Learning to MP3 with 
So you are new to mp3s and want to learn how to download them via the easiest way possible....IRC? Well you've come to the right place my friend. Here I will give you simple easy instructions on how to find almost any mp3 you could ever want!
First off the easiest program out there to use to get mp3s is mIRC. For the few still not using it download it now at http://www.mirc.com
Now when you enter an mp3 channel similar to the one above if you are new to this it will be very confusing. A typical IRC MP3 channel will look something like this:
Half of this screen are "bots" serving out mp3 and the other half are people downloading them. To determine which is which lets go through a few quick rules of the road as to what happens in these channels.
All files are downloaded with the trigger format "!" + "nickname" + "filename" within the channel so for instance:
!Sharky112 Basement Jaxx - Red Alert.mp3
The person that typed this in the screen above sent a message in the channel to Sharky112 that he/she wants the song Red Alert by Basement Jaxx. This is how all file requests are filled. So where did he find that song? Well Rule #2 all bots carry a file list. This list is a text file of the songs this bot can send you. All file lists are sent with the following trigger format (and must be typed within the channel itself not private message):
"@" + "nickname"
For instance:
@Sharky112
This would send you a text file from Sharky112 via DCC that would list all the mp3s he has.
There is also another way of finding files if you are searching for a specific song. You can use the @find (undernet/Efnet/others) command or the @locator (dalnet) command with wildcards within the channel to try and find a certain mp3. Use these commands in the format of "@find + wildcards" or "@locator + wildcards" with all the wildcards surrounded by *'s. For instance:
@find *basement*jaxx* or @locator *basement*jaxx*
This would send you private messages from bots that have songs by the group basement jaxx. Looking for a song you don't know who its by? Works the same way just fill in the wildcards and see what comes up.
Now that you know the general rules of the road to how to get mp3s lets go back to the screen shot of the channel and figure out how to determine a bot...Look at the red nickname of "Haterz" Any bot telling you about its slot status, ques, or cps is a mp3 bot. Lets look at the line of "+Muckwad" Anyone telling you about a song's khz, file size, KBps is a bot as well. These are the two most common types of lines you will see in the channels being produced by the mp3 bots. If you look at the line by "CARNAGE-17" way up top this is the typical style of line you will find users using to request an mp3.
TIPS and TRICKS
Here are a few suggestions to make your mp3 download experience easier:
First off in mirc hit "Alt O" to get into your options and go way down to "Sounds" Off of that a branch is called Requests. In the Requests window make sure "Send '!nick file' as private message is unchecked. Click OK
Hit "Alt O" again and go to the IRC list then the highlight branch. Click enable highlighting and add the highlight of "cps" This will have the bots using the cps broadcast to have their nicks highlighted in the channel. What's the point of this? Well if you're looking for a bot to get a file name from all you hafta do is scroll up and down your window looking for nicknames in the highlighted color. Makes it easier to avoid all the text of people requesting stuff and talking as well.
Make a "text" directory as well as an "mp3" directory somewhere on your hard drive. I have my text directory on the desktop and my mp3 directory as C:\mp3. Go into options (Alt O) and go to the DCC list/folders branch. Click on add and add *.mp3 then again with *.txt routing them to your mp3 and text directories. This allows you not to clutter up your c:\mirc\download directory and makes it nice and neat.
Above all just try this out and use this page as a reference. Once I learned how to download mp3s via IRC I no longer download them via the web or ftp. Too many times I've seen songs I want return error messages like FTP in use or page doesn't exist anymore. If you see a song you want on here the bot has it and there aren't any guessing games. Good luck!
