What is an Online Chat Group?
The chat group will be run on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) which is a part of the Internet. It allows people to talk to each other by typing messages on their keyboards. As soon as you press the return key, the other person gets the message! You can either talk as a group of people in a 'chat room' or send private messages to individual people. The instructions below will help you get started.

STEP 1 - Internet Access

You will need a connection to the Internet. If you don't have one, you will have to set up an account with an 'Internet Service Provider'. The Yellow Pages has a list of them you can contact. Once you have an Internet connection, you will need a program to allow you to connect to IRC.

STEP 2 - Get an IRC Program

PC users should download a program called mIRC from here.
Macintosh users should download a program call IRCLE from here. (If you have a Macintosh, please e-mail me and I can supply you with further information on getting started.)

STEP 3 - Setting up the IRC Program

IRC may seem a bit overwhelming when you first experience it, as there is a lot you are able to do. But you really only need to know a few basics to get started. Once you have your IRC program, you will need to set it up. During setup, when you get to the introductory window, just close it and the 'mIRC Options' window will appear (see below).

First, you need to enter the irc 'server' to connect to. A server is a central computer which relays all the messages back and forth. Click once on the 'Add' button and enter Undernet for the description, and mpx.sydney.oz.org for the IRC server.

mIRC requires something to be entered into each of the fields I have marked with a red arrow. In the 'Full Name' field, type anything you like, such as your first name, or a witty comment. It is best not to enter your full name to remain anonymous. Similarly, enter a made up e-mail address. In the 'Nickname' field, enter a name you want to be known as. People will see this name on the channel. This can be your first name, or anything you like. If this name is taken, when you log onto IRC, your 'Alternative' name will be used, so enter something here too. Finally, click 'Invisible mode' to ON.

That's all you have to do to set up mIRC. Don't worry about the other options for now. Click OK. With your modem and Internet connection on, go to the 'File' menu and select 'Connect'.

STEP 4 - Essential Commands

Once you are connected, you can get to the CFS channel by typing /join #CFS (the '/' character is always used before an IRC command. The '#' is placed before a channel name). A window will open and you will see a list of names of people in the channel. If nobody else was on the channel before you joined, then you will be the only person there.

You can join this channel anytime, but Sundays from 2-4pm has been designated to make sure that other people will also be there.

Public Messages
The initial window which opens when you join a channel is the 'channel window'. When you want to leave the channel, just click the close box or quit the program. When you type a message in the channel window input line and press return, the message goes into the channel window and can be seen by everyone on the channel. Messages are prefixed by the person's nickname who sent the message.

Private Messages
When you want to talk to someone privately, mIRC users can right click on the person's nickname, in the user list, and select Query in the popup menu which appears, to open a private message window. All messages typed into this window can only be seen by that person. Messages sent by that person only to you, will also appear in this window. When someone first sends you are private message, their nickname will be surrounded by asterisks in the channel window. For example:

*Sandra* Hi, how are you today?

This means that this message was sent by Sandra to you, and can only be seen by you. At this point, you should open a private message window to Sandra to make things easier. Do this by right clicking once on Sandra's name in the list of names window and select Query. From now on, any future private messages sent by Sandra to you, will appear in this private message window.

People using IRCLE can type /query nickname (where nickname = the name the person is using). Typing into this window will send the message only to this person. (IRCLE users have only one window they can type into. When you press the return key, the message goes to whatever window is currently in the foreground. Click once on a window to bring it into the foreground.)

This is basically all you need to know to start chatting to people. To properly run a channel, understanding channel operation is important, however this can be left to people experienced in IRC.

mIRC users can get further help installing the program from here.

Advanced Users Only - Channel Operation

IRC has a system which enables people to control various operations of a channel and keep out trouble makers. When the last person leaves a channel, it closes and ceases to exist. The first person to enter a channel by typing /join #CFS will automatically create the channel and that person will automatically have channel operator status. This means that this person can give channel operator status to other people and kick and ban trouble makers as well. In mIRC, channel operators have a '@' character before their names. IRCLE users see channel operators in red.

It is strongly recommended that several trusted people in a channel have channel operator status. Also be aware that if only one person in a channel has channel operator status, and they leave the channel, then the channel is left with nobody in control. This is bad if someone comes in and types abusive messages. Unfortunately, IRC can have such people who don't have anything better to do.

As the #CFS channel has been set up for member of STUFFED only, it should be set up to be a 'secret' channel. This reduces the chance of other IRC users seeing the channel on a channel list and coming in to see what it's all about. It should also be set so that only channel operators can set the topic. Both these are achieved by typing /mode #CFS +st Only channel operators can use this command.

To set a channel topic (which is seen when someone first enters a channel) type /topic #CFS newtopic where newtopic = any text you like. For example, /topic #CFS Welcome to all STUFFED members!

An easier way to set channel modes and topics is to double click inside the main channel window to bring up an options window.

Channel operators should be aware of how to give other people operator status (also known as 'ops') and how to kick and ban trouble makers. mIRC users can right click once on a person's nickname in the list of people on the channel. This brings up a popup menu with a list of commands you can apply to that person. The important ones are 'Give Ops', 'Kick' and 'Kick Ban'. Kick will remove a person from the channel, but they can come straight back in if they want to. Kick Ban prevents the person from coming back into the channel for that day. IRCLE users have a set of buttons below the list of people on the channel. Clicking once on a person's nickname allows you to use the buttons. Note that you must have channel operator status to be able to give Ops to other people, and kick and ban them.

When you want to become even more experienced, a list of other IRC commands can be found here.

Have fun!