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How Do I Get on #cfs-20s? To log onto IRC you need to choose a server. Our channel, #cfs-20s is found on the Undernet network of servers so you will need to choose one of these. The regulars seem to choose Undernet, Canada, Toronto or Undernet, US, VA, Arlington, however not everyone can get on these and other U.S. or EU servers can be just as good. For the local time zone meetings you may find you want to connect to a more local server e.g. Undernet, UK, London for the UK meetings. Once you have logged on you will need to join the channel. To do this type... /join #cfs-20s a. Undernet Servers IRC is run on a network of computers that are connected together and situated all around the world. The particular IRC network that #cfs-20s is found on is one of the more popular networks, called Undernet. If you are running an IRC client such as mIRC or Ircle, then the chances are that it has already got a list of Undernet servers that you can automatically select, pre-installed. AOL USERS: Click HERE to see the server you should use. If not, then the following table gives you all the information your software will need, in order to connect to one of the better Undernet servers for using #cfs-20s. You can find a fuller list of Undernet server addresses HERE |
| SERVER | MACHINE | PORTS |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto.ON.CA.Undernet.org | kamal.total.net | 6667 |
| Surrey.UK.EU.Undernet.Org | undernet.irc.cableinet.net | 6667 |
| Arlington.VA.US.Undernet.Org | irc.erols.com | 6660-6669 |
| Austin.TX.US.Undernet.Org | irc.io.com | 6665-6669, 7000, 7777 |
| McLean.VA.US.Undernet.Org | babble-on.systems.cais.net | 6667, 6668 |
| Paris.FR.EU.Undernet.Org | paris.fr.eu.undernet.org | 6662-6668 |
| London.UK.EU.Undernet.org | monster.nildram.co.uk | 6666, 6667, 7000, 8000, 9000 |
| Ottawa.ON.CA.Undernet.Org | 6667 |
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AOL users: Because of the way AOL works, it restricts
access to the Internet, so consequently you can only get on IRC by using AOL's own server. You
therefore have to set your IRC client up to use the following server (mIRC users will already find
this set up in their list of servers)... |
| SERVER | MACHINE | PORTS |
|---|---|---|
| Undernet: US, America OnLine | irc-i03.irc.aol.com | 6667 |
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b. What Nickname Should I Use? It is important to pick a nickname that you will be comfortable with as you, and others, will be using it a lot. Your nickname will also be the first piece of information that anyone else on IRC will have about you, so you should bear that in mind when choosing one. The nickname you choose must be unique as only one person on Undernet can use it at a time. If you want to use a nickname that is very popular and already in use, say for instance Bob, try and alter it so that it becomes more unique. For example, put a number after it, Bob99, or some text characters, ^Bob^. Your nickname can only be 9 characters long, so if you want to use a longer nickname, you will have to shorten it somehow. This can often be achieved by leaving out the vowels. So for instance, if you want to use the nickname Crazy Horse, you could shorten it to CrzyHorse'. On Undernet no one owns a nickname, so no one can claim a certain nickname as their own. However people do get passionate about their nickname, especially if it is one they have used for years. So, if you go on IRC with a nickname that someone else uses, you may find yourself being angrily messaged by someone telling you to change your nick. You have two choices: you can stick your ground and say that no one owns the nicks so you are free to use it, or you can simply apologize and change your nick to something else. In order to decrease the chance of any possible harassment, it is recommended (especially for females) to try and use a nick that is non-gender specific and that doesn't use sexually related language. Some lowlifes on IRC deliberately search for people using either female nicknames, in order to (for want of a better word) proposition them. They also search for nicks using sexually related language and will assume that someone using such a nick is on IRC for more 'adult' reasons. c. So, What Do You Talk About? The simple answer? Everything and anything!!! Any topic of conversation that you might have with a friend or group of friends in real life will be just as at home on #cfs-20s. From the serious to the surreal, from the mundane to the exciting; you name it, we talk about it! Sometimes it is good to have fun and mess around, other times things get a bit more serious if someone wants to talk about a problem they are having, or are asking for help. And of course, this being a 'virtual' gathering, you can get up to all sorts of weird and wonderful things that you might not be able to in real life. #cfs-20s has also been the scene of many an IRC party, complete with dancing, drinking, food fights and more. The privileged few have even been lucky enough to catch EvilHomer doing his legendary table top dances at such occasions!!! ;-) d. I'm a Bit Shy and/or Frightened I'll Do/Say the Wrong Thing! Many people are afraid that they are going to say the wrong thing or not be able to join in the conversation when they first join #cfs-20s - I know I was. Let me assure you that #cfs-20s is a very friendly and understanding place to be. Imagine it is a room full of your friends, when you enter it is usually polite just to say hello and if it is your first time, you might want to say who you are. But if you then just want to sit back quietly until you become a bit more sure of yourself or if you are not well enough to join in with the conversation, then I am sure most people will understand. :-) e. What Does an IRC Conversation Look Like? IRC looks different depending on which software you use to access it. However, all software will have a place where you can type the text or commands you wish to enter, and another area where you will see the text from the channel you are in. Many of the more popular clients allow for multiple windows for if you go in more than one channel, or are talking privately to someone. The following is an example #CFS-20s IRC conversation. It's taken from the middle of one of our IRC birthday parties, hence all the dancing. ;-) Huge thanks to Corina_, Cobalt, PrplKnght and StGromit for allowing it to be used here. * Corina_ makes gromit dance with her next as punishment <PrplKnght> Punishment? I'm having quite the blast dancing with you.. Martha/Corina. :) <Corina_> hehehe <Corina_> thanks, but this song is over. <Cobalt> So, Roger, is your nick Gromit like the claymation dog? <PrplKnght> Oh.. and here I was still dancing! How embarassing. * Corina_ bows to Patrick and hustles on over to gromit to start the next song. * PrplKnght looks at Willow and Cobalt to see who is next. :) <Corina_> aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Did I not tell you she was cool????? <StGromit> yep <Corina_> cool! <StGromit> \o/ 0 <0_ O <StGromit> I <I> I /I\ <StGromit> / \ / \ / \ / \ <StGromit> PrplKnght Cobalt Corina_ Willow doing the ymca!! <Cobalt> LOLOLOLOLOL! * Corina_ notices gromit is looking a bit under the weather. <Cobalt> I love Gromit!!!!!!!! he (the doggie) knits! <Corina_> after this song you better go!! <Corina_> LOLOLOLOLOL <Corina_> Gromit has been known to knit in channel!! <Cobalt> hahahahaha! <Corina_> OOh, check out my cool pose--hahahahahahahahahahaha <Cobalt> Yeah, I was wondering exactly how you were doing that, Cor, what with your head off your body and all? <PrplKnght> knitting? <Corina_> Its a trick I learned when I was in the circus <PrplKnght> Where's my purple sweater? :) <Cobalt> rotfl!!!! <Corina_> what is gromit wearing to this festive occasion? * StGromit is in a light green Twirly number with matching high heels and floppy hat :-) <Corina_> LOLOLOLOL <Corina_> OOh! Charming! * Cobalt looks at gromit in envy of his lovely matching outfit! * Corina_ notes that Gromits dress does indeed twirl when he twirls on the dance floor f. I Keep Talking to 'X' but She Never Responds!! |
 X is our 'bot' |
X is a 'bot' (short for robot), a program which stays in the channel and keeps
it open 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. Although she is no doubt a very wise and wonderful thing, you will never get
a response from X, no matter how hard you try to get her to talk. :-) |
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g. The Dreaded Lag & Netsplits Lag: Sometimes you may find that people are taking a long time to respond to your messages or not responding at all. This is more often than not caused by a thing called 'lag'. The networks used to run IRC can become overwhelmed at times and can take a long time to get messages through, this delay is known as lag. If this happens then it is usually best to change your server. The best way to cut lag is if everyone in the channel is on the same server but this is not always possible so you may need to switch servers several times before you can find one that works properly. A couple commands which will help you with this are... /ping Nickname This command sends a 'ping' to the person whose nickname you entered. This is a way of telling how long you are lagged to that person as you should see a message come back after a while informing you of how long the 'ping' took to get there and back. /whois Nickname If you type this command using the nickname of the person you want to find out about, it will tell you which server they are currently on. Netsplits: Sometimes you will hear people talk about netsplits and not before too long you will probably experience them yourself, because unfortunately they are part and parcel of IRC. A netsplit is, as the term suggests, when the network of IRC servers split into 2, 3 or more smaller parts. Imagine that #cfs-20s is a 'room' that covers the whole world by being on all the Undernet servers. If there is a netsplit, when the network of IRC servers splits into several smaller parts, so does our 'room'. If you happen to be on one side of the split, and the people/person you are talking to is on the other, you will no longer be able to talk to them. In fact you won't even be able to see them, and it will look to you as if they have quit IRC. The reverse is true for them, as to them it will look like you have left IRC. This is why, when a netsplit rejoins, people may ask you where you went, even though you have effectively never left! When a netsplit occurs, there are two things you can do, unfortunately it is pot luck as to which will work the best as it depends why the split occurred. |
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1. You can stay where you are and just wait for the split to rejoin. If it doesn't take that long
then this is usually the best method as you do not have to keep changing servers in order to
find one which is on the other side of the split. However, sometimes splits can last for quite some time. 2. You can change servers. If everyone else was on a particular server that was different to yours, then the chances are if you can swap over to the server they are on, you should be able to chat to them again. If not, then it is a game of chance to pick a server that allows you to rejoin everyone else. Unfortunately, experience is the only thing that helps make this method easier as you tend to learn which servers are the best ones to head for. Another downside with changing servers to solve problems with netsplits, is that there may be a chance that the people/person you were talking to are also changing servers to try and find you, so you can end up chasing one another all over Undernet! Also, sometimes depending on the reason behind the netsplit, it may simply be impossible to get on any other server that is on the other side of the split. |
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h. Some Basic Commands The following is a selection of basic IRC commands that should allow you to use IRC without any difficulty. Please do not be put off if they look like gobbledegook to you because they looked like that to everyone at first, but after a bit of practice, they soon become second nature, even to the most brainfogged/technophobic of people. :-) There are many more commands than the ones shown here, but these are the ones you will probably use the most. Join: /join #channelname Joins the channel #channelname (where 'channelname' is the name of the channel that you wish to join. On IRC '#' denotes a channel. Me: /me message This is the action command. It is used to say that you are doing some sort of action. e.g. if your nickname is TiredOne and you typed /me passes around the chocolates the following message would be displayed: * TiredOne passes around the chocolates Msg: /msg nickname message This sends a private message to 'nickname' (the nickname of the person you want to talk to). Nick: /nick nickname Changes your nick to nickname. You can only have a maximum of 9 characters in your nickname, and your nickname must be unique as no two people can be on IRC with the same nick, at the same time. Part: /part #channelname This makes you leave the channel you specified, but not leave IRC. Ping: /ping nickname|#channelname Or: /ctcp nickname/#channelname ping This sends a ping to the person or the channel (Pings everyone in the channel at that time). For more information on pings, see The Dreaded Lag. Quit: /quit Disconnects you from IRC Whois: /whois nickname Shows you information on the nickname you specified i. So, What Are All Those Acronyms, Smilies and Other Things I See in Channel? Acronyms: These are used for two reasons. Firstly it is a lot easier to type an abbreviation than it is to have to type out the whole phrase, and it is therefore also quicker to type/read. Secondly, there is a technical reason why acronyms are used on the net. As they cut down on the amount of information being sent, they save on 'bandwidth' and possibly storage space. So that everyone uses the same set of acronyms and can understand one another, a standard set of acronyms cropped up. A list of the more popular ones and, the ones you are most likely to come across in #cfs-20s, can be found HERE. Smilies: Where text on a computer screen is such an emotionless medium, it can sometimes be hard to interpret just what someone is meaning/feeling, or hard to express your own feelings. Because of this, smilies (or emoticons) cropped up. They are a series of symbols used to represent someone's emotions. e.g :-) means happy, or joking. (HINT: tilt your head to the left!). Click HERE for a list of the most popular smilies, and the ones you are most liable to see in #cfs-20s. Other things: There are a few other odd things that you might see in channel, and just like acronyms and smilies, they are used to add expression to the text. Typing in capitals: When someone types in all capitals, then they are 'SHOUTING'. Because it is hard to read text that is all caps, it is frowned upon if you do it a lot, so just keep it for using when you need to express that particular emotion. Stars/asterisks around words: This is used to either emphasize a word or to stress an action. e.g. If I said "I did *not* like that!", it means I am adamant about not liking it. Terms & Phrases Specific To #cfs-20s: Just like any other community, #cfs-20s has some of it's own idiosyncrasies. You can find some of these terms and phrases, that you are liable to come across in #cfs-20s HERE. j. What Are Popups, Ascii-Art, And Sounds? Can I Use Them? Popups and ascii-art, are ways of drawing pictures using text characters. Popups: These tend to be very colourful, and are so called because in mIRC you tend to access them via the 'popup' menu. Unfortunately as there is no colour standard on IRC, different IRC clients, display colours in different ways. Consequently you may not see all the colours, they may not show at all, or you might get some weird code instead. Where mIRC is the most popular IRC client, it tends to be only mIRC popups that are used. note: Colourful popups can get very irritating, especially if they are cutting across normal chat, there are a lot displayed at once, or if they make people sick, so please use them with caution, and if someone asks you to stop using them, please don't take it personally and respect their wishes. |
.-"-.
/ - -\
\ @ @/
(_ <_)
jgs _)(`
,_(`_))\
"-\)__/
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((__|__))
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Ascii-art: These are pictures drawn using the ascii character set. To see them
properly you will need to be using a 'non-proportional' or 'mono-spaced' font, as these display
the same number of characters per inch, no matter what the actual width of the characters.
e.g. Monaco, Courier, Courier New, Video Terminal, System, TTY, VT100, Screen, Terminal, FixedSys, Line Printer. |
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note: If you use ascii-art, please keep them small, say 6 lines or under, and use
them with caution, so that they do not get too irritating. Also you should note that you can get
'flooded' off IRC if you try to send too many characters at once.
Sound: If someone uses the sound command to play a WAV or MIDI file, and you happen to have the same sound file on your computer, then your copy will also play at the same time. Unfortunately, once again this is mainly a 'mIRC' thing. Other IRC clients may have ways of being able to play sound upon receiving the mIRC commands, though, so it might be worth investigating should it be a feature you would like to have. How to set up mIRC and other clients to play sound like this is rather detailed and may be too technical for the novice user. However, if you want to try it, look in the help files that came with your IRC client for more information, or ask one of the more experienced IRC users in the channel. k. Any Other Hints or Tips as to How I Should Conduct Myself in #cfs-20s?
This section is not designed to scare anybody, or put anyone off using IRC, especially as #cfs-20s is a pretty safe environment to be in, and we do everything in our power to keep it that way. Also, because nearly all the people who use #cfs-20s are members of the CFS-20s mailing list, a lot of us know quite a bit about each other already, so we tend to be a lot more open than other channels when it comes to giving out personal information, etc. However, IRC itself is full of all sorts of people, not all of whom are as far along the evolutionary scale as most of us. ;-) So however unlikely it is that you will need to use the following, it is always best to keep in mind the following information... a. Personal Security Basically, personal security comes down to common sense, but here are a few tips. - Don't give out personal details (address, telephone number, etc.) unless you know the person well. - Don't *ever* give out any of your passwords to anybody unless you are *absolutely* sure you can trust them and have a *very* good reason for doing so. - Don't put your full name, or contact information into your set-up information unless you really want everyone to know it. - It's recommended that you chose a nick that is non-gender specific and that doesn't use sexually related language. Some lowlifes on IRC deliberately search for people using either female nicknames, in order to (for want of a better word) proposition them. They also search for nick's using sexually related language and will assume that someone using such a nick is on IRC for more 'adult' reasons. - Remember that on the net/IRC, it is easy to disguise yourself, people are not always who they appear to be. - IRC is not very secure (even private messages). If you do need to pass sensitive information do it either by DCC as this bypasses the IRC servers or by e-mail. Private Messages From Strangers?: There are legitimate reasons why you might be messaged by a total stranger. You might be using the nickname that they regularly use and they may want to ask you to change yours to something else. They may be trying to contact someone who uses the same nick as you and do not realize that you are not the person you are looking for, or they may have some other legitimate reason for contacting you. If this is the case then don't react angrily, just politely tell them that they have the wrong person, or whatever, and they should stop contacting you. However, there are also some more questionable reasons why you might be contacted. Very occasionally you may be sent a message advertising a porn site. Usually on the rare occasion this happens it will be sent when you first join IRC. This is because someone has launched a 'bot' (an automatic program) that detects when people join IRC and automatically sends them a message. If this happens, although it is not very pleasant, just try and ignore it. Don't send a message back because the chances are that the 'nick' that sent it you will no longer be active. Also, the IRCops on Undernet will already know about it and be trying to track down and remove the 'bot'. If you get private messages that are sexually suggestive, obscene, threatening, or that make you feel uncomfortable in any way, try not to respond to them. Silence is an extremely useful weapon to use. If you do respond try to be as calm and polite as possible. Never show that you are upset/scared as this is exactly the reaction the person bothering you is after. What do you do if you are being harassed?: Firstly, although it is hard, try to remain calm and don't panic. Remember that you are in control and no one can physically harm you through your computer screen. Use the /ignore command (click HERE for more information) to ignore the person that is contacting you. It is also a good idea to maybe change your nick as well, once you have used the ignore command. If your IRC Client supports it, turn logging on so that you can keep a record what is being said to you. Also, do a /whois on the person's nick and keep a record of that, along with the time, just in case you should ever need that information. Don't ever keep quiet about it. Tell the people in #cfs-20s about what is going on, especially the channel ops (designated by a '@' in front of their nicks). This way the more experienced users will be able to help you, and you will also get the support/reassurance you need. If you do not want to say anything in the channel itself then you can always privately message the channel ops. Or if there are no ops, or you would rather, you can always e-mail Nichole the channel owner or myself and we will do all that we possibly can to help. b. Viruses And Trojan Horses Viruses are tiny programs that "infect" other computer programs by embedding a copy of themselves into them. When these programs are executed, the embedded virus is executed too. Often the more vicious viruses will cause damage, by destroying or altering files on your hard disk. Trojan horses are programs that may appear completely innocent, such as a game or screen saver on the outside, but inside, contain either a virus, or some other piece of code that will seriously compromise the security of your computer. In the past couple years there have been a spate of trojan horses that specifically target IRC users. These ranged from trojan horses that allowed others to launch DoS attacks on other IRC users through your computer, to others that allowed people to erase or modify files on your own hard disk. How Do I Protect Myself Against Viruses/Trojan Horses?: - Never accept a file from anyone unless you are absolutely certain, what that file is and where it has come from. (Win 95/98 users, this includes picture and sound files) - If your IRC client allows you to automatically get DCC sends, *turn it off*. That way you can screen what is being sent to you. - Set your IRC client up so that any files transferred via DCC go to a separate directory/folder. *Never* transfer them into your IRC clients main directory/folder, or to your hard disks root directory. - Keep your IRC Client up to date. - Get either a commercial or shareware virus checker, in order to check your files and spot any that are infected. Make sure you keep them up to date. You can find out more about viruses and anti-virus software here... F-Secure Symantec AntiVirus Research Center McAfee You can find out more about IRC related trojan horses, including what to do should you should you be infected by one, HERE. c. 'Nukes' And Denial Of Service Attacks A denial of service attack, or DoS for short, is in simple terms, when someone sends many packets of 'unhealthy' information to your computer, causing your computer to at the very least slow down, and at worst crash. Nuke, or to be more precise WinNuke, was a certain type of DoS attack, however it has now become the general name used to describe many different types of DoS attacks. Although if you are just going to be in #cfs-20s or the other CFS channels, there is very little chance of being nuked, elsewhere on IRC it is becoming a more common problem. The reason you are more liable to be attacked on IRC is because whilst on IRC, your attacker can find out your IP address, the operating system you use, and will know that you are currently on-line. This is all the information they need to know in order to launch such an attack. The only way to protect against such attacks, is to make sure your operating system has been updated with the latest 'patches' that close the security loop holes that 'nuke' and other DoS attacks take advantage of. Windows 98 and Mac OS8 have so far been immune to such attacks. Note: There are some specific types of DoS attacks that can not be patched against. However, these types of attack are pretty benign as they can only disconnect you from your ISP, not cause your computer to crash. You can use programs to detect when someone is 'nuking' you, and to trace exactly who is doing it. However, as these can only provide you with the IP address your attacker is using, they are not very useful as often the attacker will fake his IP address, or use a Trojan Horse, to attack through someone else's IP address. It is for this reason there is very little you can do against people who nuke and the only thing you can really do is protect yourself with OS patches. You can get more information on nukes, DoS attacks, how to protect yourself (with details of the patches you will need), etc. HERE. d. Scripts Some IRC clients such as mIRC and Ircle can use scripts. These are lines of code that the clients use to do certain things. This can be as simple as displaying some colourful ascii-art, to more powerful scripts which can affect the way your client works. Many scripts have been known to include what are known as 'back doors'. These allow the person who wrote the script to gain access to your computer, so that they can alter or delete files, or launch DoS attacks through your IP address. The only safe script is one that you have written yourself. You should *never* accept a script unless you know exactly what it does, you trust the person you are getting it from, and you know enough about scripting to be able to look at the code and know exactly what each line of code does. There are four main CFS channels and one Fibromyalgia channel to be found on the Undernet servers and they are... Open to anybody with CFS/CFIDS/M.E./FM Set up by the CFS-L Mailing List. Click for further information on... CFS-L OR #cfs [Back To FAQ Index] #cfs-20s Open to any PWC/F in their 20s and/or their S.O.'s & family members. Set up and is run by the CFS-20s Mailing List. Click for further information on... CFS-20s OR #cfs-20s [Back To FAQ Index] #cfs-y Open to any 25 or under with CFS/CFIDS/M.E./FM or who are on the CFS-Y mailing list. Set up and is run by the CFS-Y Mailing List. Click for further information on... CFS-Y OR #cfs-y [Back To FAQ Index] #wings Open to any with CFS/CFIDS/M.E./FM or related condition. Set up and is run by the Worldwide Internet News and Group Support (WINGS) Mailing List. Click for further information on... WINGS OR #wings [Back To FAQ Index] #Fibromyalgia Open to anyone with Fibromyalgia, this channel offers support, information and friendly chat. For further information go here... #Fibromyalgia [Back To FAQ Index] #MEChat on DALnet PLEASE NOTE: this channel is found on the DALnet servers and *NOT* the Undernet Servers. There are DALnet servers in several countries, a full list of which can be found at http://www.dal.net NOTE ALSO: that on DALnet, nicknames are registered, so if you try to use a nickname that is already registered to someone else, you will be forced to change your nickname. For information on how to register your own nickname, as well as other essential information on how to use DALnet, go to http://www.dal.net and read the section entitled "How Do I?". #OzME on Austnet |
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PLEASE NOTE: this channel is found on the Austnet servers and *NOT*
the Undernet Servers. There are Austnet servers in several countries, a full list of which can be
found at http://www.austnet.org Once logged onto the Austnet Server, to join the channel you will need to type: /join #OzME Although you will usually find people on this channel around midday (AEST), and at other times throughout the day, there are two 'official' meeting times. Times given in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). Thursday - 5pm Sunday - 12.00pm (Midday) Please Note: These times stay the same during Daylight Saving seasons. |
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I hope this FAQ hasn't left you more confused than you were when you started reading. If you require any further information then don't hesitate in getting in touch with me or the list. A big ***Thank You*** must go to Patrick, Robyn and Corina for providing me with some of the information needed to produce this FAQ. :-) And to Tim Allen for all the information on #OzME. Grateful thanks go to my proof readers Patrick and Corina, and an extra special hug to Corina for stepping in and giving me some much needed English lessons. (((((Teach!))))) |
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