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Quick list guide:
Quick list guide:


=== Download and Install (first link for windows on hexchat page) ===
'''Download and Install (first link for windows on hexchat page)'''
* Click on “add”, type name.
* Click on “add”, type name.
* Click on that name, click edit on the right.
* Click on that name, click edit on the right.

Revision as of 05:36, 3 January 2020

IRC for the New Users

New to Rizon? First time chatterer wondering how to step into the world of conversing with people from all around the globe? You've come to the right place!

IRC for New Users offers a wealth of information that will help you get over the hurdle of learning something new. It will open up new doors and will most likely make you some new friends. 😊

This page represents the homebase of #NEW Channel on Rizon IRC Network, but most of the information provided here is valuable to anyone wanting to learn more about IRC (Internet Relay Chat). Our target is to make #new one of the *Best* Help/Chat Channels available. We also offer one of the most comprehensive sites about Internet Relay Chat available on the net today. Check here to read more about us. You can join #new now. You may even wish to check out our special Gold Star Award -- in recognition of our dedicated and chatty staff.

Throughout this site we've tried to provide a wide variety of IRC information. We've also included a great deal of specific help IRC Tutorials for those folks using AdiIRC, mIRC, HexChat and similar clients. Browse the topics or the links below -- there is something here for everyone. If you have any questions that aren't answered here, please contact us and we will do our best to help you. Enjoy your stay!

Listed below are some links that will provide valuable information for the newcomer to IRC. Jump in, explore, make your online experience the *best* it can be. 😊

What is IRC

IRC is short for Internet Relay Chat. It is a great way for individuals and teams to communicate and work together. IRC has been around for decades. It’s a time-tested system with a wealth of features.

IRC servers on the internet accept and relay messages to connected users, each of whom is running an IRC client. The clients all use the IRC protocol, a set of agreed upon rules for communication. There are many separate IRC networks on the internet. Each network has one or more servers around the world that work together to relay messages.

Each network also has many channels, sometimes called rooms, where users can gather. A channel usually has a specific topic, and a name that starts with a “#”, such as #rizon. When you enter or join that channel, it’s because you want to discuss that topic. You can also start your own channel.

You can also privately message other users in most cases. It’s also possible to configure your user modes on a network, not to get such messages. IRC has many options available, but this article will only cover a few simple ones.

Connecting to IRC

Quick Hexchat Setup Guide (Windows + Linux)

There are several useful IRC clients apps available. The one we'll use here is Hexchat.
Quick list guide:

Download and Install (first link for windows on hexchat page)

  • Click on “add”, type name.
  • Click on that name, click edit on the right.
  • Add server info.
  • Click on channel tab, add channel info.
  • Click on Connect commands, add desired connect commands.
  • Add it to system startup programs so it starts on boot…

Long Guide

Hexchat is a fork of Xchat, which was an IRC client for Linux and Windows, but ended up monetizing. Hexchat works for both Windows and Linux well, and is easily set up. It has a better feature set than Xchat, too, and is easier to use.

The advantages of using Hexchat over a web-based IRC client or some other chat engine is that you can auto-join and auto-start it, so you don’t have to worry about connecting. This increases the amount of users in a room at a given time, and because of that the “room” (called channel in IRC) becomes more active more often.

Step One: Installation
For Windows:

Click here: https://hexchat.github.io/downloads.html

Download and run the first link on the page. (x64 for 64 bit capable machines. If you’re not sure, x86 should work fine for either) Go through the installer. You don’t really have to worry about changing any of the settings if you don’t want to, the defaults are fine. You can ignore the rest of the download links, those are primarily for developers and will be packaged in the first download link.

Linux:

As stated on the download page: “Nearly all distributions have official packages for HexChat. On those which don’t, you may use contributed, unofficial packages”. If you’re using Linux, you should probably be familiar with the package manager your system is using.

apt-get install hexchat
pacman -S hexchat
sbopkg >> install >> dependencies >> hexchat

etc etc…

Step Two: Basic Server Configuration
Once it’s finished installing, launch it if it hasn’t been launched already. You should be greeted by something like this:

[takescreenshot] hexchat1

Next, click on the name you just added and on the right click on “edit”. This may seem intimidating if you’re not used to this sort of thing (or maybe not?), but it’s simple. Simply click on the grey box that says “newserver/6667”, and type in the name and port of the IRC.

[takescreenshot] hexchat2

It is definitely recommended that you use SSL. It is not required, but it increases security for everyone by encrypting the stream making it harder to passively intercept everything. It’s still not necessarily a black-box of security, but it’s much harder to handle SSL connections than plaintext over the net. So the ideal configuration is basically shown in the above picture. For Rizon, it is:

irc.rizon.net/6697

The Rizon config is shown in the picture. Easy enough. In the checkboxes, select “accept invalid SSL certificates”. We don’t bother getting it signed because it doesn’t really increase security.

At this point you should be able to connect to the server, although it hasn’t been configured to join any channels. You can manually join channels by typing this command into the bottom chat box:

/join #channel-name

Where the channel name is the name of the chat room. For example: #new or #world-chat (for Rizon).

Step Three: Basic Channel Configuration Click on the “Autojoin channels” tab and simply click “add” to add any channels you would like to join when Hexchat is started. This is pretty straightforward.

[provide screenshot] hexchat3

Another useful feature Hexchat comes with is under the “connect commands” tab, in which you simply click “add” and type in any commands you want to be run when you connect to that channel. I personally have mine set to enter the login command for Rizon and I have it supply my password. E.g:

/msg NickServ identify username password

Replace username with your username and password with your password, obviously. You can also just type that command in when you log in manually, except with a slash before it:

/msg NickServ identify username password

Feel free to contact us on the forums if you have any questions or need any help… Or on IRC through Mibbit or Kiwi IRC web-clients.