

[BEG]  1         About IRC

       1.        About IRC

       IRC stands for "Internet Relay Chat". It was originally
       written by Jarkko Oikarinen (jto@tolsun.oulu.fi) in 1988. Since
       starting in Finland, it has been used in over 60 countries
       around the world.  It was designed as a replacement for the
       "talk" program but has become much much more than that. IRC is
       a multi-user chat system, where people convene on "channels"
       (a virtual place, usually with a topic of conversation) to talk
       in groups, or privately. IRC is constantly evolving, so the way
       things to work one week may not be the way they work the next.
       Read the MOTD (message of the day) every time you use IRC to
       keep up on any new happenings or server updates.

       IRC gained international fame during the 1991 Persian Gulf War,
       where updates from around the world came accross the wire, and
       most irc users who were online at the time gathered on a single
       channel to hear these reports. IRC had similar uses during the
       coup against Boris Yeltsin in September 1993, where IRC users
       from Moscow were giving live reports about the unstable
       situation there.

[END]

[BEG]  2         About IRCDOOR

       2.        About IRCDOOR

       The IRCDOOR is an OS/2 32-bit IRC BBS client-door that (unlike
       other IRC clients) provides the BBS door interface allowing to
       be run from BBS either from remote, or locally. It supports
       TTY and ANSI graphics and numerous count of command line 
       parameters.

       The shareware version of IRCDOOR must be available at the
       following FTP sites:

         Site: ftp.dcbalt.vernet.lv   (AndRew's BBS FTP server)
         File: /base2/bbsfiles/comm/bbsdoors/ircdoor/ircdor*.zip
         Site: juge.com               (OS/2 Comm Port FTP site)
         File: /ircdoor/ircd*.zip

       My best regards and enjoy IRC,
       Andrew Eigus AKA Mr. Byte
       E-Mail: mrbyte@bbs.dcbalt.vernet.lv, mrbyte@hpe25.swh.lv,
               aeigus@fgate.castle.riga.lv

[END]

[BEG]  3         IRC commands

       3.        IRC commands


       3.1       The /LIST command

       /LIST               Lists all current irc channels, number of
                           users, and topic. (slow and can terminate
                           connection on some servers)

       Example on /LIST command: /LIST -min 10


       3.2       The /NAMES command

       /NAMES              Shows the nicknames of all users on each
                           channel


       3.3       The /JOIN command

       /JOIN <channel>     Join the named channel. All non-commands
                           you type will now go to everyone on that
                           channel. Channel must start with the '#'
                           character. If you are on a channel, the
                           /JOIN command will also automatically
                           get you out of the channel you are cur-
                           rently in, and will bring you to the
                           specified one.

       Example on /JOIN command:
         /JOIN #usa


       3.4       The /MSG command

       /MSG <nick> <msg>   Sends a private message to the specified
                           person.  Only the specified nickname will
                           see this message.

       Example on /MSG command:
         /MSG Hoolio Hello Hoolio!


       3.5       The /NICK command

       /NICK <nick>        Change your nickname
                           When you're connected, your BBS login name
                           is usually taken as the default 'nickname'
                           for yourself. You may wish to change this
                           with this command.

       Example on /NICK command:
         /NICK IRCD00R


       3.6       The /QUIT command

       /QUIT or /BYE <str> Exits IRC. <str> parameter is optional,
                           and if specified, will be used as a signoff
                           string.


       3.7       The /HELP command

       /HELP <topic>       Gets IRCDOOR online help menu.

       3.8       The /WHO command

       /WHO <channel>      Shows who is on a given channel,
                           including nickname, user name and host,
                           and realname.


       3.9       The /WHOIS command

       /WHOIS <nick>       Shows the "true" indentity of someone
                           Use this often to make sure you know who
                           you are talking to, because nicknames are
                           NOT owned so any number of people could
                           use a nickname.


       3.10      The /WHOWAS command

       /WHOWAS <nick>      This command asks for information about a
                           nickname which no longer exists. This may
                           either be due to a nickname change or the
                           user leaving IRC.


       3.11      The /MODE command

       /MODE <params>      Allows both usernames and channels to have
                           their mode changed. This can be only used
                           by channel operators. The <params> should
                           contain valid parameters for the /MODE
                           command i.e. the channel name, the
                           nickname (when appropriate), and the /MODE
                           command switches. The following listed are
                           some most used /MODE commands:

       /MODE <channel> <+|->o <nick> - take/give the channel operator
                                       privileges for the specified
                                       user.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->i        - change invite-only flag for
                                       the specified channel.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->p        - change private flag for the
                                       specified channel.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->s        - change secret flag for the
                                       specified channel.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->t        - change topic-setable flag for
                                       the specified channel.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->n        - set/unset no messages to
                                       channel from the outside flag.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->m        - change moderated channel flag
                                       for the specified channel.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->l <lim>  - set/unset the user limit to
                                       channel.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->b <user> - set/unset a ban mask to keep
                                       the specified user out of the
                                       channel.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->v <user> - give/take the ability to speak
                                       on the moderated channel.
       /MODE <channel> <+|->k <pass> - set/unset a channel password.

       Examples on /MODE command:
         /MODE #latvia -o Kaspariic
         /MODE #gonnabe +b *!*@microsoft.com


       3.12      The /KICK command

       /KICK <params>      The KICK command can be used to forcibly
                           remove a user from a channel. It 'kicks
                           them out' of the channel (forced PART).
                           This can only be used by channel opera-
                           tors. The <params> consist of the spaced
                           <channel>, <nick> and <comment> options.
                           Note: the <comment> option is not obli-
                           gate.
        
       Example on /KICK command: 
         /KICK #ircdoor Lamer Lamers not allowed



       3.13      The /INVITE command

       /INVITE <params>    The INVITE message is used to invite users
                           to a channel. The <params> should consist
                           from parameter <nickname>, which is the
                           nickname of the person to be invited, and
                           parameter <channel>, which is the target
                           channel to invite the user to.

       Example on /INVITE command:
         /INVITE JohnDoe #legends


       3.14      The /TOPIC command

       /TOPIC <params>     The TOPIC message is used to change o
                           view the topic of a channel. The <params>
                           can contain two parameters: the <channel>
                           and the <topic>. The topic for channel
                           specified in the <channel> is returned if
                           there is no <topic> parameter given. If
                           the topic parameter is present, the topic
                           for that channel will be changed, if the
                           channel modes permit this action, and if
                           you are the channel operator.
       Example on /TOPIC command:
         /TOPIC #switzerland Weather In Suisse


       3.15      The /LEAVE or the /PART command

       /PART <channel>     Lets you leave the specified channel. You
                           may also use the /LEAVE command to leave
                           a channel, but generally you won't need
                           to use this command because /JOIN will
                           automatically get you out of current
                           channel and bring you to the specified one.


       3.16      The /CTCP command

       /CTCP <nick> <cmd>  The /CTCP command sends a CTCP request
                           to the specified user on IRC. The <cmd>
                           parameter is a valid CTCP request command.
                           Issue /CTCP <nick> CLIENTINFO for more
                           information about available request
                           commands.

       Examples on /CTCP command:
         /CTCP MisterX CLIENTINFO
         /CTCP JohnDoe VERSION


       3.17      The /PING command

       /PING <client>      The PING message is used to test the
                           presence of an active client at the other
                           end of the connection. It can be used to
                           ping clients, servers and nicknames.


       3.18      The /VERSION command

       /VERSION <server>   The VERSION message is used to query the
                           version of the server program. An optional
                           parameter <server> is used to query the
                           version of the server program which a
                           client is not directly connected to.
                           Note: for getting versions for clients,
                           use the /CTCP <nick> VERSION command.

       3.19      The /SERVER command

       /SERVER <params>    This command allows you to change current
                           IRC server without exiting the door. This
                           command may not be available if SysOp
                           doesn't want to allow remote users to
                           change IRC servers. The <params> consist
                           of two parameters, <server> and <port>.
                           <server> specifies a server to connect
                           to, and <port> is an optional port number,
                           or 6667 if not specified.

       Example on /SERVER command:
         /SERVER irc.funet.fi 6666

[END]


[BEG]  4         IRCDOOR commands

       4.        IRCDOOR commands


       4.1       The /TIMELEFT command

       /TIMELEFT           The /TIMELEFT command lets you to check
                           how much time left for the IRC session.
                           This is only useful for the remote BBS
                           callers, it is unnecessary for the local
                           users since their time is not limited.


       4.2       The /WHOELSE command

       /WHOELSE            The /WHOELSE command lets you review who
                           else is using IRC from the same BBS at
                           present moment.


[END]

[BEG]  5         How to send text to users on a channel

       5.        How to send text to users on a channel

       Once you have joined a channel, you need not precede your lines
       with a /. Whatever you type, simply goes to the entire channel.
       Precede your lines with a / when you wish to execute an ircII
       command and when you do not wish the text to be sent to the
       entire channel.

[END]

[BEG]  6         Some good channels to try

       6.        Some good channels to try

       #hottub and #initgame are almost always teeming with people.
       #hottub is meant to simulate a hot tub, and #initgame is a
       non-stop game of "inits" (initials). Just join and find out!

       To get a list of channels with their names and topics, do
       /LIST -min 30 (on ircII) which will show you channels with 30
       or more members. You can also do this for smaller numbers.

       Many IRC operators are in #Twilight_Zone ... so if you join
       that channel and don't hear much talking, don't worry, it's
       not because you joined, operators don't talk much on that
       channel anyways!

[END]

[BEG]  7         Foreign language channels

       7.        Foreign language channels

       Some of the most popular foreign language channels include
       #42 (which is a Finnish channel), #warung (which is a
       Malaysian channel. The word "warung" means "coffeehouse" or
       "small restaurant"), #polska (a Polish channel), #nippon (a
       Japanese channel, note that "funny" characters are often seen
       here -- this is Kanji. You will need a Kanji-compatible
       terminal program to converse in Kanji), #espanol (a Spanish
       channel), #russian (a Russian channel).

       These are just examples -- a large percentage of languages in
       the world is spoken on irc *somewhere*. If your language/
       country isn't listed above, ask on #irchelp to see if there
       is a channel for it.

[END]
