chat tips for newbies
When one connects using the link at the top of the page its a chat client called 'java'. There are other chat clients available for free, the most common being 'Mirc' and 'xchat'. There are usually people in the chatroom who are knowledgeable about these things and pleased to help.
The java link will take you directly into the spiritplants chatroom and you will see a list of all the other people in the room. You will be called JavaUser until you change it to a 'proper' nick. At #spiritplants you must use a proper nick but we know it takes newbies a while to get it worked out (especially those of us who aren't too computer savy). The instructions for changing your nick are at the bottom of your java page but your fellow chatters will be only to happy to guide you through it as many times as it takes to get it.
All commands in irc (internet relay chat) begin with /
One types these commands in the message bar - the space at the base of the channel.
Below this you will see boxes in 2 categories, public and private. #spiritplants is a public channel. To see what other channels there are click on the box 'channels' at the top of your client. This will then appear in a new box below.
You can send and receive private messages by double-clicking a person's name to open a new private dialogue box.
A wonderful aspect of irc at nitro's place is the ability to chat using ssl encrytption (which is next to uncrackable i am told). - a chat client other than java is required, however.
Some people in the room will have symbols by their names; these are channel operators and are there to help, although some of em drift off sometimes. Ops have the power to kick people out of the room and even ban them from the room , but this is a fairly rare occurrence at #spiritplants.
You will notice people in the room who don't say much; they are called 'idlers' and the record is presently held by this young german dude:
"senz using nitro.bctel.org bctel.org irc server
senz has been idle 251hrs 26mins 55secs, signed on Wed Jan 26 00:30:00
senz End of /WHOIS list."
That quote is from 'chanserv', and is one of the available commands in irc. Other useful stuff is found at /nickserv help and /chanserv help.
When you do these commands it is advisable to do them in the private 'status' box at the bottom of the screen. It has been fun and games watchin ppl freak when they drop their password into the public channel by mistake.
One last thing for now:
Many users are working while in chat and will have the client minimised and set to flash or beep when someone talks but they cannot see you arrive. Feel free to drop in and idle along or give a shout out and see who's about. Sometimes it takes ppl up to 10minutes to respond if they're busy. Its very variable in there, ranging from full-on entheo discussion by experts to idle chit-chat about the weather, from a fully active room for hours on end to a silent room for hours on end.
...to be continued ...
Quote from: "Cassie"A wonderful aspect of irc at nitro's place is the ability to chat using ssl encrytption (which is next to uncrackable i am told). - a chat client other than java is required, however.
How exactly do I connect using ssl? I am using xchat.
... continued ...
Sometimes people get dropped from the server for various reasons. I'm not geek enuf to explain how but be aware that the person you are addressing, if un-repsonsive, might have been dropped because it sometimes takes a while for this to show in the chatroom. To check if the person is actually there one can 'ping' him for a response from his computer. In mIRC this is done by by highlighting his name with your left mouse button, clicking for a menu with the right and choosing ctcp.
As with text, chat uses a lot of abbreviations.
Here's a list of common ones:
brb .......... be right back
bbs be back soon
bbl
bbiab
bbiaf
bb
ttyl .... talk to you later
ttys
ty ... thank you
yw you're welcome
np .. no problem
afaik .. as far as i know
iirc ... if i recall correctly
idk i don't know
idc i don't care
gl ... good luck
gn good night
nn nite nite
gm good morning
cg congratulations
imho ... in my humble opinion
imo
nm ... never mind
btw ...by the way
atm ...at the moment
omg ... oh my god
wtf ... what the fuck
wtg way to go
Quotesenz using nitro.bctel.org bctel.org irc server
senz has been idle 251hrs 26mins 55secs, signed on Wed Jan 26 00:30:00
senz End of /WHOIS list."
do i still hold the record? :p