Chat Room Instructions

Introduction

On this page, I will be showing you how to connect to the GimpGirl Community IRC channel (Chat Room) and start chatting with others using the free web client called Mibbit. Please first read the learning objectives and requirement list below, then move on to watching the screencast below. If you have trouble viewing the screencast at the smaller size, feel free to view it full screen. To continue learning more about using IRC, check out the additional resources list below.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Individuals will empower others to learn and become comfortable using IRC.
  2. Individuals will empower themselves to learn more about what IRC is capable of, such as more advanced commands and registering a nickname.
  3. Individuals will empower themselves, both with the resources given and also with other resources available, to try out different IRC clients to see which one they liked the best for their own needs.

What you will need to get started:

  1. A functional computer (Windows/Mac/Linux for Mibbit, other clients are available for any type of computer)
  2. An Internet connection (broadband preferred, but any connection will work)
  3. A graphical web browser (Firefox/Internet Explorer/Safari/etc.)

Getting Started

Start by watching this instructional screencast (click the enlarge button if it is hard to see at this size):


© GimpGirl Community, 2011

Instructions covered in the screencast video above:

  1. Turn on your computer and be sure you are connected to the Internet.
  2. Open a graphical web browser such as Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer.
  3. In the location box (white box with text starting with http…) type: http://gimpgirl.com
  4. Hit the enter or return key to bring up the GimpGirl Community webpage. You do not need to enter a login and password on this page as it is not required to use IRC.
  5. Navigate to the top, left Main Menu box and select or click on “Chat Room”.
  6. Navigate down to the dark gray box in the middle section that is labeled “Chat Now”.
  7. In the box that currently says “type_name_here”, highlight or delete the text and then type in whatever name you wish to be known by. You do not have to use your real name.
  8. Select or click on the blue “Connect” button.
  9. Wait for Mibbit to connect to the #GimpGirl IRC channel (“Connecting to server…”). Once it is connected it will say “Welcome to #GimpGirl! …”.
  10. Notice the dark gray box to the right with a list of names. These are the people connected to the IRC channel. They may or may not be “active” (or at their keyboard ready to chat).
  11. To “talk” (send a message to the channel):
    1. Navigate to or click on the light gray box near the bottom (above where it says “Smilies | Colors…”).
    2. Type in whatever you want to say, such as: Hello!
    3. Hit return or enter.
    4. If nobody responds within a minute or so but you saw your message appear in the large white box above it is likely that everyone else is just “idle” (or away from their keyboards).
  12. There is much more possible to learn in IRC, but that is up to you! This is just to get you chatting. To read more about how to use IRC, check out the user guides below.
  13. To log out, close your web browser or navigate to a different web page.

Additional Resources

Check out these resources to expand your knowledge of IRC commands and capabilities:

User guides:

Other IRC clients to try:

  • ChatZilla (requires Firefox which runs Windows/Mac/Linux)
  • mIRC (Windows)