operator will have a list of these idents and only op after checking. Otherwise, someone could come in, ask to be op'ed then kick ban you out and change your messages, etc. Rare but it does happen. It is possible to fake your ident but people usually give themselves away when questioned. Another thing to consider, which isn't pleasant, is that unscrupulous clans may try to get your ips before a match and then ping you while you're playing to cause you connection problems. Again, it's almost unheard of but it can and has happened. If playing a dodgy clan, perhaps consider reconnecting after leaving the channel. 9. Timestamping One useful option to switch on is timestamping. See in the pic above how all the lines begin with a time. This is useful to see how long ago someone joined or said something. To switch it on go to File/Options/Irc/Messages and tick Timestamping. This pages also lets you set a quit message to be displayed, funnily enough, when you leave. Mine's set to pimp this site :). 10. Logging The only other command you may be interested in is Logging in the same options section. This creates huge text files which you can review offline to try to pick up sly insults or something :). I have logging selected but never review the files. There are some issues with logging though. There was a case a few months ago of an irc user who hacked another's computer and read his irc logs to get private passwords to gain access to a clan's website and then he could edit it. Rare, but just remember that everything said will be logged if you have this switched on. 11. Common Channels #quake2.uk, #quake3.uk, #ukcclq2, etc. To get a full list (which is massive) click the List Channels button and then Get List. Some channels can be friendly, others not so friendly. Try not to be offended by some of the people you find in these channels. Major clan channels include: #unreal, #academy (SS), #hood, #clandr, and so on. 12. Shortcuts / Aliases If someone types the name of a channel in the main screen you can double-click it to join it. The same goes for urls, people can click them to bring up IE. v) Aliases: It's possible to set up shortcut commands to display text automatically. You can edit/create them in the Tools/Aliases menu. Here's an example /reva /nick REV|AWAY From the main window I can simply type /revm to change my nick. Note that it's polite to change your nick if you aren't reading what's going on in the channel. This stops people wasting their time trying to speak to you. Another example would be a phrase. For example: /alias /pimp /say >>> www.revilla.nildram.co.uk <<< CLICK ME So I can just type /pimp for the above message to be displayed. Very Easy. 13. File-Sharing It's possible to send people files through IRC. Simply right-click their name. Select DCC, then send and pick the file to send them. We often use this to pass demos about after matches. 14. UCentral Right-clicking a user and using the UCentral command gives you some useful information about a user, including the length of time they've been idle, and the other channels they're in at the time. 15. Highlighted / Coloured Text This can be annoying but occasional use can be effective. To put something in bold simply use Ctrl-B before the text and then after it. You can also use Ctrl-U to underline.
To use colour simply press Ctrl-K and a little box will pop up showing colour codes. Type a number then continue typing. The text will appear in that colour. You can also change the background colour by typing a ",". See below.
Bringing in the section on aliases here's how to make a simple and extremely annoying banner:
Hehe!
That's it. Hope this guide was useful. If I've missed anything or made any mistakes please contact me or find me in #clanmkc perhaps :).
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Contact Information - E-Mail: REViLLA, ICQ: 21345065 Site Created on 1 January 2000. All Content, Design and Graphics by REViLLA.
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