How do I connect to the IRC with a client? (ChatZilla)

[f1r3w4rr10r]

Hello,

since I see this asked pretty often, I thought I might as well just make a quick and easy to understand tutorial on how to connect to the IRC channels using a client. I will use the Firefox plugin ChatZilla here. Most commands should be the same for other clients, but I recommend to look up your client's manual for further help.
Direct commands, that lead you directly to the FalloutEquestria IRC channel are marked as code.
Those are to be written into the bottom box of ChatZilla and to be executed by hitting the return/enter key on your keyboard.
Additional Information is kept in spoilers.

What do I need?
-Firefox
-ChatZilla

How do I open ChatZilla?
Once you got Firefox open and ChatZilla installed, you can start it in two ways, depending on the setup of your Firefox interface.
Menu Bar enabled: "Extras"->"ChatZilla"
Menu Bar disabled: "Firefox"->"ChatZilla"
A new window will open. This is your ChatZilla IRC client. This window will also stay open once you close every other Firefox window (in case you only want to use ChatZilla and use another browser).

How do I connect to a server?
First, you need to connect to the server itsself. This is also called "attaching" your client to the server. This is why the command for this is "/attach".
What you do now, is type the following:

Code: Select all

/attach irc.canternet.org

It will take a few seconds and put a lot of information (and some ASCII art) in your chat window, but nothing you really need to read.
You are now connected to Equestria Daily's IRC network, hosted by Colgate.

Spoiler: show

irc.canternet.org is actually not a single, but multiple servers. irc.canternet.org automatically sends you to one of these: celestia.canternet.org, luna.canternet.org, cadence.canternet.org, chrysalis.canternet.org or discord.canternet.org

How do I change my nick name?
There are two ways to change your displayed nickname. The first is the command "/nick" followed by a space and your desired nickname.
So I would type the following:

Code: Select all

/nick f1r3w4rr10r

The second way is to click on the button on the bottom left and then click on "Change nickname...". Enter your nickname and hit "OK".

How do I join a channel?
There are two ways to join a channel. The first one requires you to know the exact name of the channel you want to join.
The command for this is "/join" or "/j" for short, followed by a space and the channel name. You want to join "FalloutEquestria", so you enter this:

Code: Select all

/j FalloutEquestria

Spoiler: show

If you use this method with a channel name, that is not yet used, you will automatically create that channel. By default, it will be deleted again as soon as nobody is in there anymore.

The second method is to click on IRC->Join Channel... or use the hotkey Ctrl+J. This will open up a window with already existing channels and also gives you the options to search for channels in various ways and to create channels. Just look for "FalloutEquestria" here and click on join.

:lwalk:And you are done. This is the most basic as it gets. You can continue reading for more advanced things to do with ChatZilla.

[f1r3w4rr10r]

reserved for advanced stuff

[Zepheniah]

You don't even need Firefox to install ChatZilla, which isn't my favourite browser because it likes to leak memory.
http://portableapps.com/node/26748
The above link is to "ChatZilla Portable", which is the exact same program, but in an easy-to-use standalone package.

Cheers