2/24/2023 0 Comments Limechat first screenYou can see “DALnet” on the list, so after entering your chosen nicknames/username (these can be changed easily any time) click that to select it, and click “Connect”. We shall join a public one for now, and add another server to connect to later. If they are in use too, you’ve be notified by the server and asked to change it manually.Īs you can see, there is a pre-populated list of public IRC networks there, or you can add your own. If the nickname you choose is in use on the server you connect to, HexChat will attempt to switch to your second and third choices, if needed. There are plenty of free email services out there, obviously some more privacy conscious than others. In those cases, depending on the server, you might want to use an email address that isn’t your main one. Some networks use services to allow you to register a nickname, protected with a password so that nobody else can intentionally or inadvertently be mistaken for you. The reason for the second and third choices is because on any given IRC server you cannot use a nickname that is already in use. With the box ticked to run HexChat, click “Finish” and you’ll see something like this… Once that is completed you should see this… You can then click “Install” and off it goes. If you did want to do that, you’d have obviously chosen a specific install location at the start, but for now as you chose the default install location, which is normally a folder that has strict write permissions enforced ticking this may cause you problems, so just click “Next >” again. If you’re a more advanced user that wants to install this on a USB drive or something like that, you’d tick this option. After another click of “Next >” there is the option to tick a box to install HexChat in “Portable Mode”. Clicking “Next >” again gets you the “Select Components” to be installed list. You can accept that, click “Next >” and then you’ll be asked for the “Select Destination Location” which is where it will be installed. It’s a fairly small file by today’s standards, around 10MB and if you run it after it’s downloaded, after allowing it to make changes to your PC if asked by Windows, you should see the “License Agreement” page… Ideally you will want the “ Windows 7+ 64bit Installer” unless you’re running the 32bit version of Windows in which case get the 32bit installer. You can download the installer from this page. So we shall start with HexChat, installing on Windows and connecting to an IRC server. If you’re already using a mobile device for your comms then this is perhaps not news to you, or a huge concern, but as we’re looking at platform independent and secure chat, it is just worth noting the relative security of the various devices and operating systems. Obviously there is the issue that mobile devices are probably already compromised simply because Apple and Google (especially Google) like to spy on you. I can’t vouch for either of the apps listed, but you might find them useable. Google is a bit less strict than Apple, but similar issues apply so connections are not going to be stable long-term. I can’t vouch for Colloquy, but I have used LimeChat and it’s OK. That being said, it can be done, albeit with regular connecting/disconnecting. As the IRC protocol does not include Apple’s push notifications (of course it doesn’t, it’s a general platform agnostic protocol as it should be) this means IRC less convenient to use on iPhones as you’ll get disconnected as soon as you switch to another app. Mostly with chat applications, Apple’s stance is that those applications must be implemented with push notifications. Very few applications qualify for background data or for exemption from automatic suspension. If you’re capable of doing that, you probably don’t need this guide :)Īpple enforces strict limits on applications for iOS. Textual is a paid-for application but if you’re prepared to compile it from the source code yourself, you can use it for free. LimeChat is pretty good, open source and free. It has been around since the 90s and has a large userbase (in the IRC community that is) but for casual users may not be worth paying for. HexChat is decent, free, secure and pretty easy to use, and we’ll be using that for our instructions later. I can’t vouch for all the IRC clients out there, so I’ll list a couple for each of the main operating systems (I shall skip fellow Linux users as I think most people capable of using it are likely not in need of an article like this), and pick one to demonstrate installing and connecting with. There are free, open source IRC clients, and naturally paid-for commercial ones too. Following on from the article I wrote some time ago titled “Platform Independent Chat” we’re going to look at how to use an IRC client to connect to an IRC server and chat, and in a future article, how to set up your own IRC server.
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