Lisa, the Simpson!

For everyone who has used IRC before:

Server: irc.lisa-simpson.net
Channel: #lts

For everyone else:

The LTS chat: How do I get there?

First some history for anyone who might care:
_{'Borrowed' from wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irc)} :p

Since we have an IRC chat application on the forum now, you can just click on 'Chat' in the menu above and you're all ready to go. In case you still want to use an external program, you can follow the rest of the guide.

Chatting using mIRC

If you want to chat on the LTS chat, you need an 'IRC client'. This is a program that allows you to chat with other people on IRC networks. In this guide I'm going to show you how to chat on the LTS chat using mIRC.

First you'll need mIRC, which you can get here: http://www.mirc.com/get.html

After you've downloaded mIRC, you'll need to install it. I assume you already know how to do that, so I won't cover that. (Just keep clicking 'Next' until it's installed)

When you first start mIRC, you'll be greeted by the 'About window'. You should click on the 'Continue' Button.

After that you'll see this dialog:

(http://members.lycos.nl/stebje/irc/mirc_1.gif)

You should fill in the forms.

Than click on 'Servers' in the menu on the left.

(http://members.lycos.nl/stebje/irc/mirc_2.gif)

You'll need to add a new server, because the LTS server isn't a standard option in the list. Click on the 'Add' button.

(http://members.lycos.nl/stebje/irc/mirc_3.gif)

You should fill in the forms like in the screenshot:

Description: LTS Chat
IRC Server: irc.lisa-simpson.net
Ports: 6667

You don't have to fill in the other forms. After you've filled in the in the forms, you should click on the 'Add' button. The LTS chat server is now added to the list of servers. Find it and doubleclick on it. The options window will now return to the first window you saw ('Connect' in the menu).

(http://members.lycos.nl/stebje/irc/mirc_4.gif)

You can now click on 'Connect to server' to connect to the LTS chat server! After you've clicked it, the options window will disappear and you'll see a bunch of text in the status window. After a short while you'll see this window:

(http://members.lycos.nl/stebje/irc/mirc_5.gif)

In that window, you can select a channel you want to join. Because the channel of the LTS chat is called #lts, you should fill in #lts. After that, click on 'Join' and mIRC will connect to the LTS chat!

(http://members.lycos.nl/stebje/irc/mirc_6.gif)

You can now chat with other members from LTS!

Some other info about IRC

How do start a private chat with someone?
Just doubleclick on the name of the person you want to have a private chat with in the list on the right. mIRC will now open a new window where you can have a private chat.

How do I get rid of that red line in chat?
Go to the mIRC options by Clicking on Tools -> Options in the menu. Go to Display -> Options in the menu on the left in the options window. Click on the Line marker-button and deselect Show line marker in the windows that pops up.

Basic IRC commands

The /me command
This command does the same in IRC as on the forum:
/me does something

Changing your nickname
This will change your nickname to Homer. Just replace 'Homer' with the nickname you want.

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I hope this helped everyone who had questions about or problems with the LTS chat. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Yey! Thanks for that, found that very useful :D Never would have gotten on to the chat without the help tbh :p
*understands it all so much better now*

Wonderful job, Suusje, really accurate. Thanks so much for that! The topic gets stickied. :)  :lisa:

Nice tutorial indeed - well done! :)

Mmhm, yes, very nice instructions... however it's informing me that I need to pay to download the program, so I believe I'll stick to YIM and other free chat programs.

Suusje
Great tutorial, thanks for writing it! :)

GeorgeHarrison
Not really. You can download the program for free and use it for 30 days.
And after that, you always can search for a... *cough* workaround... ;)
In the past, mIRC was freeware. Too bad they've made it software now.

Dagdamor
I'd rather not risk getting attached to it. ;)

It was cruel to be able to use Cute.ftp for 30 days to upload my music and share it with you guys, and then suddenly to lose it again.

For now, YIM/Skype/GIM will do.

Dagdamor
I remember installing IRC a couple of times before, after the evaluation, I could still use the program without any problems. The pop up would tell me that my evaluation is over, but I could still click continue and keep using it. I dunno, weird stuff. :P
Anyway, if you were planning on putting up the channel as a Java powered webchat here on LTS, the evaluation shouldn't be a concern for anyone. People would just simply enter their username and click connect, nothing more to it.

You can also use Miranda IM, a free multi-protocol messenger, to access the IRC channel. I just tried it yesterday, and it worked fine. :) The advantage of Miranda IM is that you can chat with virtually anyone within a single program, regardless if they use ICQ, MSN, AIM, Yahoo Messenger or whatever.

^ The same applies with Trillian. I use Trillian for everything. Including IRC. :P

I've found exactly that too. It looks like it can't be used after 30 days (the continue button becomes unpressable) but actually works fine (as it only does so temporarily).

Anyway, good tutorial Suusje :)

How to connect to the LTS Chat using Trillian

First start off by opening your contacts list and go Trillian > Connections > Manage My Connections.

Make sure that you have the IRC plugin installed. To do this, go Plugins and Click the checkbox thats next to IRC and have it selected. You should get a light blue sphere next to the box change from greyscale.

Once thats done go to Identities and Connections. And Click Add New Connection > IRC

Give it a name in the top most box, ideally "LTS" :P

In the next the server, irc.lisa-simpson.net

and in the following three your username you want to use.

Click Connect.

Once connected the sphere should now be coloured the same as it was on the plugin screen. Close the window.

Open up your contact list again and find the IRC connection click it and click Join a Channel and type #lts and hit enter, you should now get a new window with the chat room.

thanks ALM. I hope that this helps more people connecting :)

For the Record, my guide is for Trillian 3 Basic, 3 Pro and Astra.