## page was renamed from AlugIrc
We hang out on #ALUG on the [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.oftc.net/|http://www.oftc.net/]] OFTC network; this can be found by pointing your IRC client to irc.oftc.net (or alternatively irc.alug.org.uk, which points to OFTC).

Connection to oftc is covered at http://www.oftc.net/oftc/OFTC

IRC stands for Internet relay chat. It is a kind of online chat room system where people can talk even when they are in different locations. It is a bit like a telephone conference line but with a text interface.

Technically IRC meetings are held every Monday evening at around 8pm onwards, but in general you can turn up at any point and there will be a bunch of people around - there are a handful of members who are regularly on from work as the channel can be both a useful resource and way to let off steam.

Some of the common people on channel and their real names are listed on [[IRCNames]]



== IRC clients ==
Popular irc clients include Irssi (apparently the channel's text mode client of choice) and X-Chat. Here are a few links to client to get you started.

=== Unix ===
 * Irssi [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.irssi.org/|http://www.irssi.org/]]
 * X-Chat [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.xchat.org/|http://www.xchat.org/]]
 * Konversation [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://konversation.kde.org/|http://konversation.kde.org/]]
 * BitchX [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.bitchx.org/|http://www.bitchx.org/]]
 * EPIC - Enhanced Programmable ircii Client [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.epicsol.org/|http://www.epicsol.org/]]
 * [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://freshmeat.net/|http://freshmeat.net/]] (lots of them)

=== Mac OS X ===
 * Colloquy [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://colloquy.info/|http://colloquy.info/]]
 * MacIrssi [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.g1m0.se/macirssi/|http://www.g1m0.se/macirssi/]]
 * Ircle [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.ircle.com/|http://www.ircle.com/]] (shareware)

Should also run the Unix clients above.

=== Windows (if you must) ===
 * X-Chat 2 for Windows [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.silverex.org/|http://www.silverex.org/]] (unofficial free port)
 * BitchX [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.bitchx.org/|http://www.bitchx.org/]] (ported from *nix version)
 * Irssi [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.irssi.org/|http://www.irssi.org/]]
 * mIRC [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080403230344/http://www.mirc.com/|http://www.mirc.com/]] (shareware)