The point of IRC is to chat, and as mentioned before, you may join in public discussions on channels or talk privately to one person at a time. We will show you how to do both here.

We previously learned how to find channels using the /list command. Here will talk about how to join those channels and talk on them.

There can be many thousands of channels on the largest networks, each with anywhere from one to hundreds of people. Each channel is controlled by channel operators or “ops” who have absolute authority over their channels. We will discuss more about that later. You should always observe basic netiquette when visiting other people’s channels.

/JOIN #channelname

Changes your current channel to the channel specified. If the channel does not exist already, it will be created and you will be in charge of the new channel and be a channel operator or “op” – more on that later.

/JOIN #spontanq4ctf

When you join a channel, everything that everybody says is preceded by their nicknames so others can tell who is saying what. For some IRC programs, it doesn’t show your own nickname, but don’t worry, other people still see it!

You type:
hello world!
but everybody else sees:
<YourNick> hello world!

/ME does something

Performs an action on a channel. Unlike talking normally, actions do not start with <YourNick>. Use /ME in the third person (verbs like “is”, “does”, “runs”, etc.).

/ME is a pink bunny

YourNick is a pink bunny

Private Conversations

/MSG nickname message

Use the /MSG command to send someone a message that only that person can read. Say you are “YourNick” and you want to talk to your friend “buddy”.
/MSG buddy hello, how are you?

On your screen, you would see:
-> *buddy* Hello, how are you?

On buddy’s screen, if he is using ircII he sees:
*YourNick* Hello, how are you?

To answer such a message using ircII, buddy would type:
/MSG YourNick Fine, thanks!

If buddy is using mIRC, he will instead get a new “query” window dedicated to this private conversation with you. Everything you /MSG him goes to that window. As soon as he responds to you in that window, if you are also using mIRC you will likewise also get a “query” window.

/QUERY nickname and /QUERY

In mIRC, if you initiate a /MSG you don’t get a “query” window until the other person responds to you. You can set up a “query” window on your side right from the beginning by using the /QUERY command:
/QUERY buddy

In ircII, you can have a private conversation by using /MSG nickname repeatedly, but that can get cumbersome. That’s where the QUERY command comes in handy. When you issue the above command, all subsequent text will be send as private messages to that nickname, except for “/irchelp/” commands. Use /QUERY with no nickname to end a private conversation.

Here’s an example of a private conversation between you as “YourNick” and your friend “buddy”, as seen from your point of view. Statements from your IRC client program start with “***”, outgoing messages from you to buddy start with “-> *buddy*”, and incoming messages to you from buddy start with “*buddy*”.

/QUERY buddy