1.5 Basic IRC commands

These are a few basic commands to get you started. There are a lot more, just look in the help file of your IRC program. All commands are proceeded with a / (text to the channel is not proceeded by a /)

1.5.1 JOIN

You use the JOIN command to enter an IRC channel.
ex. /join #duesouth
result: You join the channel #duesouth.

 

1.5.2 PART, LEAVE & QUIT

These commands are used to leave a channel or quit IRC.
ex. /part
result: You leave the channel that you are in.
ex. /part #duesouth
result: You leave the channel #duesouth.

ex. /leave
result: You leave the channel that you are in.
ex. /leave #duesouth
result: You leave the channel #duesouth.

ex. /quit
result: You quit IRC.

1.5.3 NICK

You use the NICK command to change your nickname in IRC
ex. /nick gdh
result: Your nickname is now gdh.

 

1.5.4 TOPIC

The TOPIC command allows you to change the channel's topic. The topic is listed when you list the channels that are active in IRC, and may also appear when you are in the channel.
ex. /topic #duesouth Shakin' peaches
result: The topic of the channel #duesouth is now "Shakin' peaches"

 

1.5.5 ME

The ME command allows you to perform "actions" as well as type text.
ex. /me smiles at Fraser.
result: A line of text appears that says: Jedi-Jazz smiles at Fraser. That is, if your nickname is Jedi-Jazz. If your nickname were misscleo, it would say: misscleo smiles at Fraser.

 

1.5.6 WHOIS

The WHOIS command allows you to find out who is hiding behind a nickname.
ex. /whois Peaches
result: You will see a listing of information about Peaches: her name, address, server that she's connected to, etc. Much of this information, however, is supplied by the user, so it may or may not be present and may or may not be truthful.

 

1.5.7 PING

The PING command allows you to find out how badly lagged you are (see lag & splits, below). The ping time is the time it takes for a signal to travel from your terminal across a connection of servers to another person's terminal and then back to you.
ex. /ping beeblbrox
result: You will get a message telling you how long it took for a message to get from you to beeblbrox and back.

ex. /ping #duesouth
result: You will ping everyone in #duesouth. Useful in finding out whether you are lagged or someone else is lagged (if you are lagged, you will get high numbers for everyone; if someone else is lagged, you will only get a high number for them).