IRC is still widely used and a great way to find intelligent discussion

books:


	• The Book of IRC: The Ultimate Guide to Internet Relay Chat Alex Charalabidis No Starch Press, 1999 - 437 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great IRC "User's Manual"

This book is written by an experienced IRC user and operator and I can't think of anyone better qualified to write this book. Additionally, his sense of humor makes this book enjoyable to read as you find out about all the features of IRC. This book is useful for anyone who spends time on IRC, from the "newbies" to veteran IRC "addicts" like me. I wish there had been a book like this around six years ago, when I logged on to my first IRC channel.

Among the subjects the authors covers include a brief summary of IRC and its history, IRC clients for UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh machines, how to connect to an IRC server, finding various channels and people on IRC, and also a good description about the dreaded "net splits" and lag you will eventually run into on IRC. I just wish the author had gone into more detail about ways to deal with server splits and lag. Maybe the next edition will cover that.

More and more users are logging on to IRC all the time (which probably explains why it seems there's always those "splits" I mentioned) and this book is an excellent guide to what you can do on IRC and what to watch out for.

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Guide for beginners through to advanced users

Very well written and illustrated guide that starts with the very basics and takes you all of the way through to advanced use. The IRC protocol and client side commands are explored in depth. Numerous clients for Window, OS X, and Unix are covered. This basic coverage, which is about two-thirds of the book ends with an excellent chapter on managing channels.

The advanced chapters cover installing an IRC server, using DCC, and some advanced security issues.

This book sets a comprehensive foundation of knowledge for IRC which is then supplemented by O'Reilly's IRC Hacks book. Beginners looking to get seriously into IRC will want to buy this book. More advanced users will want to look at the coverage of their areas of interest to make sure it's worth the investment.

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Excellent reference, but a bit dated

I am an IRC junkie, so when I saw this book I just had to pick it up.

This book was written in 1999, and it shows. There are outdated server lists and statistics. The attacks described are mostly outdated (who "nukes" "jupes" and "floods" these days? This is only interesting from a historical perspective). The IRC clients described are now of outdated versions, and some of the now popular clients (xchat, irssi) aren't mentioned. The book claims to have a companion website with updates, which I was excited to see, but the site's domain (bookofirc.com) seems to have expired and been snatched up by an unrelated website.

All that aside, IRC is a pretty basic protocol, and most things about it haven't changed a whole lot, so this book is quite useful. It can walk someone new to IRC through the basics, describing what everything in the IRC world is, as well as providing experts with some interesting tidbits. The whole chapters on DCC and CTCP were especially informative to me. Appendix B "Terminology" was great for providing some of the "language" one might encounter in channels with tech/irc-saavy occupants.

The book even touches upon "IRC Netiquette" when it comes to what is acceptable or not behavior-wise in IRC (I think a whole chapter should have been devoted to this, this seems to be a major stumbling block to new IRCers). The fun way in which the author presents this book makes it very amusing to read, not at all like normal techical books (this is something I enjoy about all No Starch Press books).

In summary, this is a very informative book, even for someone like me who has been using IRC for over 6 years, and now run my own server. But it needs a second edition and/or the companion website revived.

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IRC is still widely used and a great way to find intelligent discussion

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is an old technology by Internet standards, but still a very viable means of interpersonal communication; i.e., chat. Sure there are lots of nutcases out there, but you can also find people who can provide help on a wide variety of subjects (i.e., programming in specific languages), discussions on almost any subject (which is not to say they'll be intelligent or reasoned).

There's not much flash or glamour to be found in IRC or the tools to use with it. This book, however, is a great guide to IRC for those who need to know the nuts and bolts of whatever technology they deal with.

Though old, little in the technology or tools has changed since it was published in 2000.

It's an inexpensive and worthwhile addition to any techie's library or for anyone who is interested in enlarging their online social millieu.

Jerry

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This is *the* book of internet relay chat.

An truly outstanding book. I have used IRC for many years now, and although I do not consider myself to be an expert-user I definitely know my way around. This book is really the only comprehensize "A - Z" source on IRC, and it is wonderfully-written as both an introductory text for IRC newbies as well as an in-depth compendium for power users. Even after using IRC for so long I could not believe how much I learned, particularly the last chapter which deals with server-side configurations.

Alex Charalabidis uses his expert knowledge of IRC to explain the network's subcultural quirks and expectations in all its many instances, and provides information about IRC on the whole in an amusing, almost rhythmical deliverance. In my opinion, a must read for all IRC users. Even Nick Burns, the company computer guy, suggests it! YOUR WELCOME!!!

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reviews: page 1, 2

Addicted to IRC? Just getting started? This book is the ultimate guide to chatting over the Internet using Internet Relay Chat. It gives you everything you need to know about IRC--from the basics to the most cutting-edge commands.

Whether you're a new user or an IRC junkie, The Book of IRC will teach you tricks and techniques that will help you use IRC more effectively.

You'll learn: Choose an IRC client and find the right servers and channels Follow IRC etiquette, send public and private messages, and interpret notices from users and servers Find people on IRC and hide from others Use commands for all levels of expertise Create and manage an IRC channel, keep unwanted users out, and secure your channel against interlopers Install, run, and operate an IRC server Use bots and scripts to customize clients like mIRC and ircII

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