Guidelines to connect to IRC channel (For India+ users)

Guidelines to connect to IRC channel (For India+ users) 

[This is not a normal post, and is intended for helping members of India+ only. You may continue reading in the case you aren't a member there, but chances are it won't be helpful at all].

Ok, so in order to connect to IRC, there are multiple methods. The easiest and quickest way is to use a web-client for the job, which does most of the things automatically. For this, follow the given instructions: 

The webchat welcome screen

1. Go to http://webchat.freenode.net/

2. Select a nickname. 

3. Set channel as #Indiaplus 

4. Enter the captcha to verify that you're human and not a bot (sounds crazy, but it happens). 

5. Click 'connect'. No need to tick 'Auth to services' or 'Audio captcha'. 

I would recommend this method to first-timers only. The visual interface is far from being appealing. However, this method is the easiest and fastest one. So it should be used by people who would simply like to see how the channel works in realtime, without much hassle. 

Using a client 

Pidgin running #Indiaplus

IRC clients are software which allow us to connect to IRC channels without requiring any web browser. Multiple such clients exist for the likes of Windows, Mac, Linux, BSDs etc. For Windows users and newcomers, I would recommend trying Pidgin or Xchat2. First of all, let us describe the process for Pidgin. Xchat2 is good as well, but it is rather outdated and a bit harder to use. So I guess Pidgin will be better for new users. 

Pidgin is a multi-im chat client. It can handle your Gtalk connection, Facebook chat and IRC at the same time, and even more. For our purpose, let us talk about IRC part only. Please follow the given instructions: 

1. First, download Pidgin from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pidgin/files/Pidgin/2.10.7/pidgin-2.10.7-offline.exe/download and install it on your OS. It includes all the necessary plugins, libraries etc., and is a large download, around 30.5 MB. However, it's one-time only. 

2. Now, after installing Pidgin, start it. Now, from Accounts menu, select 'Manage Accounts'. In 'Manage Accounts' dialog box, select 'Add'. 

3. In the dialog box that appears, select "IRC" at the protocol. Select any username of your choice (this is what others will see you us). However, it must be continuous. For example, A Chatterjee won't serve as one, since there's a space between A and Chatterjee. Instead, I can write it as A_Chatterjee or AChatterjee, etc. Set the server as irc.freenode.com (if it doesn't work, use irc.freenode.net) and leave the password option blank. 

4. Save the account by clicking on 'Add'. Now, a display will soon pop up. Under it, enter the command /join #Indiaplus and hit enter. You'll now enter the channel. 

To save the channel, from Conversation menu, select 'Add'. And now, in the dialog box that appears, enter the Alias as Indiaplus. You're done. Just click 'add' after it. 

Now, whenever you intend to join the channel, just start pidgin and double-click on Indiaplus. 

Privacy

When we are using Pidgin, we can click on the name of any user currently active in the channel, and we can chat privately with him or her. None else will be able to watch us converse there. 

However, anything that we post on the main channel will be visible to everyone. 

Moderator/Operator privileges 

ChanServ is primarily a service that gives operator privileges to users. For moderators who would like to be operators, choosing  permanent nickname is most important. For this, just choose a nickname of you choice and enter the channel using the steps I mentioned above. Now, once you are inside the channel, type exactly: 

/msg nickserv register PASSWORD EMAIL

where PASSWORD is a password that you'd like to assign to your nickname (such that others can't use your nickname and put the blame on you after insulting someone), and EMAIL is your email address. 

Now, this will register your nickname. Once you've registered, you may contact me here, telling me your permanent nickname, and I will then take the liberty of making you an operator. 

An operator usually behaves as a normal user, but can have additional powers such as kicking or banning other users, setting topic for the channel etc. and thus maintain the channel. Once I've made you an op, you can then use the following command to invoke operator powers: 

/msg chanserv op #Indiaplus YOURNICKNAME

And then hit enter. It will give your the op powers. 

For kicking anyone, just enter: 

/kick  

And the guy will be kicked. However, he can enter once again after being kicked. To permanently block him from entering (unless any of the ops gives him permission to do so), you can ban him, using: 

/ban  

And until the ban is lifted by an op, he can't enter. 

I hope this answers most of the common questions. :) For anything else, please feel free to question me.