Basic IRC Commands

Welcome to The EsperNet IRC Network. IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, a internet-based chat medium consisting of clients (users like you) and an interconnected network of servers as the medium for chat. In addition to this page, you may also find this primer [irchelp.org] helpful.

To get on EsperNet, you'll first need an IRC client. Check out this page [ircreviews.org] to find a client for your system.

Once you have your client installed, type this into it to get on EsperNet: 

/SERVER irc.esper.net 5555

Once you're on EsperNet, you'll need a few basic commands to get started. Note, all the commands in this list must be prefixed with a forward-slash (/). For example, JOIN, takes the form: 

/JOIN

Commands may be entered in uppercase, lowercase, or any mix of upper and lower case.

Command Usage and Description
JOIN JOIN [#channel]

Joins the requested channel. Example:

/JOIN #esper
PART PART [#channel] [reason]

Leaves the requested channel. If reason is provided, it will be announced in your part message. Example: 

/PART #esper See-ya!
ME ME [something I'm doing]

Announces your current activity, e.g;
* eri is reading email

Example: 

/ME is reading email
MSG MSG [nickname] [message]

This command is also called QUERY.

Sends a private message to nick. Example: 

/MSG NickServ HELP
MODE MODE [nickname] [+/- modes]

This command may also be used on channels, with slightly different options.

Changes your user modes. Some basic modes include:

+i Renders you invisible on the network. Only users on the same channels as you can see you.
+s Shows you server messages. This can become quite a flood of data, so its use is not recommended.
+w Shows you IRC operator WALLOPS messages. These are rarely used on EsperNet.

Examples:

/MODE eri +i
/MODE eri -sw