| There are a bunch of IRC clients for Linux, but one of | | | | can find a ton of other irc channels to investigate. A lot |
| the oldest is ircII. You can find ircII, or just irc, on just | | | | of the channels are computer specific, but there are |
| about any version of Linux. To start irc, just type this in | | | | many other channels in the sports, fitness, games, etc., |
| a terminal window:irc BobFromAccounting | | | | categories. There's even a channel for American |
| irc.freenode.net | | | | football fans called #nfl. |
| And the irc client should launch. If you get an error | | | | To find the list of available channels the nerdy way, |
| message, then it probably isn't installed. To install irc in | | | | then type: |
| ubuntu, type this:sudo apt-get install ircii | | | | /listin your terminal window. A long list of channels will |
| Now irc should launch. Again, issue the command:irc | | | | start scrolling down. After a short load time, you should |
| BobFromAccounting irc.freenode.net | | | | be able to see all available channels in the server. You |
| And this time you should be logged into the | | | | can then scroll back up to view all of the channels. |
| freenode.net server, and your nickname, or nick, is | | | | Remember, to join a new channel, simply type: |
| BobFromAccounting. | | | | /join #channelnamewhere channelname is the name of |
| Now that you are in, it's time to join a server. Type this: | | | | your new channel. So to join the #edubuntu channel, |
| /join #ubuntuand you should join the ubuntu channel. | | | | you would type: |
| Soon you'll start seeing messages at the bottom of | | | | /join #edubuntu |
| the irc window. You can watch the conversation in | | | | Note to would-be power users: you can join a chat |
| real time. | | | | with the join shortcut like this: |
| To post a message to the conversation, simply type | | | | /j #edubuntu |
| something and press enter. Don't feel bad if you don't | | | | If you are hopelessly stuck, jump onto the internet and |
| get an immediate response. Imagine walking into a | | | | google ircII tutorial. You can also get help within irc by |
| crowded room of computer nerds, none of whom | | | | typing this command: |
| know you, and you ask a question unrelated to the | | | | /help |
| current conversation. You may not get a reply. | | | | The help command will give you a list of currently |
| A quick, newbie friendly way to search for other | | | | available commands you can use. |
| channels, is to go to the searchirc website, where you | | | | |