IRC - How to use it...?

[ultimatemegaman]

This may seem like an odd question to ask, but:

How should you use IRC?

For starters, I know that IRC is hosted on esper.net with Mibbit (I think) and that it is usually used to speak to users on Freebuild/CMP/SMP/Tekkit away from the servers themselves.

So you can see that I know what it is used for, but I still want to know how to use it.
I came across the ban appeal from IRC of carlos32123 and found Ollie's comment down the bottom which stated:

"I don't think you understand how to correctly use IRC.". - Ollieboy

That quote alone caught my attention, which leads me to posting this.
If someone could go through this with me, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Also, just so you know, I looked through the 'Info of our services' thread by Lim-Dul (The Necromancer), and I didn't find anything of interest. Thanks.

[Hit-Girl]

CLICK ME

[LiamRayStanley]

Not only that but this aswell: viewtopic.php?f=48&t=29

[Smokeybacon]

The four things you need to know about IRC, concerning the fcraft services:

The Client
You mentioned Mibbit. This is just one client, and is a browser based one. There are plenty of others available, most of which are separate applications available as shareware or free trials that never actually end. I suggest mIRC, Mibbit is pretty limited.

The Network
As you said, the network is EsperNet. There are lots of other networks but Mibbit cannot access many of them. Mibbit can also only connect to one at a time, the other clients can handle many networks each with numerous channels open simultaneously.

The Channel(s)
Once connected to EsperNet, be sure to join the following:
#fcraft - general fcraft developer and community chat
#fcraft.server - freebuild ingame chat
#fcraft.smp - smp chat
#fcraft.cmp - cmp chat
there are others if you are to join them.

Registering
Also known as authing, This is done on a per-network basis. registering on EsperNet will not register you on say Quakenet. Details are available on the particular network's website, or generally by typing something like /msg nickserv help, or /msg chanserv help. Using clients like mIRC, you can setup way to automatically identify ("log in") your username ever time you start up. Registering is usually necessary to obtain voice or operator flags on irc, and usernames are de-registered after around a month of inactivity.

[Element_Equinox]

I think he was referring to specific rules we have in regards to how we handle IRC, not how to use IRC itself.

Basic chat rules apply on IRC (e.g. don't spam chat, don't troll/flame players), however there are a few other things that need to be pointed out.

~One of the functions most of us have enabled is that when you say our name in chat, it sends a ping to us (for example, I log in to IRC as Element most of the time. If you were to say element in chat while I was online, it would ping me). If something happens on one of the servers that you need a staff member to come in and help fix, you can ping an op on IRC (most clients have an "@" symbol in front of their names) and they should be able to fix whatever problem you have. However, this function isn't a toy; don't go pinging every staff member alive for the laughs.

~Another thing is in regards to carlos32123's ban. What he did wrong was spam IRCops to get a minecraft gift code so he could play on the CMP/SMP servers. IRCops are NOT the same thing as the ops on our channels; they basically moderate the network we use for our channels. Really, any interaction between them and us should be left in the hands of the owners. It's better to not waste their time or give them any trouble.

I probably missed something, as I can't possibly cover every single scenario. So I'll just summarize by saying that if there's a function on IRC, we don't want it being abused. It is possible to be banned on IRC, same as it is on any of our other services. But as long as you have common sense, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

[Intertoothh]

But as long as you have common sense

I see a flaw in your plan here....