[HTC Pico (Explorer)] thewisenerd:
IRC and you!

In case you came here via my signature, sorry for that. But really, you need to know some stuff about IRC, before going to a channel. The pico channel is #pico :fingers-crossed:

So, you might have heard about IRC, even logged into one (freenode, probably, the webclient of it), (and most probably saw that there was no activity and just closed that browser tab).

Let's take a timeout here to talk about IRC.

Instead of me talking about IRC, (and you being too lazy to Google stuff (not intended to those who solve problems themselves (not noobs (?) :wink: :wink:))), here's a nice article by Rey Bango that you might want to read: IRC is Back: Here's Your Starter Guide

So, instead of me talking blah blah, and you skimming through most parts, which I assume, you did in the above article (considering you taking the energy to read it), here's what you need to know about Freenode:

So, just to let you know, in those channels (where you thought there was no activity), there actually is a lot of discussion going on. You just don't know it yet.

So? What am I supposed to do? Keep a browser tab open? Don't expect me to say "Exactly not!" because that too is a viable option, though not very practically possible.

Here's where bouncers come in. Known as BNCs, here's what they do:

Coming as either free or paid (either of them being useful, nonetheless), and cutting all the tech jargon, they allow you to "stay online" allowing you to close that browser tab you feared to keep open.

So, in case you actually read through the above quoted text, software!? Being connected from a server? Nah, just kidding. Here's where online BNC providers come in. They provide you a username, (and of course a password, which you need to select), and they host for you the BNC software (in most cases, ZNC).

Most BNCs allow caching of messages, i.e. buffered playback. Their servers are connected 24x7. You, the user, connect to their server, and through their server join the channels. You then, disconnect from their channel. Poof! But, their server still remains connected to the channels, and logs the messages in the channels, and any PMs sent to you. The next time you connect to their server, it gives you all the logged stuff, and it gets cleared. The next time you disconnect, ... Well, you get the flow.

Questions. That's what you go to IRCs for (mostly. I do it for the conversations :p). How exactly do you ask questions? Similar to on XDA, but slightly different. I couldn't have said better than l3dx's answer on stackexchange:

What does Rule #1 mean?

Something very similar to what zxcdw said in the comments:

Also, use English, in most channels, if possible. Stay safe, don't open any unknown links or links to untested software, scripts and stuff. Stay safe.

IRC clients help you stay connected. A few simple google searches will get you going in the right direction. I personally use XChat IRC on Linux, but there are a lot of other good IRC clients available too.

Free bouncers should do, mostly. I use bnc.im, seen people using EliteBNC, some people installing ZNC in their own private servers that are online 24x7, YMMV.

That's about it for IRCs. Happy chatting!

P.S. Make sure you ask the right questions in the right channels.