by ShadowRain
Server: irc.otherworlders.org
Port: between 6660 and 6669
Channels: #psion_guild (main channel)
#pg_practice (practice channel)
#psion_guild_classroom (where classes are held)Don’t forget to follow the Guild IRC Channel Rules.
Note: Most people in the channel idle there while doing other things. If you have a question, feel free to ask, but please be prepared to wait for at least 10-15 minutes for an answer. It takes a while for people to check back and notice someone said something. If you’re asking for support/healing/defense, ask in channel or PM one of the staff, but again, be prepared to wait for a bit. Please don’t ask a question and then sign off after 30 seconds (it gets really annoying).
There have been a lot of questions on how to connect to the Guild IRC channel, so I’ve written step-by-step instructions for the popular clients. If there is another one that you would like to see on this list, please let me know and I’ll do a write-up for it. If you find errors, or have problems with connecting after reading these instructions, feel free to PM me (ShadowRain) and I’ll help with troubleshooting.
Note: The in-browser applications are the fastest ways to get into the channel, but the downside is there are very few options you can customize, and there are no logging capabilities. For an actual client with more options, logging, etc., most people seem to like mIRC. Personally, I like XChat and irssi.
The installation instructions assume you have windows for the most part. If you have a mac or linux, install the program however you normally install stuff.
Mibbit AJAX Interface (in browser)
Go to http://chat.mibbit.com/?server=irc.otherworlders.org&channel=%23psion_guild
Type the username you would like in the box
Click “Go”
You’re in!
PJIRC Java Interface (in browser)
Go to http://pjirc.viper007bond.com/?chan=psion_guild&network=irc.otherworlders.org
Type the username you would like in the top box
Click “Login”
You’re in!
mIRC (free for 30 days, but can still be used for free after that. Registering it costs $20) – Windows
Download and install mIRC (http://www.mirc.com/index.html)
If the mIRC Options window is not already open, go to Tools -> Options
Under Category, click the + to expand “Connect” and select “Servers”
In the list of IRC Servers, scroll down until you see “OtherWorlders”, then double click
Select “Random server”
Back under Connect, select “Options”
If you want to connect automatically when you start mIRC, check the first check box
Go back under Category and select “Connect”
Type in something for your Full Name, Email, and Username
Click the Connect button
A window will pop up with a list of channels
Click the Add button
A window will pop up
Type “#psion_guild” in the Channel box (without the quotes)
Check the Join on Connect box
Click OK
Make sure the #psion_guild channel is selected
Click Join
You’re in!
Pidgin (free) – Windows, Mac (though Adium is recommended instead), Linux
Download and install Pidgin (http://www.pidgin.im/)
Open Pidgin
Go to Accounts -> Manage Accounts -> Add
Then select “IRC” from the Protocol pull-down menu
Enter in the nickname you’d like to use in the Username box
Enter “irc.otherworlders.org” in the Server box (without the quotes)
Leave the password box blank
Click Save
See if it connects
If it doesn’t, that port may be blocked
Select the account you just created and click Modify
On the advanced tab, you can choose a different port (but it needs to be between 6660 and 6669)
If none of the ports in that range work, then you’ll probably have to take it up with whoever is managing your firewall
If it does connect, then on the buddy list go to Buddies -> Add Chat
Make sure your IRC account that you just created is selected
Type “#psion_guild” in the Channel box (without the quotes)
Leave password blank
If you want it to automatically join the chat when you open Pidgin, then check the “Autojoin when account becomes online” box
Click Add
Double click on #psion_guild in the buddy list to enter the channel
You’re in!
Trillian (Basic version is free) – Windows
Download and install Trillian (http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/)
Open Trillian
Go to Trillian -> Trillian Preferences
Click Plugins
Make sure the IRC plugin is checked
Go to “Identities & Connections”
Click “Add a new connection” and select IRC
In the Server Alias box, type Psion Guild
In the box below that, type “irc.otherworlders.org::6667″ (without the quotes)
In the Nickname and Username boxes, type whatever name you want to be known as
If you want it to automatically join the chat when you open Trillian, then check the box labeled “Automatically connect to this account at start up”
Click the Connect button, then close the preferences window.
On the main buddy list window, there should be a silver dot that will say “IRC” if you hover the mouse over it.
Click the silver dot and select “Join a Channel”
Type “#psion_guild” (without the quotes) and click OK
You’re in!
XChat (free) – Windows, Mac (XChat Aqua), Linux
Download and install XChat (http://www.xchat.org/)
Open XChat
Network list should pop up (if it doesn’t, go to Xchat -> Network List)
Under “User Information” type the nickname you would like
Click Add button
Type “Otherworlders” (without the quotes)
Click Edit button
Select the server and click Edit
Type “irc.otherworlders.org/6667″ (without the quotes)
Check the “Auto connect to this network at startup”
In “Favorite channels”, type “#psion_guild” (without the quotes)
Click Close
Check the “Skip network list on startup” box
Click Connect
You’re in!
HydraIRC (free) – Windows
Download and install HydraIRC (http://www.hydrairc.com/)
Open HydraIRC
If it says “You have no configured identities, would you like to create one now?” click Yes. If it doesn’t, go to Options -> Prefs…
Go to User Identities and click New
Type the nickname that you want in the Nick box, fill in whatever you want for the other boxes (note: some of this will be visible online), and click OK
Click OK to exit Preferences
Go to File -> New Server
In the URI box, type “IRC://irc.otherworlders.org/psion_guild” (without the quotes)
Make sure your User Identity is selected
Click OK
You’re in!
So you don’t have to type it every time, once you are in the channel, go to Favorites -> Add to Favorites. This channel will now appear at the bottom of the Favorites menu, just click to join after opening the program.
Chatzilla (free) – Windows, Mac, & Linux (Firefox addon)
These instructions assume you have Firefox 3.
Open Firefox
Go to Tools -> Add-ons
Go to the Get Add-ons tab, and search for “Chatzilla”
Find Chatzilla in the list that comes up and click the “Add to Firefox” button
When it finishes installing, close all your browser windows
Reopen Firefox
Go to Tools -> Chatzilla
In the window that pops up, go to Chatzilla -> Preferences
On the General tab, under Identification, enter the username you want in the “Nickname” box (it defaults to “Owner”)
On the Startup tab, under “Auto-connect URLs”, click the Add button
In the box that comes up, type “irc://irc.otherworlders.org/psion_guild” (without the quotes)
Click OK
Close Chatzilla (you don’t have to completely close Firefox, just the Chatzilla window)
Reopen Chatzilla (Tools -> Chatzilla)
It should connect automatically–you’re in!
IRSSI (free) – Windows, Mac, Linux
Download IRSSI (http://www.irssi.org/)
This client is really designed for linux. So if you’re in linux, just install it.
If you’re in windows, the installer basically extracts a bunch of files and directories to wherever you tell it to. If you download it to your desktop and run it, it will throw up files all over your desktop. So, if you are on Windows, go to your main “Program Files” directory (usually on your C: drive) and create a folder called “IRSSI” then move the installer to that directory and run it.
Find the file that is called “irssi.cmd” and double-click. This should open a command prompt (aka terminal). If it doesn’t work, try one of the other files that says something about irssi, cmd, or bat.
I’m going to use #psion_guild on Otherworlders as an example. Substitute the info for the community you want. Without the quotes, type:
“/NETWORK ADD -nick yournickhere -user yourusenamehere -realname yourrealnamehere ” (hit enter. NOTE: all this info will be public, so only put what you want others to see)
“/SERVER ADD -auto -network otherworlders irc.otherworlders.org 6667″ (hit enter. If you don’t want to automatically connect to this server when you start irssi, type this command without the “-auto” part.)
“/SET autolog ON” (hit enter. This turns logging on)
“/CONNECT otherworlders” (hit enter)
“/JOIN #psion_guild” (hit enter)
You’re in!
Use alt+1, alt+2, etc to switch between channels.
Use PageUp and PageDn keys to scroll within the channel.
Use /n to view a list of users in the channel.
For advanced users:
If you have a linux server that you can ssh into, you can sign into your irssi session from anywhere using PuTTy (just remember to put irssi in a new screen so you can detatch it when you’re done. That way your logs are all in one place, and you don’t have to sign out of IRC).
If you love irssi and wish you could use it for instant messaging too, check out bitlbee.
There are a lot of nifty things you can do with this program (see: documentation, and google searches turn up useful info as well).
Colloquy App ($1.99) – iPhone/iPod Touch
Please, please, PLEASE don’t try to use mibbit on your iPhone. Trust me, it’s really not worth the frustration. This app made all the difference for me, and it’s totally worth the two bucks.
Download Colloquy from the App Store
Run Colloquy
On the Connections tab, tap the “+” in the upper left and select “IRC Connection”
Under Description type a name for the server you want to connect to (for example: “Otherworders”)
Under Address type the server you’re connecting to (for example: “irc.otherworders.org”)
Under Nickname type the nickname you want. Since I sometimes connect from my phone when I can’t get to my regular client on my computer, I sometimes use “Shadow_Phone” instead of my usual nick “ShadowRain” to let people know I’m connecting from my phone (and why I’m typing slower than usual).
Under Real Name type whatever you want (remember this is public).
If you want to connect as soon as you open the app, toggle this option to “On”
Select “Join Rooms” and tap the “+” next to Add chat room
Type the channel you want to join when you sign on (for example: #psion_guild)
Go back to the New Connection page
If you want to identify with nickserv automatically, go down to “Advanced” and then put your nickname and password in the Authentication setting (this saves having to type furiously to identify fast enough when you sign online).
Go back to the New Connection page and in the upper right, tap “Connect”.
You’re in!
The channels you are in will be listed on the Colloquies tab. To add another channel, click the “+” in the upper left of the Colloquies tab.
When you’re in a channel, tap the little person symbol in the upper right to see who else is in the channel.
Note: no logging is available unless you have a BNC connection.