A: No, you don't have to give your real name. But filling in a phony name doesn't guarantee anonymity. The computer you use can always be traced, so you'll never be truly anonymous.
Q: Do I have to fill in my E-Mail address in the Setup dialog box?
A: If you have an E-Mail account, you should fill in the address so you can be reached by E-Mail.
Q: What language should I speak on IRC?
A: The language most widely spoken on IRC is English. If you want to speak another language, go to a separate channel and set the topic to indicate the language spoken. Similarly, when you join a channel you should always check the topic to see if it indicates the language spoken.
Q: How should I behave on a channel?
A: - Before joining a conversation, read what the participants are talking about, so that you can get to know the topic.
-When you join a channel, it's not necessary to greet everybody personally. Usually one "Hello!" is enough. The same applies to good- byes.
- When you're expected to reply, type as fast as you can so the user on the other end won't have to wait too long. If your reply is long, send it in a few sentences
- Refrain from using your program's facilities to automatically say hello or good-bye to people. It is extremely poor etiquette. Nobody like to receive autogreets!
- Think before you type! If you use offensive language, you'll be frowned upon.
- Don't "dump" (send large amounts of unwanted information) to a channel or user. This is likely to get you kicked off the channel!
- If you're addressing your message to a specific participant on the channel, write his/her nickname so that everyone will know the message is for him/her.
- Don't ask a participant what his/her sex is or where he/she lives. This is viewed as harassment.
Q: What's a "channel operator"?
A: A channel operator is the participant with "@" by his/her nickname. He/she is the "ruler" of a particular channel. This means that he/she can kick you off the channel for any reason. When you open a channel, you become its operator.
Q: What are good channels to try while using IRC?
A: Some popular channels include: #hottub, #friendly, #chat, and #riskybus. They're always full of people.
There are also channels that specialize in helping other users, such as: #windows95, #winsock, #irchelp, #ircnewbies, and #mirc.
Q: Someone is using my nickname! Can I do anything about it?
A: If someone takes your nickname while you're not on IRC, you can ask them to give it back, but you can't demand that they do it.
Q: A channel operator has kicked me off a channel. Who can I complain to?
A: A channel operator doesn't need a reason to kick you off a channel. He/she decides what goes on there. Complaining to IRC operators about being kicked off or banned from a channel is considered extremely childish, and won't produce any results. If you get kicked off or banned from a channel, you're always free to start your own channel and decide what's appropriate.
Q: I want to have a personal chat with some of my buddies on a private channel. Can we arrange that no one disturbs us?
A: The best way to ensure privacy is to announce that your channel is a private one. Ask your ISP to find out how this is done.
A faster way is to simply give the channel a topic that has strange codes in it, such as "@#!&!**", which won't give outsiders a reason to join the channel.
Q: I'm creating a new channel and so far I'm the only one there! What are the odds that someone will join my channel?
A: The odds aren't high. Unless your topic is very interesting, people won't be attracted to it. You can always join an existing channel and ask one or more participants to join you on your new channel. Once IRC users see that a channel has several participants holding a conversation, the probability that they'll join as well increases.
