The Apolyton Chat/IRC Chat FAQ
Version 1.1 - Oct 24, 2001 by Connorkimbro
Version 2 - Nov 22, 2002 additions by Rasbelin
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1. What is the purpost of this FAQ?

Apolyton has it's own irc server for chat events. Since many people are unfamiliar with the type of chat rooms we use, the FAQ was written, in order to help you, the average Apolyton user, out.

2. What is IRC?

IRC stands for internet relay chat. Of course it gets somewhat more complicated than this, but all that YOU need be concerned with is that it is run off of internet servers linked together to relay messages between users through "chat rooms"

3. How can I use IRC?

There are several ways that YOU can use IRC. If all you want to do is participate in one of Apolyton's scheduled chat's, then you simply need to point your browser to http://apolyton.net/misc/chat/room.shtml In order to use this chat room, you must have Java enabled on your computer. The second, and most common way is to use an IRC client, the most popular of which is called mIRC and can be downloaded freely at http://www.mirc.com This way is somewhat more complicated, but is easy to learn (especially with the help of this FAQ :)) and give you nearly unlimited options and capabilites on IRC (according to your knowledge of it.) Using mIRC will be covered a bit later in the FAQ.

4. I went to http://apolyton.net/misc/chat/room.shtml and I see a panel that offers me options such as Nick Name, Channel, Real Name, etc. What do I do?

All of the spots should already be filled in with the default options, and you want to leave all of them set as the default options except the one that says "Nick Name." Erase "Guest" and enter any nickname that you want. Your Apolyton Login is fine, but not necessary. You're not using your Apolyton account here, but this will also be mentioned in more detail later. When you've entered a nickname click "Connect Now!" and you will be taken to the chat room.

5. How do I know that I successfully connected to the chat room? and What do I do if I don't successfully connect?

You will know because you will see several screens of text flash past. . these are server messages. The last of which will be from ChanServ and will give the channel topic, and you'll see your nickname appear in the rectangular box to the right. (incidentally, that box contains the nicknames of all people present in the chat room right now.) If you do NOT successfully connect (you will see some sort of error messages) then all you need to do is click the button in the lower right that says "disconnect" or "connect" (what it says depends on your status at the moment) When you click "connect" it attempts to reconnect to the server (and to Apolyton's chat channel) There should be no other options you'd need to change.

6. I see a message that says "NickServ-- . . . The nick you are currently using is registered to another user." I have registered my nick on Apolyton, what's the problem?!

See the answer to #7

7. Hey, my nickname was just automatically changed to Guest***** (the *'s are random numbers. What happened?

Like I mentioned above, IRC does NOT use the Apolyton logins. The servers that Apolytons IRC channel is located on has several user services, one called ChanServ that regulates channels, and one called NickServ that regulates nicknames. Using these services, a person can "register" a nickname, saving it to the database with a password, and many other options. If NickServ tells you that your nickname is already registered, OR if your nickname is automatically changed to a Guest nickname, this is the reason why.

8. Ok, so how do I get a nickname that someone else isn't using? I'm already in the chat window, do I need to quit and start over?

NO, that's not necessary at all. To change your nickname once you have connected simply type /nick <new nickname> (minus the quotes and the < > marks) You should then see a message that looks like *** <old nickname> is now known as <new nickname>

9. Ok, I'm using a nick that nobody else has registered. How do I keep it?

While you are actively using the nickname, nobody else can use it, even if it's unregistered. If you'd like to prevent anyone from ever using that nickname, you'll have to register it with NickServ. To do so, switch to the nickname you want to register and type /msg nickserv REGISTER <password> <email address> Dalnet will then send you an email to confirm the registration of your nickname. Follow the directions in that email, and you're all set.

10. Hey, I registered this nickname, but I'm still getting messages from Nickserv telling me that I cant use this nick. What do I do?

If you've registered a nickname already, all you need to do is let NickServ know that you are the authorized user. To do so type /msg nickserv IDENTIFY <password>

11. What can I do if someone has hijacked my nickname?

You can do it by using the nickname recovering command ("nick kill") of NickServ. Simply type the command /msg nickserv recover nickname password (i.e. /msg nickserv recover Charlie charliebrown). After that you can switch your nickname to your usual name (see instructions above) and identify yourself as the owner by using the NickServ command /msg nickserv identify password (e.g. /msg nickserv identify charliebrown).

12. How do I actually TALK in the channel?

There is a rectangular white bar at the bottom left of the java chat panel. Type the text into this box and press enter. To change to bold font, click the "B" button, and to change the color of your text, click on one of the colored boxes next to that.

13. I'd like to use mIRC. What do I do?

We have instructions for that in 2 parts. The first part will explain how you can obtain mIRC and the second part will give you the necessary instructions for using the ACS IRC server. Part 1 A. Go to the download page of the mIRC website and choose a server close to your geographical location for downloading mIRC. E.g. if you happen to live in New York, you would choose the mirror server located in Pennsylvania. B. After finishing the download process (time depends on your connection speed), install mIRC by double clicking the installation package and follow the instructions. C. When you have installed the software, start mIRC by choosing the mIRC shortcut in the mIRC folder in your Windows Start menu. Part 2 A. After launching mIRC, the Options box should appear. If not, open it by choosing File -> Options or clicking the Options icon on the toolbar. b. The Options box shows you several empty fields after being opened. [screenshot] B. Click Add. C. A smaller empty dialog box is opened. D. Fill in the information like in the example. Description: Apolyton CS IRC Server: apolyton.net Port(s): 6667 Group: Apolyton E. Click Add. F. Fill in the fields with your user information. You can see the screenshot for hints or use the following model. Full Name: your real name or ACS nickname Email Address: your e-mail address Nickname: the nickname you want to use on the ACS IRC server Alternative: an alternative nickname in the case your primary nickname (see above) is in use when you connect to the server G. After this you may want to check your other mIRC settings, but that's not necessary, unless you want to customise mIRC's settings for your use. H. When you're ready, click OK. J. To connect to the ACS IRC server, it must be chosen under Options before you connect. K. Choose File -> Connect or click the Connect icon on the toolbar. L. When you have finally established the connection to the IRC server, the session status window will show you all sorts of information about the procedure and when finished, the command line will be active. [screenshot] M. In order to enter the main channel ("room") #apolyton of the ACS IRC server, enter the command /join #apolyton. N. A new window will appear. It's the channel window. You're now on the channel and you can talk now. The right column will show you the list of users currently on the channel. The @ sign indicates that the person is a channel operator and the + sign means that the person has a "voice", i.e. he can speak on the channel if the channel operator is enforcing a strict policy of who's allowed to speak. Do note that this is not common on the #apolyton IRC channel. [screenshot] O. If you want to speak, you can do it by typing your message in the box beneath the message area and by pressing Enter for sending your message, P. In the case you want to "do" something on the IRC channel and express your action, you can do it by typing: /me watches TV. [screenshot] Q. When you finally want to leave the IRC channel, simply use the command /leave (type it in the channel window). You can also do it by closing the channel window. R. Whenever you want to disconnect from the ACS IRC server, you can do it by choosing File -> Disconnect, clicking the Disconnect icon on the toolbar or using the command /quit in the server session window.

14. When using the chat room, people sometimes take a LONG time to respond to me. It seems as if they are not seeing my messages immediately. Why is this?

Often times when the IRC server are under high use, you will experience what is known as LAG. The most obvious symptoms of this is long delays in response time from other people, the servers, etc. Lag is NOT usually network wide but located on our server.

15. What does it mean when another person has the "@" or a "+" symbol by their nickname?

If they have an "@" that means that this person is a chat room "operator" for that specific chat room. They can change the attributes of a room, set the topic, kick people from the room, ban them from the room, etc. They are SIMILAR to the moderators in the Apolyton Forums. They perform different functions in different channels, but often assist the Operators in carrying out their duties. In the Apolyton chat room, those with a "+" by their name will almost always be special guests. One ability that the operators have is to "moderate" the channel (if you see an operator set the mode to +m, it means they're moderating the channel) . . this prevents anyone without an @ or + from speaking in the channel. This way, everyone can see what the OPs or any Special Guests might have to say easily. For open chat sessions, the channel will almost never be moderated in this way.

16. What does this mean?
* settler2 has joined #apolyton
* settler2 has quit IRC (Quit: settler2)

It's a bot that joins the #apolyton channel every 15 minutes and then leaves. It visits the channel for checking who's currently on the channel. The information is forwarded to the BBS software that will update the list of chat attendants on the top of all pages on ACS Forums.

17. I still need help with the commands and the general use of IRC.

You can get more information by using the command /msg nickserv help in the session status window or by choosing Help -> Contents from the menu. Help is also available online at the mIRC website (e.g. IRC FAQ) and the IRChelp.org website. A comprehensive list of good sites can be found on DMOZ.

18. Who do I get in touch with if my question is not here? (or if I have any comments on this FAQ)

You can contact Rasbelin or post in the Apolyton forum