Semi-Official Styleforum IRC chat

[j]

Jovan took it upon himself to set us up a channel on an IRC network where we can get together and chat in real-time. I am looking into Java chat applications so you won't need to download anything, but for the moment you can connect using mIRC, Trillian or any other IRC client.

Details are:

server: irc.nightstar.net
channel: #styleforum

You can download mIRC at http://www.mirc.org and find tutorials on how to set it up and run it.

I will drop in when I can, but don't expect good grammar, punctuation or capitalization out of me.

Edit: you can log in using the Nighstar.net Java chat applet:
http://www.nightstar.net/110.0.html

 

[Jovan]

Yep yep, and be nice to both of us, as we're the current channel operators.

 

[Matt]

well i cant connect...others?

 

[j]

Try here:

http://www.nightstar.net/110.0.html

 

[Jovan]

j, I suggest pinning this thread.

 

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by m@T

well i cant connect...others?
It seems I can.

 

[aybojs]

I can't either. Hope this works out better than our last IRC channel attempt; I think we reached a high of 2 simultaneous participants that time

.

 

[Etienne]

We are 4 currently, but I am the only one talking.

 

[aybojs]

I skimmed the site and I guess the issue is that they closed traffic on the default port (6667) and expect you to access another port. Not the first time I've dealt with that, but it's probably a pain ********** if you haven't used it before. Network seems all right, although I'm mildly annoyed by the lack of hostmask cloaking; ah well.

 

[Etienne]

Is it a problem if I don't understand a single word of what aybojs is saying?

Okay, I understand "port" but I keep picturing a nice glass of sweet wine from Porto.

 

[aybojs]

Originally Posted by Étienne

Is it a problem if I don't understand a single word of what aybojs is saying?

Okay, I understand "port" but I keep picturing a nice glass of sweet wine from Porto.
Ok, I'll sum it up. For IRC, your chat client (i.e. your computer) connects to the IRC server through a certain port. The port numbered 6667 is a traditional default for IRC connections. The IRC network chosen for the chatroom is peculiar in that it blocks connections from that default port number, meaning you have to manually change the settings to have your computer connect to the server at a different port if you want to use an independent IRC chat program. This may be confusing to people who haven't used IRC before (I'm guessing a lot of people here). If you use the Java client j linked to, it automatically does this for you, so you can connect without any work, but Java clients tend to have clunky interfaces, making using your own IRC client program more convenient. I'm guessing this explains why some people can connect and some people can't. As for cloaking, I'm referring to the way each user's connection information appears. For example, if you're using a provider like comcast, it will show the regional branch you are connecting to (e.g. a comcast user from Boston may have something like "boston.ma.comcast.net" visible in his user profile). For privacy reasons, many servers offer features that obscure the identifying information with gibberish text, so as to prevent other users from identifying them and possibly getting their IP address. My personal annoyance with the lack of this feature is that my current university connection basically gives away my real name in my assigned userid, and I'd prefer to have the opportunity to hide that.

 

[j]

Originally Posted by aybojs

Ok, I'll sum it up. For IRC, your chat client (i.e. your computer) connects to the IRC server through a certain port. The port numbered 6667 is a traditional default for IRC connections. The IRC network chosen for the chatroom is peculiar in that it blocks connections from that default port number, meaning you have to manually change the settings to have your computer connect to the server at a different port if you want to use an independent IRC chat program. This may be confusing to people who haven't used IRC before (I'm guessing a lot of people here). If you use the Java client j linked to, it automatically does this for you, so you can connect without any work, but Java clients tend to have clunky interfaces, making using your own IRC client program more convenient. I'm guessing this explains why some people can connect and some people can't. As for cloaking, I'm referring to the way each user's connection information appears. For example, if you're using a provider like comcast, it will show the regional branch you are connecting to (e.g. a comcast user from Boston may have something like "boston.ma.comcast.net" visible in his user profile). For privacy reasons, many servers offer features that obscure the identifying information with gibberish text, so as to prevent other users from identifying them and possibly getting their IP address. My personal annoyance with the lack of this feature is that my current university connection basically gives away my real name in my assigned userid, and I'd prefer to have the opportunity to hide that.
Hopefully I will be able to find a Flash or Java client that doesn't show off your IP address.

I don't know why, but when I fired up mIRC and pointed it to the server, it connected right up with no messing with the ports or anything.

 

[kabert]

Oh, I guess this isn't a discussion about the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Maybe next time.

 

[Tomasso]

Originally Posted by Étienne

Is it a problem if I don't understand a single word of what aybojs is saying?

Okay, I understand "port" but I keep picturing a nice glass of sweet wine from Porto.

 

[javyn]

I like the Undernet network because you can hide your IP on it by setting up a password on the 'bot. That's another good thing about Unet, it provides you with a channel service bot if you register the chatroom. (It takes 10 non-webmail addresses of supporters to register.)

Bad thing about Unet, servers are pretty unreliable and I often have to connect through a slow ass European server.