667
edits
Changes
added nick registration link
[[Real World Mozilla]] > [[Real World Mozilla Day 1|Day 1]] > IRC Introduction
==Introduction==
===Choosing a nickname===
Probably you want to use something short and in lowercase. Most people use their name or some portion thereof, but you can choose anything. You can change your nick using the drop-down in the bottom-left corner of the ChatZilla window, or with the /nick command (e.g., /nick roger)
===Channels, joining and leaving===
* [irc://irc.mozilla.org/seneca #seneca] - Seneca's home on moznet (best place to start)
* [irc://irc.mozilla.org/firefox #firefox ] - For user and some developer help with Firefox or Thunderbird* [irc://irc.mozilla.org/extdev #extdev ] - For extension developers* [irc://irc.mozilla.org/calendar #calendar ] - Developers working on Mozilla's Calendar apps Lightening and Sunbird* [irc://irc.mozilla.org/js #js ] - For developers with Javascript questions* [irc://irc.mozilla.org/xul #xul ] - For developers with XUL questions* [irc://irc.mozilla.org/camino #camino ] - For Camino developers* [irc://irc.mozilla.org/accessibility #accessibility ] - For developers working on Accessibility related features/bugs
You can also start your own channel by joining a new channel name. This can be useful for times when you want to chat with a few specific people at once. For example:
Channels exist as long as there is someone in them. They disappear when everyone leaves (NOTE: there are ways to change this behaviour, but this is the default).
'''NOTE:''' Due to IRC spam and spambots, many channels require that you are a registered user (i.e., that your nick has been registered) before you can join and/or speak. You can find instructions for registering your nick [http://freenode.net/faq.shtml#registering here].
===Entering text===
The reverse is also true: anything beginning with a / is interpreted as an IRC command. You'll learn many of these as you go.
==Channel Culture===
It is normal to join a channel and say nothing. In fact, it is expected. Don't join a channel and say "hi" or leave and say "bye" -- you may be interrupting a conversation already underway.
You don't need to direct general questions to a specific person. Rather, you should ask in the channel in general. Someone will usually answer you:
<davedon> How do I ask a question? <funny_guy> davedon: you just did!
Channels generally have a purpose, and people are often joined to many different channels at once. You'll see many of the same people in different channels. However, what might be appropriate in one channel often isn't in another. When you enter a channel, take a look at it's its Topic (displayed at the top, or with the /topic command) for clues.
Generally you should avoid small-talk unless you are sure that it is appropriate. Even if you see others in the channel doing it, don't take that to mean that you should (i.e., channel veterans can get away with things newcomers can't!). At the same time, be ready for a playful and sarcastic environment.
You can find-out more about a particular person by using the /whois command, for example:
/whois davedon
In ChatZilla, try right-clicking a user, then User Commands > Who is.
Because of this, people will often check to see if someone is really there before talking to them. By convention, people will use the person's nick and "ping" or "ping?" instead of saying, "are you there?":
<davedon> funnyfunny_guy: ping <funny_guy> davedon: pong
...
<davedon> rob: ping? <rob> hey davedon
...
<davedon> jim: ping
<jim> pong
The person will often respond with '''"pong." ''' People preface text like ping/pong with a person's nick so that their client will alert them to it. This is helpful when there are a lot of people talking at once in a channel. (NOTE: ChatZilla automatically remembers all text that was directed to your nick so you can scan it later. You can see it in the '''moznet''' tab).
It is normal to join conversations in the middle without being invited (within reason and assuming you know the people talking ).
Often you'll want to say something to a particular person and not the whole channel. This is known alternatively as 'msg' (short for message or messaging), private message or private chat, query, etc. There are a number of ways to do this, the simplest being to use the /query command:
/query davedon <opens a private chat/channel with user davedon>
In ChatZilla, right-click a user > user Commands > Open Private Chat.
You use simply paste your text into the textbox, and optionally select any syntax highlighting you desire. Finally, add your Name and click the Send button. You'll be taken to a new page. Copy the URL from the address bar, which will look something like this:
http://pastebin.mozilla.org/27154248
Now, you can easily share this URL in IRC without actually copying your text directly into the channel. By default such URLs will exist for 1 month, but you can manually override this prior to clicking Send.
===Sharing long complicated URLs===
Many of the URLs that users share with one another on IRC are long or complicated. Because some users work with command-line clients, it can be difficult to copy-and-paste these URLs into the browser. A better solution is to use [http://tinyurl.com TinyURL.com]. TinyURL allows users to paste and submit long URLs in order to generate a much shorter URL. A typical TinyURL , for example the location of Seneca on Google Maps, looks like this: <code> http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=seneca+college&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=57.424512,108.28125&ie=UTF8&z=12&ll=43.814463,-79.381027&spn=0.103554,0.211487&om=1&iwloc=B becomes...
TinyURLs never expire, so passing them around in emails, newsgroup postings, etc. won't cause problems.
