How to connect/use mIRC!

1966 · Oct 11, 2008

How To Connect and Use mIRC!

Introduction

This guide, is made to help you connect and use mIRC, to talk to your friends from all around the world. mIRC is a very useful handy tool, that many people know about but do not know how to use and connect to it. Sit back and read the guide, in the end I guarantee you, that you will be talking to your friends in no time.

What is IRC?

For those that don't know, IRC is an acronym for “Internet Relay Chat”. The first IRC network came on line during the summer of 1988 when Jarkko "WiZ" Oikarinen created the first IRC client and server at the University of Oulu, Finland. Two years later, EFNet was brought on line, and quickly became one of the largest IRC networks. Today, there are thousands of IRC Networks, large and small.

How to download mIRC?

The first thing that anyone would have to do, to use this program would to download it. The best place to download this client would be at: http://www.mirc.com/get.html . After downloading the client you must install it. If you need help installing it please refer here.Please Note: It is highly recommend that you update your mIRC frequently. The current mIRC that is out is: mIRC v6.34 .

Using mIRC?

Now that you've gotten mIRC downloaded and installed, its time to start up mIRC, and get it set up so you can connect to the network we use, as well as the channel.

The first thing you will see when you start up mIRC, is the mIRC Options page.

Fill in the full name, using anything you want. You can use your real name, your forum name, or whatever.

Below that is your email address. I strongly suggest that you do not enter your email address in here. You need to enter something, and it needs to be in the format of an email address. What you use is up to you.

Below that is Nickname, enter in here what you want to be known as in the IRC Channel. You should use the name part from your email address as your nickname. Best thing to do here is to use your forum nick for both. This also helps so people know who you are. For example, if you enter the email [email protected], then your Nickname would be foo.

The Alternative blank below that will be what your nick will be should someone else be using your name. - Don't worry, we'll show you how to register your nickname later on so only you can use it.

Now that we have those fields filled in, we want to move on to the Identd option. Select the option for “Enable Identd server” and the option for “Use ID from email address”.

If you have a socks4, or 5 Firewall or a proxy server, you can configure the appropriate settings under the Firewall option.

You can configure mIRC to connect when the program starts or if you become disconnected through the “Options” option. We'll be back to this options later to take a look at the preform commands.

Now, let's get you connected to the Sythe's Network. But first, we need to add the server into the server list. First thing to do is still inside the mIRC Options screen (ctrl if you exited out) is to click on the Servers Option.

You should see an Add button, under the IRC Server drop down menu. Click the Add button to bring up the add server screen.

Enter the following information:
Description: SytheIRC
Server: irc.sythe.org
Port(s): 6667

Leave the password blank and click Add. The server is added to the server list, and is brought up when you return to the mIRC Options. To connect to the server now, click “Connect To Server”.

The mIRC Options will disappear, and mIRC will attempt to connect to the IRC Network. Once it has connected, a “favorites” list will appear. Uncheck the box at the bottom that says “Pop up favorites on connect, and then click ok to close the window.

You should now be looking at the main mIRC window again. You should see the “Message of the Day” (MOTD), server stats, your host name, and other relevant information.

Now we will join #Sythe

Congratulations, you are now inside the Sythe IRC Channel. You're now free to chat, or do whatever. That is of course, as long as you follow the channel and server rules.

The mIRC (and most other IRC clients) screen is divided into three sections. The center are is where the messages are displayed. On the right, you have a list of people in the room. And the bottom, under the chat area is the text area where you input your messages.

Ops and Voices

You're probably asking why some people have a “@” or a “+” next to their name. These symbols next to a name or nick represents the status or position of that person in the Channel.

“@” designates an Op. This is used primarily OCC Staff, and anyone else delegated to help moderate the OCC IRC Channel. Ops have the ability to kick users from the channel, or ban users for violations of the rules.

“+” designates a “voiced” user. For the purposes of the OCC IRC Channel, these people are dedicated members of the channel, who help others. They have been voiced to distinguish themselves from normal people in the chat. Keep in mind, this is only what the voiced “+” status represents in the OCC IRC Channel.

The actual intention of “+” status, is for what is called a “moderated IRC Channel”. In these types of channels, only Ops, and voiced people are allowed to talk. This is common at developer chats on networks such as irc.stratics.com and irc.enterthegame.com.

Conclusion

Thank you, for reading my guide on "How to connect/use mIRC", I put tremendous effort on making this guide, so please try to credit me, if you ever do use this. After reading this guide, I hope everyone learned a lot about how to connect/use mIRC. If there are any comments or something I should add please post it here. Thank You.

Thank You!