Another reason for this webpage...is to talk about the wonderful world of IRC !!

I have been using IRC for over two years now, mostly on the DalNet Network.

What is IRC?

IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, and it is a way of communicating with others from all over the world in real time. It is sometimes referred to as the CB (Citizens Band) of the Internet. It was started in Finland, and suddenly became popular during Desert Storm. Other than the telephone, and email, it has become a very popular way for families to stay in touch with their loved ones. Many BabyBoomers, now have kids in college and have found that most colleges and universities have internet access, so parents are buying up computers right and left to make sure they can keep in touch with their children without the hundreds of dollars spent in long distance calls or the time spent waiting for a letter to be written which more than likely never will! :)

How Do I Use IRC??

The first thing you need to be able to access and use IRC is some kind of Internet Service. Whether it be an online service such as America Online, or a private Internet Service Provider. You need to have a SLIP/PPP connection.

The second thing you need is some kind of IRC application..such as IRCle for the MACS or mIRC for Win95, (or mIRC for Windows 3.x) Pirch, or others for a IBM/PC clone.
A good place to find your choice, if you don't want to grab one here...is a friend from IRC's site.. Ballsy's IRC Realm.

I will include instructions for accessing IRC for these three catagories:
lPC with ISP
lPC with AOL
lMAC

Common Abbreviations Used In IRC

IRC can often seem like a cryptic world if you can't speak the language. Here are some common abbreviations people tend to use while on the net - especially on IRC.

    l AFK - Away From Keyboard
    l ATM - At The Moment
    l BBIAF - Be Back In A Few
    l BBL - Be Back Later
    l BRB - Be Right Back
    l BTW - By TheWay
    l C U L8R - S(C)ee Y(U)ou L8(ate)R
    l C Ya - S(C)ee Y(Ya)ou
    l EG - Evil Grin
    l GMTA - Great Minds Think Alike
    l IMO - In My Opinion
    l IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
    l IRL -In Real Life
    l JK (J/K) - Just Kidding
    l LOL - Laughing Out Loud
    l LTNS - Long Time No See
    l NP- No Problem
    l OIC -OH I See
    l re - REpeat Hi
    l RL - Real Life
    l ROFL/ROTFL - Rolling On (The) Floor Laughing
    l TTFN-TaTa For Now
    l WB- Welcome Back

This is the very best IRC Primer I have ever seen so far..it is rather large so be prepared to read! :) This is somewhat geared to the IRC application called IRCII, but many of the commands are generalized, and can be used with any IRC application. I have included it in its entirety, for the sake of the writers..whom I couldn't contact through their email addresses listed.