System Time: 09:07 25 Jul 2008 - 6 Players Online
MIRC Primer
Contents |
What is mIRC
mIRC is an IRC Client. It is probably the most popular windows IRC client in the world. For more information on IRC, check out the IRC Primer and information on the blogshares IRC Channel.
Connecting to IRC via mIRC
If you understand IRC, simply connect to irc.wyldryde.org port 6667, and /join #blogshares .
Downloading and Installing mIRC
The first thing you will want to do is download an IRC client. mIRC is one of the longest running and most successful IRC clients, so I will use that as an example. Once you have downloaded mIRC you need to install it.
mIRC is distributed in a self-extracting file that will unzip and install the program in either a default location, or a location you specify. You will need no external programs to complete the installation. Once you have successfully downloaded the file onto your computer you must open it and installation will begin.
Installation will begin with a suggested installation location. This will do fine. Once you tell it "OK" the installation will complete. Piece of cake!
Running and Configuring mIRC for the First Time
Double click the mIRC Icon. The first time mIRC is run it will show the "Options" dialog box. You will notice a tree-like system on the left side of the box. On the right, there are some boxes for you to fill out:
- Full Name: Just enter your first name here, that is good enough.
- Email Address: Guess what? Your email address goes here.
- Nickname: This is the name that you want displayed to everyone else in IRC. This is what they will see when you join the channel and speak.
- Alternative: This is like a secondary nickname. If someone already has the name you chose in the first box, mIRC will automatically select this one.
- Invisible Mode: Go ahead and select this option for security reasons.
Next, go to the tree view on the left and select "Servers" from the "Connect" menu. This will bring up a new screen of info on the right. There is only one item that needs to be changed here:
- IRC Network: Click the down arrow on this drop down box and scroll almost to the bottom. Select "Wyldryde" from the choices there.
The next item we need to change is in the "Options" sub-menu of "Connect". Again, this opens a new list of options on the right:
- Connect On startup: This one is up to you. Either mIRC can connect to the server as soon as you open it, or you can tell it to connect manually. Go ahead and select this option for now, you can change it later if you don't like it.
- Reconnect on disconnection: This will force mIRC to automatically try to reconnect to the server should you be disconnected for any reason. You can select this option as well.
The next two boxes can be left the way they are. Also, leave the "Default Port:" option alone, it should be set to 6667. Now click "Perform". This will open a new window altogether.
- Enable perform on connect: The perform file is a list of commands that you force mIRC to run every time you connect to either a specific network, or any network. Select this option as we are going to tell mIRC to connect to the BlogShares channel automatically.
- Network: Scroll through this drop down box and select "WyldRyde".
- Perform Commands: Type the following information into this box:
/ns identify /join #blogshares
The first line is incomplete but won't cause a problem right now. Once you have successfully connected to the Wyldryde network and registered your nickname, you will come back to this area and enter your password on that line. For example, if your password was "supahfly" that first line would read;
/ns identify supahfly
The second line tells mIRC that you want to join the channel #blogshares as soon as you connect and identify. Go ahead and click "OK" in this window.
You should now have IRC successfully configured (with the exception of your password, which hasn't been created yet). Go ahead and click the small lightning bolt button on the top left of the screen. This will tell mIRC it needs to connect to IRC. Alternatively you can select File -> Connect.
Once connected you need to register your name with the server so it will recognize you upon connection. This will also prevent others from using your name. You will notice there are tabs across the top of the window; one should read "Status". Select that one to type the following information into. We do this because it is not a channel where people can see what you type that way if something goes wrong, your password will not be displayed to the public:
/ns register PASSWORD EMAIL
If your email is "joeblow@gmail.com" and you want the password to be "supahfly" then the line should look like this:
/ns register supahfly joeblow@gmail.com
You will get a confirmation message and will not be able to identify with the server. Go ahead and type in:
/ns identify supahfly
The last step is to change the perform to recognize your password on future connections. Go to "Tools" -> "Options" and a new box will open. Click on "Connect" -> "Options" and then on the "Perform" button. Go ahead and enter in the password, press "OK" twice, and you are ready to go. All you need to do is select the "#blogshares" tab at the top of the window and you will see a room full of people all waiting to say "Welcome"!