IRC Chat Room

We have an IRC chat room at irc.freenode.net. Please stop by. The room name is #vculug.

How to use IRC with Pidgin (formerly Gaim)

Most GNU/Linux systems come with Gaim already installed. If you don't have it, get it. If you are using Windows, there are win32 builds available. Either way, it's an easy thing to find and install. I'm not going to discuss that part, as other people have written the necessary information. Instead, I'll show you how to get into the #vculug chatroom.

Note: VCU blocks the IRC port on the wireless network if you authenticate with bluesocket, which is currently the only means for GNU/Linux and Apple laptops to authenticate to the wireless network. Windows users who autheticate with the Nortel VPN client are not affected by this. In short, if you are on the wireless network, it's likely that IRC will not work for you. In this case, you should try our Mibbit embedded client.

Start gaim. If you've used it before, click Accounts -> Add/Edit. If you've never used it before, you will see something like this:

Now, you'll need to create a new account. To do this, click "add". Fill in the new account information as shown below. Replace "any_old_name" with whatever nickname you want to use.

Click on the "save" button, and it will automatically log you in. Next you'll see a window like this:

Type in the bottom field as shown, hit enter. Next you'll see this screen:

Click on the right hand tab that says "#VCULUG". Start typing what you want to say in the bottom field.

To disconnect, just close Pidgin, or go to Accounts -> Add/Edit. Click on the checkbox in the "enabled" column to enable or disable any account.

There is a lot more to IRC, but it's not really important to know to just start using it. A couple of notes: 1) You don't need to pick any particular name when you add the account - call yourself Nathaniel if you are me. 2) This is how I see everything using GNU/Linux, you may see some minor changes if you are using Windows.

If you need more information, just look for it on Google. I may add stuff here as I see fit; if you want something specific added, just ask me.

Have fun!