Getting Started with Chat

General Rules and Etiquette

Once you have your client set up (see software below) and are connected, there are some basic rules you should follow to ensure the most enjoyable and productive experience:

1. As with all Mozilla forums and events, agreeing to our Community Participation Guidelines is a requirement for participation.
2. Try to keep messages as concise as possible. If you have something long to post, a code snippet for example, use paste.mozilla.org and paste the generated URL in IRC instead.
3. When addressing someone directly, try to use name: message format. For example, "ashughes: good morning!"
4. Every channel has its own topic. Try to keep your messages within that subject matter. For example, do not talk about Thunderbird issues in #Firefox.
5. Mozilla's channels are most active between 9am and 7pm PST Monday to Friday, excluding US Holidays.
6. When asking a question, be patient. Sometimes, it can take a few minutes for people to respond.
7. Posting a message like "Help!" is not particularly helpful. Asking a good question will result in a better experience for both you and the person trying to help.
8. Relax and have fun!

Software

There are several different applications which allow you to connect to IRC networks. You will need to use the following information to configure the server connection:

• Server: irc.mozilla.org
• Port: 6667 (default) or 6697 (SSL)

Desktop clients

Desktop clients tens to allow the most detailed configuration. For example, you can connect using SSL or a non-secure connection, and you can configure the client to automatically connect to a server and join a particular set of channels when you start the client. The following are some other options available to you:

Key:

● — Binary or executable program available

○ — Only available by downloading and compiling source code

●* — Binary or executable may be available. If not, you'll have to download source code and compile.

Web-based clients

There are also a few web-based clients which allow connecting to IRC by clicking on irc:// links. One of the simplest web-based clients is Mibbit, another is IRCCloud. These operate very much in the same way as the previously mentioned desktop clients and ChatZilla. Mibbit does NOT require flash or any other plugins.

Channels

Here is a list of channels you should be aware of as a member of the Mozilla community: (Remember to use irc.mozilla.org and port 6697 or 6667 for your server settings)

For more information about the Mozilla IRC network and more channels, go here.

Commands

The following is a list of commands you should be familiar with. Simply type them into the message box at the bottom of the screen and press enter:

For more information about IRC commands go here.

Bots

Some users in IRC are not human. These users are known as bots and automatically perform certain tasks; some automatic, some triggered by other users. The most common of these bots are called NickServ, ChanServ, and Firebot.

NickServ

This bot allows you to register your nickname which prevents other users from using it. NickServ also automatically elevates all registered users to operators when they sign on.The following are some helpful commands which can be used by NickServ:

For more information about NickServ go here.

ChanServ

This bot allows you to register new channels and control aspects of channels. The following are some helpful commands which can be used by ChanServ:

For more information about ChanServ go here.

Firebot

Firebot is a bot which assists with Mozilla related activities on IRC. For instance, Firebot automatically posts messages to #developers about the status of automated tests. The following are some helpful commands which can be used by Firebot:

For more information about Firebot go here.

Further Reading

IRC Channel Operator's Guide (New Version) IRC Channel Operator's Guide (Old Version) [From 1995, but still quite useful]