Kelleen writes:
 
>When Roger McMillan said to pop into channel #GCFA what does that mean?  I
>don't understand how to hook up with that address.
 
Roger's talking about IRC, which is Internet Relay Chat.  You need to grab
some IRC software if you don't have some already, and use that software to
connect to a chat server, like undernet.org or irc.mcgill.ca or
irc.eskimo.com, or one of the many others.  Once you've done that, you can
type "/list" to get a list of all chat channels. If you find one you want to
join, type /join #channelname, e.g. /join #GCFA. You'll then be ready to
chat with all of the other people on that channel.  Type what you want to
say, press enter, and everybody'll see it. To quit, you type /part #channel
in the command line area.
 
To find out more about IRC, use any of the popular search engines to search
the web. Infoseek, Webcrawler, Lycos: all will give you plenty of links, as
will the Yahoo directory.
 
The IRC FAQ (frequently asked questions list) is at
http://www.kei.com/irc.html and the links you find in a web search will give
you plenty more to read.
 
I use mIRC software for IRC, and find it to be pretty good.  The mIRC FAQ is
at http://sunsite.nijenrode.nl/ftp/pub/mirc/faq.html.  They'll probably have
a link on that page that'll allow you to download the software.  If not, do
a web search for mIRC and I'm sure you'll find it soon enough.
 
If you want the very easiest IRC client of all, go and get GlobalChat.  It's
an extremely easy package to use, with a colourful screen and a few very
obvious buttons. Only disadvantages are that you won't be able to use the
more advanced commands, and there'll be a banner of advertising across the
top of your screen.
 
Hope this helps.
 
cmc
 
--
Christine Code                     We shall find peace.
Vancouver, CANADA                  We shall hear the angels,
[log in to unmask]                      We shall see the sky
http://www2.portal.ca/~cmc         Sparkling with diamonds.   - Chekhov
[Posted in FML issue 1409]