| Below are instructions for finding your way into our new IRC chat room. If you want to participate in Tuesday's chat and you're new to IRC, I'd suggest you try it out before Tuesday afternoon so that you can familiarize yourself with how it works (and you can call for help if you can't get in).
If you use Mozilla Firefox as your internet browser (Windows or Mac):
You can use a java application called "ChatZilla." Download it here (click the "install" link at the very bottom of the page, right hand corner). Once you've restarted Firefox, you should see "ChatZilla" as a new option in the "Tools" dropdown menu.
Click on ChatZilla to open it up. Once you're in (don't worry about the gobbledygook on the screen), type the following three commands in the command line at the bottom of the window (make sure to include the slash "/"):
/nick your BMG user name or other nickname (e.g., I would sign in "/nick David")
/server irc.bluemassgroup.com
/join #bluemassgroup
(Please note that you may need to hit CONTROL+ENTER to actually send your command, or text.) You should see a list on the left of who else is online, and a large window that will show the conversation. Now you can just chat away!
If you use Windows but don't use Firefox as your browser:
There are lots of IRC client programs designed to run on Windows - if you already have one, you should be able to use it. I tried a couple, and found that Visual IRC was the easiest to use. Download it here (any of the "Mirror" links should work), and follow the installation instructions (let it apply the default settings).
Once the program is installed, open it up and (if you're a newbie at this, like me) let it take you through the detailed instruction set. It will ask you for your "nickname" (probably your BMG user name, though it can be whatever you want), as well as a backup nickname in case your first choice is taken (unlikely). It will also ask you for an "ident" and a "real name." It doesn't much matter what you enter here, as far as I can tell...just follow the directions and enter something reasonably related to you.
When it asks you for a default server, enter "irc.bluemassgroup.com".
Once you've finished the initial interview, you should be at a mostly-blank screen with a button called "Start" in the upper left-hand corner. Click that button. That should open a window in which the words "irc.bluemassgroup.com" appear near the top. Click the icon at the upper left of the box that says "connect" when you hover over it.
You should see a bunch of messages (which you can pretty much ignore). Type the following into the command line at the bottom of the window (be sure to include the slash "/"):
That should put you in the chat room - you'll see a list of who else is present on the right side of the window, and you can chat away.
If you use a Mac but don't use Firefox as your browser:
You have a couple of IRC clients to choose from. Pick one of them here.
Since I'm not a Mac user, I can't give you step-by-step instructions on what to do, but the general idea should be the same. First, assign yourself a nickname. Second, hook yourself up to a server called "irc.bluemassgroup.com". Third, connect to the channel called #bluemassgroup. The commands to do this will generally look like the three listed in the Firefox/ChatZilla discussion above.
Whew. Problems? Please let us know, either in the comments or via email. |
