IRC

N.B. This is taken from the [FAQ], which provides fuller information and is useful reading.

The IRC channel #assassins

IRC, for those unfamiliar with it, is essentially an online chat system in which people join a channel (like a chatroom) and can send messages to other people on the channel. There's an unofficial IRC channel on the SRCF server called #assassins. Although technically this channel has nothing to do with the game, many assassins can be found chatting there at all times, not just during the game and not only about matters relevant to assassins. The IRC channel tends to be the focus of many social activities and a good way to find out if anything is going on.

How to access #assassins

If you are an experienced IRC user, what you want is the channel #assassins on the server irc.srcf.ucam.org, port 6667. If you've never used IRC before, you will need to install a program called an IRC client to access the channel. There are many of these to choose from, of which irssi seems to be recommended for Linux. mIRC and Trillian are other popular choices for Windows users.

• How to use screen and irssi on pip to access #assassins (information provided by Philip Bielby)

• This is the way that most people access #assassins. It has the major advantage that you can see what has been going on while you have been offline, as the IRC client is still running on the student webserver (pip), even if your computer is turned off. These instructions are longer than the others, but that is because they contain more helpful information for you.
• Visit http://www.srcf.ucam.org, to get an account on the student webserver (pip). This is useful for more than IRC, giving you access to free webspace, and many other things (see the website for more details).
• Wait to be emailed your account details...
• If you use Windows (this probably means you):
  • download PuTTY? from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/ .
  • Load PuTTY?, and enter 'pip.srcf.ucam.org' in the "Host Name" box, and click "Open" (or press return).
  • When prompted, enter your username (your CRSID, the first part of your email address), and password (in the email sent when you signed up). Your password will not be displayed at all (even as asterisks).
• If you use linux (or some other *NIX varient):
  • Open a terminal.
  • Enter 'ssh CRSID@shell.srcf.ucam.org' (where CRSID is your CRSID), and press return.
  • Enter your password when prompted(in the email sent when you signed up).
• Change your password to something better, by entering 'passwd', and following the instructions.
• Enter 'screen -U irssi'. This opens the IRC client itself.
• Enter '/connect localhost', and press return. This connects you to the Student IRC server. You should see a welcome message. You can type '/list' to get a list of channels, (including #assassins) which are running on the server.
• Type '/nick Nickname' to set your IRC nick, where Nickname is what you want to set it to. By default, this is your CRSID. This is the name that everyone sees. You can set it to something up to 16 characters long (you cannot use spaces).
• Type '/j #assassins' to join the Assassins' channel
• Have fun!
• When you have had enough for a bit, rather than quiting IRC, simply press Ctrl-A, and then press D. This will place you back onto the command line, where you just type Ctrl-D to quit. When you want to return, just follow the relevant part of Step 3, and then type 'screen -rd' to return to IRC..

• How to set up XChat to access #assassins (based on information provided by Andrew Sobala)
  • Download XChat from www.xchat.org and install it.
  • Start XChat. In the server list that appears, choose 'add'.
  • Type in a network name. 'Kern' is good
  • Choose that network and press 'edit'.
  • Click on 'newserver/6667', press 'edit' and type 'irc.srcf.ucam.org'.
  • Type '#assassins' in the 'channels to join' box.
  • Click 'close'.
  • Double-click on 'irc' to connect to it and join the channel.

• How to set up mIRC to access #assassins (adapted from Jonathan Hogg's instructions)
  • Download mIRC from www.mirc.com and install it.
  • Run mIRC and fill in your name and email address if you want. Leave all the settings as they are.
  • When the options box pops up, on the 'connect page' (the default) click 'add' and fill in the following info:
    • Description: whatever you want ('pip' or 'srcf irc' is good)
    • IRC server: irc.srcf.ucam.org
    • Port: 6667
    • Leave the rest blank
  • The drop down list should now include 'pip' or whatever you chose to call it; select that from the list (it'll be at the bottom). Click 'connect to server'.
  • You should get the channel folder open in from of you. You may wish to delete all the channels it lists by default, but you don't need to. Click 'add', and enter '#assassins' for the channel and 'Assassins Channel' or similar for the description. Click 'ok'.
  • Find the description you just entered in the list, and double-click it. The channel should appear!
  • To say something, just type it in the line at the bottom and press enter, easy as that.

• How to set up Trillian to access #assassins (adapted from instructions by 'Primal' of the Sheffield Assassins' Guild)
  • Go to www.trillian.cc and download Trillian.
  • Install Trillian and run it.
  • At the bottom of the Trillian window there are five small symbols corresponding to different chat networks. Click the grey spiral and choose 'connection manager'.
  • In the 'servername' box, type 'irc.srcf.ucam.org'. In the 'port' box, type '6667'.
  • Enter the username you want to use in the 'nickname' box. You might also want to enter an alternative in the 'alternative' box in case someone is using the name you want.
  • Click 'connect'. The spiral should turn blue to indicate that you're connected.
  • Click the spiral again and choose 'join channel'.
  • Type '#assassins' in the box that appears and press enter.
  • Welcome to the channel!