667
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added nick registration link
[[Real World Mozilla]] > [[Real World Mozilla Day 1|Day 1]] > IRC Introduction
==Introduction==
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===
<funny_guy> don: 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.
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?":
<don> funnyfunny_guy: ping
<funny_guy> don: pong
...
<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 ).
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.
