on Nightstar.Net
(as of February, 2002: connect through us.nightstar.net or deepthought.dnsalias.net)

When you're new to IRC, it feels a little confusing, but it's really not as complicated as it seems. Using IRC can be as easy as using a chat room or message program! Open your IRC client (see below for where to get one if you don't already have one), and select a nickname and a server. Once you've connected with a Nightstar.net server, you then join the channel #shadowfall. Most IRC clients will have either a button for joining channels or an option on a dropdown menu, depending on the client's interface.

From there, you just type your messages into an input line or box, and follow the conversation as you would in any chat room. There are some more detailed instructions, below, for registering your nickname and how to use some of the many functions of IRC.

Why #shadowfall?

#shadowfall exists so that readers and friends of ShadowFall have an alternative to the Kyoki Press forums, a place to hang out and chat with me, with ShadowFall characters and with each other in real time. (^-^) Since I work online a lot, I may be in the channel at just about any time, though I'm most likely to be on it between 9 pm and 5 am CST. CST is 6 hours earlier than GMT, 1 hour earlier than EST, and 15 hours earlier than Tokyo time. That should give you a good idea of how your timezone compares to mine. I hope! I'll try to get into the habit of signing on to Nightstar whenever I'm working online, but feel free to use the channel at any time, whether I'm there or not. It's for your enjoyment, after all!

There are three sets of commands: NickServ, MemoServ, and ChanServ. NickServ is for anything relating to your nickname, such as registering it or identifying yourself as a registered user after you sign on. MemoServ is to send memos to the channel or to another user. ChanServ is for setting up and maintaining a channel.

There are many options for Mac and PC. I use ircle for Mac, and it's very good. CNET downloads usually has the newest versions of everything:

• IRC clients for Mac
• IRC clients for PC
• IRC help for Linux users*

To register, log in with your preferred nickname and type this into the input line:

/msg NickServ REGISTER [password]

Once you've done this, identify yourself with your password:

/msg NickServ IDENTIFY [password]

You must identify yourself within one minute of signon, if you are using a registered nickname, or the server will cut you off!! But don't worry that you might forget, as the server will prompt you to identify yourself.

Here's a quick reference to NickServ commands (and I don't yet know what all of these are for, myself!). These come directly from the server's HELP page:

• REGISTER
  Register a nickname
• IDENTIFY
  Identify yourself with your password
• ACCESS
  Modify the list of authorized addresses
• LINK
  Make your nick an alias for another
• SET
  Set options, including kill protection
• DROP
  Cancel the registration of a nickname
• RECOVER
  Kill another user who has taken your nick
• RELEASE
  Regain custody of your nick after RECOVER

Other NickServ commands: UNLINK, GHOST, INFO, LIST, STATUS, SLAVES

NickServ allows you to "register" a nickname and prevent others from using it. If the nick is not used for 28 days, the registration will expire. The following commands allow for registration and maintenance of nicknames; to use them, type /msg NickServ [COMMAND]. For more information on a specific command, type /msg NickServ HELP [COMMAND].

NOTICE: This service is intended to provide a way for IRC users to ensure their identity is not compromised. It is NOT intended to facilitate "stealing" of nicknames or other malicious actions. Abuse of NickServ will result in, at minimum, loss of the abused nickname(s).

MemoServ

MemoServ's commands include:

• SEND
  Send a memo to a nick or channel
• LIST
  List your memos
• READ
  Read a memo or memos
• DEL
  Delete a memo or memos
• SET
  Set options related to memos

MemoServ is a utility allowing IRC users to send short messages to other IRC users, whether they are online at the time or not, or to channels. Both the sender's nickname and the target nickname or channel must be registered in order to send a memo.

By default, any user with at least level 10 access on a channel can read that channel's memos. This can be changed with the ChanServ LEVELS command.

ChanServ

ChanServ's commands include:

• REGISTER
  Register a channel
• IDENTIFY
  Identify yourself with your password
• SET
  Set channel options and information
• ACCESS
  Modify the list of privileged users
• LEVELS
  Redefine the meanings of access levels
• AKICK
  Maintain the AutoKick list
• DROP
  Cancel the registration of a channel

Other ChanServ commands: INFO, LIST, INVITE, OP, DEOP, UNBAN, CLEAR

ChanServ allows you to register and control various aspects of channels. ChanServ can often prevent malicious users from "taking over" channels by limiting who is allowed channel operator privileges. Available commands are listed below; to use them, type /msg ChanServ [COMMAND]. For more information on a specific command, type /msg ChanServ HELP command.

Note that any channel which is not used for 14 days (i.e. which no user on the channel's access list enters for that period of time) will be automatically dropped.

The makers of Ircle have kindly provided a page listing some common commands that should work in most clients:

List of Common Commands

IRC offers far more than any ordinary chat room! You can use IRC to trade files, trade private messages, and much more. I'm still a big newbie to all this, so I don't know how much help I can be to anyone. But if you have questions, feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to find out for you. Nightstar also has a channel specifically for questions, so you could ask there, as well.

I hope everyone enjoys the channel!