"The irc Survival Guide"

Talk to the world with Internet Relay Chat

Addison-Wesley, 1995, $17.95 -- 213 pp. ISBN 0-201-41000-1

Explore the uncharted,uncensored, and interactive places on the Internet

For many people, internet relay chat (irc) seems like an intimidating jungle, inhabited exclusively by UNIX nerds. In reality it's a delightful adventure waiting to happen to almost anyone with an Internet connection. At once romantic and high-tech, funny but sometimes dangerous, irc is the very essence of the Internet culture, and the perfect post-modern experience for those with the know-how.

Although the most advanced irc client software understands over 400 commands, The irc Survival Guide can show you how to establish an identity and join the irc community using just five basic commands. Rewards are great: participation in an international culture that offers you a choice of more than 1,000 separate conversations in many languages 24 hours a day

Irc expert Stuart Harris will show you how to:

master those five basic commands in five minutes
discover the identities of almost everyone logged in
develop a circle of international friendships
use irc channels for effective business meetings
use a cypher to make your conversations secure
start your own irc channel and make your own rules
deal with such hazards as flamers, war-bots and netsplits
exchange data files such as personal pictures

Ideal for newcomers and experienced Internet users alike, this book will show you how to get the most out of this amazing communication medium. There's no limit to the uncharted, uncensored Internet territory you can explore with The irc Survival Guide

Acknowledgements, Author's notes
Chapter 1: IRC: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO JOIN IN
1.1. Computer Chat
1.2. A brief history of irc
1.3. Signing on
1.4. The irc Operating Screen

Chapter 2: ELEMENTARY COMMANDS: ENJOYING AN INTERNATIONAL CONVERSATION

2.1. Your New Identity: The /NICK command
2.2. Choosing a Channel: /LIST, /NAMES and /SET
2.3. Time for a Decision: /JOIN and /BYE
2.4. Action lines
2.5 Irc "Netiquette"

Chapter 3: INTERMEDIATE COMMANDS: GETTING TO KNOW IRC AND ITS PEOPLE

3.1. Looking Around: /NAMES, /WHO, /WHOIS
3.2. Messaging: The Undercurrent
3.3. /SET NOVICE OFF
3.4. Building Your .ircrc File
3.5. Special Friends
3.6. Showing /AWAY Information
3.7. Busting Into the Cliques: Use of /INVITE
3.8. Reviewing the Conversation: /LASTLOG and /HISTORY
3.9. Speaking of Logs...
3.10 Understanding /MODE

Chapter 4: ADVANCED COMMANDS & PROCESSES

4.1. /ALIAS: More Than Just a Time-Saver
4.2. Some of the Many Things You Can /LOAD
4.3. Some of the 101 Things You Can /SET
4.4. Screen Attributes, and Some of the 49 Things You Can /BIND
4.5. Making Your Own Windows for Multiple Conversations

Chapter 5: USE AND ABUSE OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH

5.1. General Internetiquette
5.2. When You Need Not Be Polite: /IGNORE and /KICK
5.3. Those Bothersome Bots
5.4. Yes, Of Course Somebody's In Charge/No, Actually Nobody is
5.5. Privileges of a Chanop
5.6. An Irc Fairytale
5.7. I've Tried /HELP -- Now What?
5.8. Understanding /MODE

Chapter IRC FOR FUN AND PROFIT

6.1. The Netsplit Problem
6.2. One Extremely Useful Command Subset: /DCC
6.3. Two Somewhat Useful Command Subsets: /EXEC and /CTCP
6.4. Message Encryption in Irc
6.5. Customizing Irc For Your Own Purposes

Appendix A: SUMMARY OF IRC COMMANDS
Appendix B: IRC SERVERS AROUND THE WORLD
Appendix C: GLOSSARY OF IRC JARGON
Appendix D: WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE?