So there are a few guides around, but none for the IRC o_O Since I know first hand that IRC can be confusing at times, I've taken it upon myself to write up this little guide about it :).
Okay, first off, you need to get an IRC client. Some popular ones are mIRC and Chatzilla, and you can also use Mibbit, a built-in java client for browsers. I recomment getting a client if you use it a lot (it's just easier that way), but whatever you want to use works :B. I use mIRC myself, so that's what this tutorial will be geared towards.
Getting Onto IRC
I'm not going through installing mIRC, since that is (hopefully) self-explanatory ;). Anyways. After installing it, you can change your options by going onto Tools, then on Options.
A box will pop up. You can change a few things in Options, but you only really need to worry about this one for now:
I edited out my email, by the way. Yours shouldn't be empty.
You get prompted to fill this out when you first install mIRC (to the best of my knowledge ^^; It's been a while.), btw. Full name and email are self explanatory. Nickname is what you'll be called on IRC! You can change it to anything at any time, unless it's a registered nick (We'll go over that later). You also need to put in an alt. nick, which is what your nick will be changed to if it's taken (for whatever reason). As you can see, my nick is Lynxogirl (well, right now it's MewonaMission - but it's usually Lynxogirl!), and my alt is Carrehz. I suggest putting your username as your main nick, for better recognition. It doesn't really matter what you put as your alt nick, mine is just a username I use elsewhere on the intenet. -shrug-
Anyway, when you open mIRC, this'll automatically pop up after mIRC has loaded (You'll need to get past the 'register mIRC' messages first. Yes, you can use it after the trial's run out :P). It's easiest to just click 'connect'
Now, here's the fun part. To get onto AMZ's IRC server, you can either click OK to get off the box, then type /server irc.aftermathzone.com into the text box and click Enter:
..or you can add it to your server list (which is much easier in the long run). To do this, go onto Tools -> Options, then click 'Servers':
..then 'Add'..
..and then this will pop up! mIRC should automatically fill in the Ports section, so you don't need to mess with that. You also don't need to mess around with Passwords. The only things you need to worry about is IRC server and description.
Description is what the server will show up as under the server list. I've put AMZ's server down as '#AMZ', but it doesn't really matter what you put (although it should probably be something to do with AMZ, lol). Server is irc.aftermathzone.com.
You'll notice there's also a section called Group. It doesn't matter if you put AMZ in a group or not (I haven't), but I may as well go over it anyway.
You've probably noticed those other servers - they're actually groups. If you click on the folder icon next to their names, you'll then get a list of servers. (Most of them just have 'random server'. For Freenode, mine has random server and AMZ; yours'll just have random server.). So if you want to give AMZ a group, just put 'AMZIRC' or something similar under group. However, it doesn't matter whether you do or not :B.
After adding the server, it'll automatically send you to the bottom of the list (or if you've put a group for yours, it'll send you to wherever the group is. Basically, mIRC will automatically select the new server :)). After that, click 'Select', and you'll have set your default server! Whee.
After that, just click Connect, and you'll have connected to the server! However, you're still not actually on IRC. You need to go into a channel now!
Fortunately, after connecting this box will pop up:
You'll notice I have two channels called AMZ. This is because AMZ used to be on the Freenode server, and I never bothered to get rid of the other one ;) Anyway, yours won't, so you have a few options..
Either type in #amz on the above text box (circled in blue in the above picture), then click 'Join', and you'll be in. However, you can also add it to your list of channels (which is easier in the long run). First, click Add (circled in red). A box will pop up:
Channel is #AMZ. Ignore the password section; you don't need it. You can put whatever you want for the description, or no description at all! It doesn't really matter. After that, click 'ok', and it'll automatically select your new channel. After that, click 'Join' (circled in yellow) - and you're in!
There's another way: click 'X' to get rid of the popup, then type /join #amz into the text bar, click enter:
..and you'll be in. Either one of those three options will get you into AMZ's IRC channel. Now to explain a bit more about IRC itself!
Getting to know IRC
This is what IRC will look like upon entering. The thing with a blue arrow pointing to it is the topic of the channel. This is basically a description of the channel; on AMZ IRC, it's pretty much whatever the staff feel like ;) It's usually relevant to the recent events.. Anyway, it doesn't affect IRC much. You can also see who's set the current topic (in this case, @Northpike).
The thing with a yellow arrow pointing to it is the text box. This is what you'll be typing into. After typing, you'll have to click 'Enter' on your keyboard, as mIRC doesn't have a send button. -shrug- No real problem.
The thing with a red arrow pointing to it is the user list. This is everyone who is currently in the channel. You'll notice some people have symbols next to their names; these can be semi-confusing, so I'll explain them.
People with an ~ by their name (eg, ~ORenyRen) are founders. Founders can do anything in the channel, and are basically glorified ops (:P). @ORenyRen is the founder of #AMZ, and the one you should talk to if you've received Blah Wah Lol and wish to have a voice.
People with an @ by their name (eg, @Suigin) are ops, or operators. These can do ANYTHING to the channel, including (but not limited to) changing the topic, kicking people, banning people, etc. #AMZ's ops are @Dargon, @Suigin and @Northpike.
People with an & by their name (eg, &G) are super ops. They can do everything that an op can, and are pretty much the same as an op. #AMZ's super ops are @Ace, @Sam, and G (but G isn't a real person :P).
People with an % by their name (eg, %Reese) are half ops. Half ops can kick and ban people from the channel (more on that later), and can change the channel topic. #AMZ's half ops are @Reese and @Sminthian.
People with an + by their name (eg, +Rens_Fro) are people with a voice. This means they can talk even if the channel is muted. Voiced people are usually people with the Blah Wah Lol achievement. You need to be registered to automatically receive a voice (assuming you have Blah Wah Lol); I'll explain that in a bit, too. #AMZ's voiced users are @BranchedOut, @Zaoki, @Papermonkey, @weee5067, and Rens_Fro (but the Fro is a bot :B).
And people with nothing by their name are just regular users :) As you can see in the above screenie, there's no ops, three voiced users, and two regular users. Pretty self explanatory.
IRC is usually quiet from 6 AM AMZ time (or earlier) to 12 PM AMZ time; it gets more popular later in the day. If no one's in IRC when you log on, just be patient and wait for someone to greet you, or come back later on. Remember, if people aren't talking, they're not ignoring you - they're just probably away.
Now, you're probably wondering how to do those action things, like below:
This is achieved by typing /me yawns (or whatever else you want to do). It's a pretty fun command, ne?
As you can see, I've changed my nick back to Lynxogirl. Wondering how you can change your nick? It's pretty simple, really. Just type /nick MyNewNick (or whatever you want to change your nick to), and if it isn't taken, you will have successfully changed your nick! :)
If it is taken, however, you'll get an error message, and it won't go through. No harm done :).
It should be added that using the /nick feature to impersonate other users is extremely frowned upon, and shouldn't be done. However, if someone is impersonating someone, you can always check who they are with the /whois command.
/whois is a command that shows you some basic info about the user you've looked up:
(I edited out my info again, which is why there are some white parts.)
This will tell you who the user is, what other channels they are in, and if they are away or not. To use the /whois command, type /whois Lynxogirl (or another nick). It'll only work if the user is currently on the channel.
You can also set your away status! This will show up in your user info (more on that in a sec), or if someone looks you up using /whois.
To set your away status, say /away Going out (or whatever).
Now, user info.. If you right click on someone's name in the user list, you can do a few things:
However, as a normal user you can only really /whois someone, check their info, or slap them (hee!). We're focusing on the info for now. Clicking on that brings up a box:
Here you can see their name, channels, idle time and away status; basically the same as /whois. You can also add people to your address book here (if you're on mIRC), but I haven't messed around with that feature, so I won't go into that :p.
However, there are a few more things you can do if you right click on someone's name.. For example, if you mouse over 'Control':
As a normal user, you can only really make use of Ignore and Unignore. All of the other commands are ops only (and for good reason!).
Ignoring is pretty self explanatory. If a user is bothering you or you don't want to see what they have to say any more, you can ignore them (and of course, it can be reversed, too). This can also be achieved by typing /ignore user or /ignore off user. You probably won't be using this much.
Now, you probably want to know how to send private messages to people. There are a few ways..
To send a message to someone without opening a new IRC window, type /notice Nick Message. This is useful if you want to ask someone something without entering into a full conversation, or letting them know of something.
This will only show up to you and the user you're sending it to, and will show up in a red font (like above).
To msg someone, and bring up what is essentially a private channel that only you and the other user can enter, see and talk in, type /msg nick message:
This will send a little notice to the user, and will open up a new window in IRC. There is no limit to the amount of windows you can have open on IRC (to my knowledge), so go wild! XD
You can also use /query, which is mostly the same as /msg, but without the message in the channel you're already in; it just opens up a new window automatically. To use /query, type /query nick message.
What are those bot things?
G and Rens_Fro are the bots of the channel. G greets you when you join #AMZ, and can perform kicks, as well as a few other things. G is the official bot of #AMZ.
Rens_Fro is a fun and quite useful bot. To show the Fro's commands, type !showcommands:
I'll let you see what some of the wilder commands do, but I'll go over some of the more commonly used ones here.
!seen nick is a handy little command that lets you see when a certain user was last seen on #AMZ:
When the user logs on, they will be informed that you were looking for them (but it will not automatically make them rejoin #AMZ).
!top10 and !top20 are lists of the top 10 and 20 users. This is determined by how much a user has said recently.
These can be achieved by typing !top10 and !top20.
There are also lists of the top 10 and 20 users for the day: !ttop10 and !ttop20.
You can also type !stat to find out your IRC stats (or !stat nick to find out someone else's stats):
Do not spam these commands; they show up for everyone and spamming them can get annoying very quickly.
So how do I quit?
Had enough of IRC? Going to bed for the night? To leave #AMZ, simply type /quit. If you want to leave a reason, type /quit reason. Quit reasons will display to everyone but you, so it won't show up in your logs. You don't need to leave a reason.. and yes, you can put *anything* as your reason ;) Song lyrics, jokes, whatever (as long as they don't break AMZ's rules, of course!).
/quit will also disconnect you from the server. To reconnect, you'll have to click File, then Connect.
If you just want to leave #amz, type /part #amz or /leave #amz. This will make you leave #AMZ, but not disconnect from the server.
How do I register my nick?
Registering your nick is pretty easy, and quite useful. No one else can use your nick once it's registered, and if you've got Blah Wah Lol, it means you can receive a voice.
To register, just type /msg nickserv register password email, where 'password' is the password you wish to use (I recommend not using your AMZ password, just in case), and 'email' is your email (for example, /msg nickserv register 1234 bob@bob.com). After it's registered, you can identify by typing /msg nickserv identify password. If anyone else on the channel is using your nick (for example, if you timed out and you're 'still signed on'), you can type !ghost and they will be kicked.
What does a kick mean? Why have I been banned
A kick is exactly what it sounds like; it kicks someone from the channel. Only ops can use this, and it's usually done if someone is causing trouble.. although on AMZ, it's used somewhat more informally and jokingly ;) In any case, if you get kicked, check your kick message, if there is one. That should tell you why you've been kicked.
Banning is never done jokingly, and again, is a command only ops can use. If someone is REALLY causing trouble, they will be banned.. enough said. If you're using Mibbit, and it says you've been banned even though you've done nothing wrong, don't panic! Mibbit doesn't like it when someone gets banned. Just report it on the forums and then try to enter using a different nick, and it'll probably let you in.
Misc Things
Want to read an old IRC moment? It's easier than you'd think.. just click Tools, then Log Files, select a log, and click 'View'.
The last two logs are inside jokes. I don't really hate @Trellix ;).
The selected log file will then open up in Notepad.
And that's it! If you have any other questions, just let me know :).