IRC:Fri the 13th AGAIN???

Not only is it Friday the 13th (again) but there is a full moon. So, are you a
fanged triskaidekphobic?

There are new instructions for first time IRC users below.

The IP address for tonight's chat is:

12.67.33.181

Port must be 6667

Sometimes it changes during the day so remember you can always find it at :

http://www.vengers.com/page.htm

Some basic information on chatting is available from Rod Vengers web page and
links contained thereon.

Once again, if you need help tonight, I will monitor my email and try to
respond. Or you can call me at 510-795-9723.

Look forward to chatting with you.

John                     | "There be dragons here"
                         |  Annotation used by ancient cartographers
                         |  to indicate the edge of the known world.

**************

Here are some instructions for first time mIRC users. AOL instructions are at
the bottom of the mesage.

If you need to download mIRC go to:

http://www.mirc.co.uk/install.html 

Which also has general installation ans start up instructions. 

Note: you may find it useful to print out a copy of these instructions,
before you begin.


Setting up mIRC
----------------

        Once you have installed mIRC, and the mIRC icon is available in the
program manager (or other directory), you must set it up:

        First make sure you are on-line before you start mIRC.  If you use
AOL, CompuServe, Netcom or Internet Chameleon, you may require additional
startup instructions, which appear at the bottom of this page.

        Double click the  mIRC icon (shortcut) to start up mIRC.

As a first-time user, a box will pop up up saying that you are
un-registered.  Simply click the X in the top right-hand corner of this box
to proceed to the next step.

        mIRC will show the Setup Dialog and require you to fill in some
information: 
        
In the mIRC Setup select the IRC Servers tab and enter the following
information in the fields:

        Real Name: Your real name (ie, Iris Nutty) 

Note: This doesn't actually have to be your real name.  Many people choose
to type something else in this category, (such as a one-liner or witty
comment) as the information you give here can be seen by other users.  Even
if you don't put your real name here, you must type something in order to
proceed.

        E-Mail: Your email address (ie, irisnutty@student.utwent.com) 
        
        Nickname: A one to nine character alias to use on the chat system
(ie, Trickster) 

        Alternate: If someone else is already using the Nick Name
you you've chosen on IRC, you will be known  by this alternate name instead.
(ie, Brash) 

        
        You also have to set up to get to the Iris-l chat server.

Under File/Setup/IRC Servers, select ADD a new entry.
Under Description, type in "Venger's"
Under IRC Server, input the IP numbers I send out in the Friday message or
that you get by looking them up on Venger's chat page.
(http://www.vengers.com/page.htm)
The port MUST be 6667. Leave everything else blank.
Click on "OK", then "Connect".
"Edit" the entry for Venger's whenever the IP has changed,
normally every 24 hours. Input the new IP numbers.

Note:  If you get disconnected by Venger's server during the chat, go to the
web page and click "Reload" to see if the IP address has changed.  If so,
Edit your entry, then try to reconnect.  (Venger's server will probably be
the very last entry found in your list of servers).

        Next, select the Local Info tab.  Normally you dont have
to fill in anything here. Just make sure the boxes  under 'On Connect, Always
get':  IP Address and Local Host are Checked (selected).

        For various Internet Providers and PC setup's you might need other
settings here. Dont worry too much for now, if you get  problems later just
read the help provided on this topic in the mIRC Help file (mirc.hlp). 

        Now select the Identd tab and Enable the Identd Server.  (i.e. click
to select it).

Your User ID should already be filled-in there.  Eventually fill in your
Account Name in this field. (Your account name is the part before the @ in
your  email address, like t.r.vonck in my case) The system should always be
set to UNIX and Listening on port 113. 

        Once this is all set, click on the OK button to close the
mIRC Setup Dialog. 

        mIRC is now set up and totally ready to use.


How to Use mIRC
----------------

        Click on the File menu and select Connect. (Or select the
lightning button in the Toolbar)   After a short wait (up to 20 seconds) you
will see some meaningless blurb appear in the status window.  The last line
will say something like "End of MOTD command".

        A box will pop up to ask which chat channel you want to join.  Type
#iris-l in the blank space at the top, then press the return key.

        If no box pops up, you can join the channel by typing the following
command in the status window:

        /join #iris-l


Congratulations!  You are now on IRC!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special instructions for mIRC users

        The following instructions pertain only to users of AOL, CompuServe,
Netcom or Internet Chameleon.

       If you are on AOL

To access IRC through AOL first you need to have AOL's winsock.dll. Connect to
AOL, go to keyword winsock, download it and follow the setup instructions.
Make sure the dll autoloads with starting the AOL dialer in the future. Then
log on to AOL, stay in the pay area. At this point you can start mIRC. There
is more info on Chris' IRC/AOL page. 

Using IRC on AOL
This procedure has been tested with mIRC only.
Logon to AOL and minimize it.
Open mIRC and go to File Setup and click on the local info tab.
Leave localhost and IP address blank.  Under "on connect always get:",
Check the local host box.
That will allow you to get out of AOL.
Logging into our server:
Under File/Setup/IRC Servers, ADD a new entry.
Under Description, type in Venger's
Under IRC Server, input the IP numbers seen above.
The port MUST be 6667. Leave everything else blank.
Click on "OK", then connect.
"Edit" the entry for Venger's whenever the IP has changed,
normally every 24 hours. Input the new IP numbers.


       If you are on CompuServe 

To use mIRC on a CompuServe account make sure your CompuServe Dialer (or  CSD
for short) is installed and working properly. The CSD is a stand-alone
application that   provides point-to-point protocol (PPP) access to the
Internet through the CompuServe network. The  CSD will work in conjunction
with mIRC (like any other Winsock-compliant TCP/IP application). Normally you
do not need to do anything to start up the CSD. It operates dial-on-demand,
which  means that when mIRC starts up the CSD automatically dials up the
CompuServe network (presuming you are not already connected) and begins
connecting to the Internet. No additional setup is required. -more info-

       If you are on Netcom 
To run 3rd party software like mIRC on the Netcruiser winsock you will need to
first configure NetCruiser to automatically load its winsock at startup. Log
into your NetCruiser account, and make very sure no other NetCruiser clients
(e-mail, WWW, etc) are running! Then click on  "Settings", choose "Startup
Options" and select the option to "Autoload Netcom's winsock.dll".  Click on
'OK'. You can't see or select this option with other programs running! At this
point you will need to exit NetCruiser to make the changes active. Now you can
log back into your account,  minimize the NetCruiser window, and run mIRC from
your Program Manager (Desktop). If you  have NetCruiser version 2.1, you may
configure the Application Launcher to run mIRC from the  floating toolbar. 


       If you are on Internet Chameleon

Ensure that the Internet Chameleon directory is in your path. Run the 
Internet Chameleon dialer application (the icon is named Custom), and then
select the line  corresponding to your current Internet Service Provider. In
the Setup menu, choose "Dial On  Demand". This will make the dialer
application run when mIRC tries to connect to the Internet. 


Detailed beginner mIRC instructions at: http://www.mirc.co.uk/install.html 

Some basic information on chatting is available from Rod Vengers web page and
links contained thereon.

Once again, if you need help tonight, I will monitor my email and try to
respond. Or you can call me at 510-795-9723.
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