This short tutorial is intended for those who have never used IRC and/or think they need some guidance, nothing fancy.



Acquire IRC client Software
First, if you plan on frequenting IRC you want a dedicated IRC client. mIRC is one the most common clients, it has a "30 day trial period" - I suggest you install that. You can also chat using a browser based client, but they lack all the advantages of dedicated software.

The first time you run mIRC you're prompted to fill in your nick, alternative nick, email and name. 



Connect to server, join channel
When you have your client installed and running the next step is to connect to a network. QuakeNet is currently the second largest network and it's where all the relevant PR channels are. Connect to any QuakeNet server, on mIRC by right clicking the flash icon and choosing a QuakeNet server or simply typing in the command "/server irc.quakenet.org (6669)".

Once you are connected you can join a channel by typing in the command "/join #3dac" - you're ready to start chatting!
You should also consider "/join #projectreality" the official PR IRC channel. It's generally quiet with random conversations now and then, a good place to get some early sneak peaks into PR development. The activity kicks up a thousandfold on impending releases and other events. It's also a place for new players to get help with their PR issues and a chance for seasoned community members to guide them on the right path!
To change your nick, use command "/nick newnick"



Pay respect to Q
Q is the the Supreme Being of QuakeNet. Q grants you power and takes it away. Before you can serve Q you must request her acknowledgement by performing the following ritual which will create an eternal bond with Q and your current nick.

"/msg Q HELLO youremail@address youremail@address"

If Q deems your intentions pure, a link where you can obtain your password will be sent to youremail@address. You will be required to read and reenter a series of characters before you are given your password.

Once you've obtained this password you then use the AUTH command:
"/msg Q@CServe.quakenet.org AUTH username password"
Where username is identical to the nick that you first said HELLO with.

To confirm the ritual was successful, recite the following:
"/msg Q whoami"

To change the password, recite the following:
"/msg Q@CServe.quakenet.org NEWPASS oldpassword newpassword newpassword"



Set your IRC to join and authenticate on connect
This is not absolutely necessary, but it makes things easier. Instead of manually AUTHing and joining all the channels you want every time you connect IRC, you can set them to be automatic. Go to

Tools-> Options...  Connect-> Options -> Perform

Check "Enable perform on connect"

Choose QuakeNet from the drop down-list or add it if it isn't there already.

Type in all the commands you want to be performed on connect, for example:
/msg Q@CServe.quakenet.org auth nick password
/join #projectreality.fi
/join #3dac
/join #projectreality
/join #fdfpr

thanks splatt, much appreciated!

I'll use browser based one. Is there a really big diffrence?

Browser isn't as good when it comes to security. Doesn't save any of your settings. You need to authenticate to Q every time you join IRC server so its nice to have it automated with command. Also no autojoin so you need to manually type the channels each time you start it up. Other than that there are ofc all sort of plugins, file transfer and tools which there are for the dedicated programs, but guess you would not be using them anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

I am not sure if there are browser clients which support you to have all these commands in the address or something which you can bookmark.

I myself use Xchat.
IceChat is another nice program still in development, used it sometime ago, but it was a little unstable.

Great work. We might move it to the public section of the forums.

cheers,
Curry.

We are alone and looking for fresh blood! Blip, splat, Hula, Raic and me. Nate and Danger are joining from time to time...

Curry.

Bump.

Curry.

[NEW] has their own IRC channel now: #newcommunity

Curry.

I started using the free 'HydraIRC' client, which is pretty cool and less annoying than mIRC.

http://www.hydrairc.com/content/downloads

Bump.

Curry.