There are a number of ways to get onto the Internet Relay Chat. Probably the easiest for Windows users is to download and install the IRC program mIRC. To get the latest version of mIRC, go to http://www.mirc.co.uk/get.html.

Macintosh users aren't left out in the cold. For Mac users, there are also a few clients, notably IRCle. You can get IRCle (and setup instructions for it) at http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/mac/ircle_setup.html.

If you happen to be a user of any UNIX system - i.e. Linux, BSD, Solaris or SunOS, SCO, AIX, or any of the many UNIX variants out there, you can try simply typing 'irc' (without the quotes) at your prompt. If you get a menu when you login, rather than a prompt, there may be an option on it - if not, email your system adminstrators asking how to get on IRC.

Once you have an IRC program all ready to go, try connecting to an Efnet server. Here is a listing of the servers on Efnet, updated every day by Grimble, one of our channel bots:

• Don't expect us to be talking about Floyd - many of us spend several hours on the channel and sometimes the topic of conversation strays.
• If people don't start talking to you when you join, don't worry. Just try to strike up a conversation. We're glad to chat, but we can't be expected to be able to just pull a conversation out of thin air.

Return to the #pinkfloyd page.