Contents
6. Registering A Nick and A Channel
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Dalnet™ is a IRC server. One can chat with people from different parts of the world, by connecting to IRC server. Hence came the name, Internet Relay Chat. In order to connect to an IRC server, one has to have an internet connection, an IRC client software, and not to mention, a PC!
| Mirc™ is the most popular IRC client. You can download Mirc free, from www.mirc.com. It is a shareware program, which means, if you like the software, you'll have to send a minimal fee (one time US $20) to the author and become a registered user. Unlike other software, you can use Mirc forever--without paying a single dime. You register it or not, Mirc never stops functioning. Hats off to Mr. Khaled Mardam Bey, the author of this wonderful software. |
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To read about the latest news on Mirc, refer to:
Download mIRC now!
When you open Mirc for the first time, a dialogue box like this one will pop up:
Fig: Mirc Options
You can put in all the necessary information, including a nick and an alternative nick. Dalnet is not case sensitive, thus DeAd_MaN_RoLliN and dead_man_rollin are actually the same nicks. After you've typed all the information, you can click on the button entitled "Connect to IRC Server" to join in a Random US DALnet server. In the drop down list, you'll find many other servers like newnet, undernet, quakenet, etc. In this box, you can also see a tree like listing at the left side. There are plenty of options out there. Once you get comfortable with Mirc, you can experiment with all those options, on your own. For help regarding mirc options, you can join in #mirchelp, a Dalnet channel.
When you click on the connect to button, you'll see the status window.
Fig: Mirc Status Window
You'll have to type in all the commands in the status window, in the space bellow the word "Cancelled connect". You can type /server irc.dal.net 6665 and press enter to connect. Once you are connected, you will see a lot of texts and graphics, and then after some time, a channels folder will pop up.
Fig: Mirc Channels Folder
You can join any of the enlisted channels, or you can add your own channels of choice, e.g. #beatles, #classic_rock, etc. by clicking on the add button. You can also add channel description in the prompt, that opens up after clicking on the add button. Some channels in Dalnet requires a key or password for joining. If you intend to join such a channel, you can put in the password in the "password" box. Alternatively, you can close this folder, and type in /join #beatles in the status window. /j also works. After joining a channel, you'll see a window in the left, and a list of nicks at the right side. You can talk in the channel main, by typing something at the space provided below the window. Every user in the channel can view these messages, so be careful about them! You can also send a private message to a certain nick. For doing this, you'll have to double click on the nick. A window with that particular nick will be opened upon this action. Whatever you type in that window will be viewable to that user only. You NEED TO press enter after typing anything. If you do not press enter (or return), no messages will be sent to anywhere. Don't get disheartened, if someone does not respond to your private messages. Many people do not like private messaging. They simply ignore these messages. One can also ignore a particular nick, by typing /ignore nick. Once a nick is ignored, no message from that ignored nick will reach the user who has ignored that nick. As a rule of thumb, before talking in the main, follow the main for a while. See what is the topic, and which people are talking. There will be a set topic in a channel. You can see it as soon as you enter a channel. But the topic of conversation seldom coincides with the channel topic. So don't be fooled by the topic. By the way, only operators can set a topic.
Dalnet is one of the oldest IRC servers. It is one of the popular ones as well. Different servers are popular for different reasons. Some are popular for file sharing, while others are popular for chatting. The secret behind Dalnet's popularity is its wonderful security system. The Dalnet services are so secured and complete, that it has been viewed as a source of envy for other servers. You can register your nickname and your channel. Once they are registered, no one other than you, can possess the nick(s) and channel(s), unless you give out your password, or do something really silly. In order to protect your nicks and channels, Dalnet has Nickserv and Chanserv. It also has memoserv, which can be used as a means of communicating with people when they are not in mirc. It acts like an e-mail. You can send short messages to a user, or all users of a channel via memo. However, you will have to have "ops" in order to send a channel memo.
What is "ops"? Ops is a special status given to a particular user. Ops is channel specific. An op of #beatles does not automatically get opped in #classic_rock, or any other Dalnet channel. When someone gets ops, he or she has a @ sign in front of his nick. Thus my nick appears like this when I'm in #beatles:
@DeAd_MaN_RoLliN
When a user joins an unregistered channel, where no other users are there, he gets a temp ops. If he registers the channel, he will become the founder of the channel. Chanserv will remember this information, and whenever you enter this channel with your founder nick, you'll get opped, and you will have founder status. Important! You can only register a channel, if you are using a registered nick. Once you register your nick, you'll have to identify to your nick by typing in a command line, which contains your password. When you register your nick, you'll have to provide a password and your e-mail address. The e-mail address has to be valid, because Dalnet will mail you and you can complete the registration process by clicking on a link, which will be provided in that mail. In order to prohibit users from using other peoples nick name, Dalnet has a special function, within Nickserv. This is called the "Nick Name Enforcer". If you take a registered nick, and try to enter Dalnet, you'll be given 60 seconds to enter the password for that registered nick. If you fail to provide the correct password within the stipulated time, the nickname enforcer will enforce the nick, and your nick name will be changed to "Guest112" or something like that. As a matter of fact, original nick names are really scarce in Dalnet. Once someone registers a nick, it becomes his property. There was a rule beforehand, that if someone does not join in Dalnet with his registered nick for 20 consecutive days, the nick will be "dropped". That is, the registration information of that nick will be lost, and Nickserv will no longer enforce it. All ops and founder information regarding that nick will be erased as well. Thus, every channel that had been registered using that nick will also be dropped. But nowadays, that rule has been relaxed. So, if you want to join Dalnet, please think of an original nick. It is quite obvious that a single word nick will not be available. Even nicks like John_Lennon, Ringo_Starr have been registered by users.
Once you get ops in a channel, you get some special privileges. That is, you can kick and ban users from that channel. Now why should you kick ban people? You need to do that, because there are some trouble makers in every place. These people come to your channel, and starts calling bad names to you. They try to insult you in front of your friends. They are no less dangerous and irritating than a stalker. Dalnet gives you the opportunity to decide, who will get into your channel, and who won't. There can be a temporary ban, as well as a permanent ban on a particular nick. Ops can also give out voices to other users. A voiced user gets a + sign in front of his nick. Usually those people who are active in the channel and liked by the ops (operators) are given voice. Voice is handy for other purposes as well. When a channel is being "moderated", only the ops and voiced people can talk in the main.
Different channels have different ops policies. To become an op in a particular channel, you need to gain the trust of the founder and the operators. You can check out our channels policy, regarding ops, by clicking here.
Registering A Nick and A Channel
As a new user, you may not bother about registering a nick. But as time passes, you will soon realize the need for a registered nick. You can register a nick by typing the following syntax in the status window:
//msg nickserv register password email
Here, you'll have to put a good password in place of the word "password", and a valid e-mail address. After you type this, the nick will be temporarily registered to you. If you do not check your mail, and abide by the instructions provided in the Dalnet mail, the temp registration will be deleted. Most of the time, the mail reaches the user within 4-5 minutes, after he or she has typed in the register command.
Once the registration process is done, you'll get a notification from dalnet, that the process is done. You can view your nick information, by visiting www.dal.net/users.htm.
You can also view nick info by typing //msg nickserv info nick.
After registering, you can identify yourself to the nick by typing:
//msg nickserv identify password
After registering the nick, you need to set the enforce option on. The command for this is,
//msg nickserv set enforce on
After enforce is set to ON, every time you need to use your nick, you'll have to identify or authenticate yourself, by typing in the command provided above. Thus a registered nick prohibits others from impersonating you, and hence it protects privacy and authenticity. Imagine someone using your nick and doing all types of bad stuff, for which you'll be blamed afterwards. For this reason, using an unregistered nick is really risky, and not at all recommended.
For more help on nickserv commands, type
//msg nickserv help
in the status window.
For registering a channel, you have to type in this command:
//msg chanserv register #channelname password description
As you can see, e-mail address is not required for registering a channel. But you must identify to a registered nick before registering a channel. You need to put in a channel description in the space entitled "description". The description can be anything, from a word to a full sentence. There are many modes and settings, which determines the way how a channel is going to be administered. But those are advanced topics, and are beyond the limits of this introductory FAQ.
You can also get help from the friendly Ircops and operators of Dalnet. You can reach them in
#dalnethelp
#irchelp
#mirchelp
Join #optraining for getting trained to become a good operator, as well as a good founder. And the best thing is, this training is absolutely FREE!
Ircops are the staffs recruited by different dalnet servers. They are the people who run Dalnet. If you're looking for the owners of Dalnet, they're the one's. To know more about Ircops, join #operhelp. You will also get more information in www.dal.net
That was all from my short Dalnet FAQ. Hope you enjoyed it.
If you have any questions, feel free to mail me at [email protected]
This Dalnet FAQ has been written by DeAd_MaN_RoLliN. He wrote it out of his own experience and learning. If there's any error in any information, please let him know. There's always an opportunity for self improvement! Comments are also welcomed.
Copyright © 2003 by DeAd_MaN_RoLliN, #Beatles. All rights reserved.
Updated on 5/28/2003, Wednesday 8:47 GMT
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