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This is a post all about how to connect to and then use IRC! It's a handy-dandy tool that lets you plan posts, message other users, and generally natter with castmates or the rest of camp. Think of it like a massively multi-player AIM, or possibly notepad, divided into rooms. This replaces the previous version of this post because I finally stopped including the wrong nick-linking information.
What to use to connect:
mIRC, the best Windows client.
Colloquy, very good Mac client.
Mibbit, a very good online client if you can't connect normally.
Connection info:
You want to be pointing your browser at irc.lunarnet.org, port 6667 or 4444. If these don't work, see further down where I talk about connection problems. The basic channel is #campfuckudie - there are a multitude of channels for specific casts but these may be secret or restricted join, so I won't list them here.
Learn about Perform!
Every IRC client in the world has a method by which to enter a series of commands that will be executed every time you start the client up. These are typically called 'perform' commands in mIRC, or auto-joins in chatzilla and the like; it's generally strongly recommended you at least put a line in here to identify to your nick (see below), and probably to join the main channel.
Friendly admins
Stelas, Nishi, Bahamut and nftyw are typically in-channel and can provide command or connection help. I can also be reached at inpignation@gmail.com or via gchat in a similar manner.
Making mIRC bleep
You can set up a series of highlights in mIRC (and many other clients, but I'm biased) to allow miRC to play sounds or highlight specific lines when people say things e.g. your character names. In older versions of mIRC this was in Options -> IRC -> Highlights. In more recent versions, it's in the Address Book, reached from the Tools menu.
Basic Commands:
[] - this part is mandatory
() - this part is optional
/server [servername] e.g. /server eldrasia.lunarnet.org - This will connect you to a specific server. If you're having problems to the irc.lunarnet.org address, you can try connecting to a specific server - the full list is further down.
/join [#channel] e.g. /join #campfuckudie - This will make you enter a channel on the network, or create one if it doesn't already exist.
/part [#channel] (message) e.g. /part #campfuckudie Right, I'm off. - The opposite of join; makes you leave a channel, optionally with a message.
/quit (message) e.g. /quit Sleeeep. - Does exactly what it says on the tin; quit the server.
/me [action] e.g. /me writes an IRC tutorial. - This will make you perform an action in the third person.
/nick [new nick] e.g. /nick Stelafk - Changes your screen name.
/msg [nick] [message] or /query [nick] [message] e.g. /msg Stelas sup! - Use these two to send private messages to someone. Using /msg will straight-up message them and display it in whichever channel you're looking at right now, while /query will open a nice separate window for you to chat to that person.
/query [nick] e.g. /query Stelas - Using /query without any message will pop up a new window specifically to the person you specify.
/topic [channel] (topic) e.g. /topic #campfuckudie This is a new topic. - Changes the topic of the channel. Generally speaking only people with % or @'s by their name can do this.
/whois [nick] e.g. /whois Stelas - Get a bunch of random information on a nick, like what hostmask they are, what channels they're in, and stuff like that.
Registering your nicks and maintaining them
Registering your nick is big and clever. By registering it you effectively have reserved that nick for your use and yours only. You can boot other people who are using it, become an auto-op of a channel or register channels, and all sorts of other stuff. It is very worth registering your nick! If you don't register your nick and someone else takes it, there is nothing the admins can do to recover it. It is first-come, first-served.
Linking Nicks: Lunarnet has a slightly different method of registering lots of nicks compared to other servers, mostly because the latest version of Services is a big ho. On other servers, you'll register a bunch of nicks then LINK them together - on Lunarnet, you register one primary nick then, from that nick, 'mark' a number of other nicks as yours, whereupon your password and settings are copied across to them all in a big cloud of nicks.
All NickServ commands are done by /msging it various keywords. You can call up a help menu, with links to individual help pages, by using /msg NickServ HELP. For all the commands below, don't include brackets in the actual command.
/msg NickServ REGISTER [password] (email) - Registers a nick for you, with that password. Lower and upper case does matter; stelas is different to Stelas. You can add an email after the password if you like, but it's not necessary on Lunarnet.
/msg NickServ IDENTIFY [password] - Assuming you got the right password for the nick you're on, this makes the server recognize your identity. You may not have to do this if you were on the nick recently (ie, you switched off it for a half-hour.)
/msg NickServ GHOST [nick] [password] - If you crash and the server doesn't notice, this command can be used to manually boot the dead client. Use the command above, specifying the right nick/password combo. You also use this command if someone's squatting on your nick to forcefully remove them.
/msg NickServ LINK [totally new nick] - This is used to link several nicks together to the same user. In the new system, to link a nick to your primary, you switch to the primary and enter this command, specifying a completely new, unregistered nick. All of your settings will copy over, and the nick will be yours.
/msg NickServ UNLINK [nick] - This will drop one of your collection of nicks.
/msg NickServ DROP [password] - This will drop your entire collection of nicks.
/msg NickServ SET PASSWORD [new password] - Change your password.
/msg NickServ SET KILL ON or QUICK - The easiest way to prevent your nick being sat upon, this will give you protection by booting anyone who doesn't identify with the right password in either 60 or 20 seconds respectively.
ChanServ also exists; this effectively does the same thing but for channels rather than nicks, reserving them and setting up permanent topics or auto-ops. I won't get into the commands here, but you can /msg ChanServ HELP if you want to know more.
Problems connecting?
Many firewalls and universities block IRC. If you seem to be completely unable to connect to the network and the servers are up, there are a few things you can try that may remedy the problem.
Try connecting to a specific or different server. - If you're unable to connect successfully, it may be that your connection path to the particular server your client was routed to is down, be it due to ISP problems or router failure; in this case you may be able to connect okay by forcing your client to connect to a specific server by substituting irc. out for a specific server name, e.g. eldrasia. in your connect information.
Try connecting through port 4444 or 8067. - Some restrictive firewalls - like those in many colleges and universities - block port 6667, the standard IRC port. You may be able to connect by specifying 4444 as the port, or one of the other non-typical ones - /server eldrasia.lunarnet.org 4444 to connect there on a specific server, for instance.
Set up SSL and attempt to connect through port 7001 or 7029. - Some particularly restrictive connection setups may block both IRC ports and others included; in this case, you can either contact your system administrator and ask for the port to be opened; in lieu of that a reasonably reliable method of bypassing the problem is to use an SSL-capable IRC client and connect through a standard SSL port. SSL links are fully encrypted and thus generally considered much 'safer' by most administrators and rarely blocked. A handy guide to setting up SSL in mIRC is here while chatzilla can do this automatically by using the command /sslserver eldrasia.lunarnet.org 7001; for Mac users we suggest Colloquy, which can enable SSL merely by ticking a box.
When all else fails... - Contacting the admins and explaining the problem is your best bet, either through a friend who can connect to the network or else the email at the top.
Full server list of all the servers that make up Lunarnet, and which ports can be used to access them:
Eldrasia - eldrasia.lunarnet.org - UK - 6667, 4444, 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
RPGCafe - rpgcafe.lunarnet.org - NJ, US - 6667, 4444, 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
Castleheck - castleheck.lunarnet.org - TX, US - 6667, 4444, 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
Obsidian - obsidian.lunarnet.org - AB, CA - 6667, 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
Eraniss - eraniss.lunarnet.org - TX, US - 6667, 4444, 8067, 6697 (SSL), 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
The end.
What to use to connect:
mIRC, the best Windows client.
Colloquy, very good Mac client.
Mibbit, a very good online client if you can't connect normally.
Connection info:
You want to be pointing your browser at irc.lunarnet.org, port 6667 or 4444. If these don't work, see further down where I talk about connection problems. The basic channel is #campfuckudie - there are a multitude of channels for specific casts but these may be secret or restricted join, so I won't list them here.
Learn about Perform!
Every IRC client in the world has a method by which to enter a series of commands that will be executed every time you start the client up. These are typically called 'perform' commands in mIRC, or auto-joins in chatzilla and the like; it's generally strongly recommended you at least put a line in here to identify to your nick (see below), and probably to join the main channel.
Friendly admins
Stelas, Nishi, Bahamut and nftyw are typically in-channel and can provide command or connection help. I can also be reached at inpignation@gmail.com or via gchat in a similar manner.
Making mIRC bleep
You can set up a series of highlights in mIRC (and many other clients, but I'm biased) to allow miRC to play sounds or highlight specific lines when people say things e.g. your character names. In older versions of mIRC this was in Options -> IRC -> Highlights. In more recent versions, it's in the Address Book, reached from the Tools menu.
Basic Commands:
[] - this part is mandatory
() - this part is optional
/server [servername] e.g. /server eldrasia.lunarnet.org - This will connect you to a specific server. If you're having problems to the irc.lunarnet.org address, you can try connecting to a specific server - the full list is further down.
/join [#channel] e.g. /join #campfuckudie - This will make you enter a channel on the network, or create one if it doesn't already exist.
/part [#channel] (message) e.g. /part #campfuckudie Right, I'm off. - The opposite of join; makes you leave a channel, optionally with a message.
/quit (message) e.g. /quit Sleeeep. - Does exactly what it says on the tin; quit the server.
/me [action] e.g. /me writes an IRC tutorial. - This will make you perform an action in the third person.
/nick [new nick] e.g. /nick Stelafk - Changes your screen name.
/msg [nick] [message] or /query [nick] [message] e.g. /msg Stelas sup! - Use these two to send private messages to someone. Using /msg will straight-up message them and display it in whichever channel you're looking at right now, while /query will open a nice separate window for you to chat to that person.
/query [nick] e.g. /query Stelas - Using /query without any message will pop up a new window specifically to the person you specify.
/topic [channel] (topic) e.g. /topic #campfuckudie This is a new topic. - Changes the topic of the channel. Generally speaking only people with % or @'s by their name can do this.
/whois [nick] e.g. /whois Stelas - Get a bunch of random information on a nick, like what hostmask they are, what channels they're in, and stuff like that.
Registering your nicks and maintaining them
Registering your nick is big and clever. By registering it you effectively have reserved that nick for your use and yours only. You can boot other people who are using it, become an auto-op of a channel or register channels, and all sorts of other stuff. It is very worth registering your nick! If you don't register your nick and someone else takes it, there is nothing the admins can do to recover it. It is first-come, first-served.
Linking Nicks: Lunarnet has a slightly different method of registering lots of nicks compared to other servers, mostly because the latest version of Services is a big ho. On other servers, you'll register a bunch of nicks then LINK them together - on Lunarnet, you register one primary nick then, from that nick, 'mark' a number of other nicks as yours, whereupon your password and settings are copied across to them all in a big cloud of nicks.
All NickServ commands are done by /msging it various keywords. You can call up a help menu, with links to individual help pages, by using /msg NickServ HELP. For all the commands below, don't include brackets in the actual command.
/msg NickServ REGISTER [password] (email) - Registers a nick for you, with that password. Lower and upper case does matter; stelas is different to Stelas. You can add an email after the password if you like, but it's not necessary on Lunarnet.
/msg NickServ IDENTIFY [password] - Assuming you got the right password for the nick you're on, this makes the server recognize your identity. You may not have to do this if you were on the nick recently (ie, you switched off it for a half-hour.)
/msg NickServ GHOST [nick] [password] - If you crash and the server doesn't notice, this command can be used to manually boot the dead client. Use the command above, specifying the right nick/password combo. You also use this command if someone's squatting on your nick to forcefully remove them.
/msg NickServ LINK [totally new nick] - This is used to link several nicks together to the same user. In the new system, to link a nick to your primary, you switch to the primary and enter this command, specifying a completely new, unregistered nick. All of your settings will copy over, and the nick will be yours.
/msg NickServ UNLINK [nick] - This will drop one of your collection of nicks.
/msg NickServ DROP [password] - This will drop your entire collection of nicks.
/msg NickServ SET PASSWORD [new password] - Change your password.
/msg NickServ SET KILL ON or QUICK - The easiest way to prevent your nick being sat upon, this will give you protection by booting anyone who doesn't identify with the right password in either 60 or 20 seconds respectively.
ChanServ also exists; this effectively does the same thing but for channels rather than nicks, reserving them and setting up permanent topics or auto-ops. I won't get into the commands here, but you can /msg ChanServ HELP if you want to know more.
Problems connecting?
Many firewalls and universities block IRC. If you seem to be completely unable to connect to the network and the servers are up, there are a few things you can try that may remedy the problem.
Try connecting to a specific or different server. - If you're unable to connect successfully, it may be that your connection path to the particular server your client was routed to is down, be it due to ISP problems or router failure; in this case you may be able to connect okay by forcing your client to connect to a specific server by substituting irc. out for a specific server name, e.g. eldrasia. in your connect information.
Try connecting through port 4444 or 8067. - Some restrictive firewalls - like those in many colleges and universities - block port 6667, the standard IRC port. You may be able to connect by specifying 4444 as the port, or one of the other non-typical ones - /server eldrasia.lunarnet.org 4444 to connect there on a specific server, for instance.
Set up SSL and attempt to connect through port 7001 or 7029. - Some particularly restrictive connection setups may block both IRC ports and others included; in this case, you can either contact your system administrator and ask for the port to be opened; in lieu of that a reasonably reliable method of bypassing the problem is to use an SSL-capable IRC client and connect through a standard SSL port. SSL links are fully encrypted and thus generally considered much 'safer' by most administrators and rarely blocked. A handy guide to setting up SSL in mIRC is here while chatzilla can do this automatically by using the command /sslserver eldrasia.lunarnet.org 7001; for Mac users we suggest Colloquy, which can enable SSL merely by ticking a box.
When all else fails... - Contacting the admins and explaining the problem is your best bet, either through a friend who can connect to the network or else the email at the top.
Full server list of all the servers that make up Lunarnet, and which ports can be used to access them:
Eldrasia - eldrasia.lunarnet.org - UK - 6667, 4444, 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
RPGCafe - rpgcafe.lunarnet.org - NJ, US - 6667, 4444, 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
Castleheck - castleheck.lunarnet.org - TX, US - 6667, 4444, 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
Obsidian - obsidian.lunarnet.org - AB, CA - 6667, 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
Eraniss - eraniss.lunarnet.org - TX, US - 6667, 4444, 8067, 6697 (SSL), 7001 (SSL), 7029 (SSL)
The end.