For the first-timer, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) can be somewhat intimidating. The following recipe may help you over the hurdles. If you manage to reach GatorLUG chat, someone there should be able to help further smooth out any bumps.
Although Pidgin [1] (formerly known as GAIM), XChat [2], and a host of other programs provide a similar facility, this recipe focuses on ChatZilla, a Firefox [3] addon. You're running Firefox anyway, right?
I used Firefox V2.0.0.5, so next week there will be subtle differences, but try to muddle through. There are 18 steps, so this is barely feasible for mere human beings.
- Install Firefox and surf back to this page (http://www.gatorlug.org/node/173 [4]).
- In Firefox, go to the Chatzilla [5] page on addons.mozilla.org.
- Scroll down and click Install Now.
- Read the warnings about "unsigned code", but ignore them.
- Click Install Now or Install or whatever it is this week.
- After installation completes, click Restart Firefox to activate Chatzilla.
- After Firefox restarts, select View -> Toolbars -> Customize....
- Scroll to find the cZ/ChatZilla icon, drag and drop it from the dialog onto either the menu bar, the tool bar or the bookmark bar. (Your choice! [1] [5])
- Click Done to close the dialog.
- Click the icon to start the ChatZilla client.
- From the Available networks, click freenode.
- Ignore all threatening messages about registering your nickname.
- In the lower text box, type /j #gatorlug and press Enter [2] [5].
- Ignore any further threats about "registering your nick(name)" [3] [5], [4] [5].
- Enter your messages into the text box and press Enter to send them.
- To leave #gatorlug, type /part in the text box and press Enter.
- To disconnect from the freenode server, type /disconnect and press Enter.
- To stop ChatZilla, type /quit, and press Enter.
[1] You can skip steps 7 and 8 and start ChatZilla from the Tools menu.
[2] IRC commands are prefixed with /, chatrooms (known as "channels" in IRC) with #. /j is short for /join.
[3] You'll want to register your nickname so no one else can use it, but that's beyond the scope of this recipe.
[4] Steps 11-14 can be automated by clicky-clicky mojo on ChatZilla -> Preferences..., but that is beyond the scope of this document.
Tutorial by Jim Wilson, merely posted by Nile.