Silver River Delta

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a bit like any one of the IM (Instant Messanger) programs. Essentially, it's a place where you can join a chatroom to talk to multiple people about any given subject, or you can talk one-on-one in the same way that you talk to someone on AOL IM. For more detailed information on IRC, visit the main website at www.irc.org

What do I need to access IRC?

Any one of a number of freeware or shareware programs that you can download from the internet and install on your computer. They're usually very small programs because IRC is text-based. They're available for both PCs and Macs. You'll find a list of them at www.irc.org/links.html

Okay, I've downloaded and installed the software. How do I access the right channels for this roleplay game?

Most IRC programs have websites that will tell you how to set up the software so you can access the right server for our channels. For example, the instructions for installing and setting up mIRC can be found at www.mirc.com/install.html. Read on for a little more information about setup.

It's asking for my full name. Do I have to use my real name?

No. You can use any name you like, including a nickname or a pseudonym that doesn't remotely resemble a real name in any way, shape or form. You can call yourself Ruler Of The Known Universe, or put a sage quote about life if you like. Note that whatever you put in that box will be available for other people on IRC to see, if they choose to look.

It's asking for my email address. Do I have to use my real email address?

No. You can put any old email address you like. It doesn't have to exist, but it does have to look like an email address (ie: put an @ symbol somewhere in the middle.) Note that some IRC servers ban email addresses from certain email providers like Hotmail, because of problems with spammers.

What's a Nickname?

Also known as your 'nick'. It's the name you will show up as once you're online. The name other people will see everytime you type something and send it into a channel. You can change your nick anytime you like, before you log on or afterwards. Note that some nicks will have been registered by someone else already, which is why you're given the option to put an alternative nick (which you don't HAVE to do). If you log on with a nick that's been registered to someone else, the software should inform you that you have a certain amount of time to change your nick to something new. To change your nick once you're logged on, type this:

Note that you cannot have spaces in your nick. To use two separate words, you must separate them with a punctuation mark. Commonly-used marks are:

New_Nick

New-Nick

New`Nick (That's the slanted apostrophe at the top left of your keyboard, not the normal apostrophe you use every day.)

Any of these should work just fine. Others will not work because they're used in IRC commands (eg: / the forward slash).

So I've filled in my name, email and nicks. Now what?

To access our channels, you need to connect to the right server. We play on the DarkMyst IRC server. For mIRC, click on the Servers option underneath Connect. Where it says IRC Network at the top, it can either say ALL or you can scroll down the list of options and choose DarkMyst. Where it says IRC Server, choose DarkMyst: Random Server. Then click on the Connect To Server button. A bunch of text will scroll past very fast, none of which you need to read! Once it's stopped scrolling past, the system will alert you if your nick is already registered by someone else. If it doesn't say anything about that, you're clear to enter our channels.

Great! How do I enter your channels?

To get into the main roleplay channel, you type this:

/join #Silver_River

To get into the out-of-character channel that we use for general chat, you type this:

/join #Silver_River_ooc

You can type that in any window that's open; either the main one you get when you log on, or in the roleplay channel window. If you have questions about the setup of your IRC client once you've reached this stage, feel free to chat to us in the OOC channel and we'll do our best to help you get the hang of using the software, and get the hang of joining in with the roleplay. We like questions. There is no such thing as a stupid question about the software or the game. (Well, there are such things as stupid questions, but we'll send you to the tech-support channel for the answers to those.)

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