Joining channels and communicating with others

Channel names are written with a # in front, eg

#interlink or
#hottub

You can see all the channels in your Channellist window (although you don't need this information for our purposes, as you already know the name of the channel you wish to join). You need to type /list to see all the channels - there may be hundreds - see commands for info on how to reduce the number of channels listed.

People discuss many different things on IRC channels. Each channel has a name which usually describes the topic under discussion. Obviously you should enter channels with titles like #trainspotting only if that's the kind of thrill you're after.

As teachers you need to be aware that the range of channels available on any network is broad, to say the least, and some will be less appropriate for your class than others. It will be up to you to develop a strategy for safe negotiation of this area. You may wish to bypass this part of the process and have already joined/created #interlink before your class arrive, as the names of some of the channels leave nothing to the imagination!

If you would like to create a new channel, you can do so by joining a non-existent channel. When you create your own channel you become the 'operator' (the @ symbol will appear beside your nickname), so you get to kick people off or change the channel topic and other exciting things - don't let the power go to your head!

For each InterLink IRC session, the first school to link up to the network will create the #interlink channel, and the pair school will join that channel when they arrive. Therefore all you have to do is to type /join #interlink, and you'll be in the right place! So you don't even have to know whether #interlink has already been created, as typing /join #interlink will either create the InterLink channel, or join the existing one if the other school has already created it.

It's also possible to create private channels, so, for example, you could arrange to meet a friend from the other side of the globe at a pre-arranged time (one of those little international-time calculators could come in handy here).

What we're thinking of doing for InterLink is to show you how to create a channel which needs a keyword to enter. I will let you know the name of the keyword and how to use it. This means that our channel will be private and not open to the general public.

Most servers run some kind of help channel, often known as #IRCHELP or something similar. When you first log into a server a list of general information may scroll past you, including such details as what their help channel is called. Otherwise try the IRC command /list *help* to find out the exact channel name.