WALL-E Forum is on IRC (New Chat)!

[WALL-E Dragon]

So after some unfavorable experiences with the flashchat client we were using, and a kind offer from Locutus to set up our own IRC server, I have decided an IRC chat would be much better.  First I would like to offer a single link to test out the chat.  It's browser based and you will not have to install anything.  Just click the link below and put in your username:

Click to enter WALL-E Forum IRC on Mibbit!

Copy and Paste to enter WALL-E Forum IRC if you have an IRC Client:  irc://chat.walleforum.de:7000/WALL-E

However, we do not necessarily recommend using Mibbit because your experience will be much better on a dedicated IRC client.  It is available and there for you to use if you so desire, however, as I know some of you may not wish to or may not be able to install new programs.  What we really recommend is to download and install a dedicated client.  Several options are listed and discussed below.

Overview of IRC Clients (in Spoiler Tags to Avoid Freaking You Out)

Chatzilla for Firefox - If you have Firefox this is by far the best choice.  It operates as a plugin within Firefox and it will make your life a lot easier.  And it's free.

mIRC - This is probably the most popular IRC client.  However, it is not freeware.  You can try it out for 30 days then it will start nagging you to register, and from what I gather eventually stop functioning.  If you don't mind paying and don't want to use Firefox/ChatZilla this is probably your best choice.

Opera - If you user Opera you already have a rudimentary IRC client built-in.  'nuff said.

Trillian and/or Pidgin - If you already use Trillian or Pidgin for your IMing and Chatting needs, it's a no-brainer to use one of them for our IRC chat as well.  If you don't already use either of them, there's no purpose in downloading either solely for IRC.

XChat - If you use Linux this is probably a good choice, as it is free for you.  Sadly, it costs 20 bucks for Windows users.

Comparison Chart of IRC Clients - The question of the best "free" IRC program for Windows is harder to answer.  Here is a good Wikipedia comparison chart of them all.

KVIrc - I cannot directly recommend this client, but it is apparently free and fairly popular.  I post it here merely to suggest a free client and link directly to it for those of you that are on Windows sans Firefox without an IRC client and don't know where to turn.

Vortec IRC - Another option, Locutus recommended.

Below you will find a direct link to the chat (if you have a client).

Copy and Paste to enter WALL-E Forum IRC if you have an IRC Client:  irc://chat.walleforum.de:7000/WALL-E

If you use ChatZilla you can click the link below to be taken directly to ChatZilla in a tab.  You will still have to manually input the information if you do not have it set to autorun, however.

Copy and Paste to enter WALL-E Forum IRC in a Tab on ChatZilla:  chrome://chatzilla/content/chatzilla.xul

The Server and Room information is in the Spoiler Tag below.  You can use these to manually set up your client.

Server:  chat.walleforum.de:7000
Room:  #WALL-E

This information should eventually be sorted better on its own dedicated page, bear with us as we get things up and running.

[maniaQ]

GREAT! Now thats some great increase the quality of the community.
 

[Locutus]

Three little comments from me:

- I completely agree with WD that a dedicated IRC client is the best choice over the browser built-in or web-based ones.

- If you're playing with the idea anyway to begin an instant messaging experience, you might try out Trillian, Miranda, Gajim or Pidgin. Those are multiprotocol clients that also support IRC.

- I tried out "Vortec IRC" and it looks really good and feature-rich for a freeware tool. Definitely worth checking out if you're going to install a new client anyway.

[Daniel Gnoutcheff]

WOOT! This is awesome! Incoming for WD and Locutus! I never had access to flashchat since I'm a free/open source fanatic and refused to install the propretary flash plugin (the open source clones didn't work). IRC is way better in every respect!

BTW a note for Ubuntu users: "Pidgin" is bundled with Ubuntu (installed by default, I believe), and it has IRC support. It seems to work quite well, I used it just now as a test.

[Locutus]

BTW a note for Ubuntu users: "Pidgin" is bundled with Ubuntu (installed by default, I believe), and it has IRC support. It seems to work quite well, I used it just now as a test.

Ah, yes, Pidgin. Forgot. Exists for Windows too. Thanks for the hint, I added it to my list.

[WALL-E Dragon]

Hey AUTO, no offense but could you drop the Teamspeak thing?  Locutus is aware of your desire for it and I'm sure if he has time and is willing he'll get around to it, but let's not pester the guy, k? 

[Locutus]

Argh AUTO, have you heard of "off topic"? Please stop asking me this publicly all the time! If and when I feel like a voicechat, I shall contact you via PM.

[WALL-E Dragon]

By the way, if you'd like to continue using Mibbit to access the chat and you want access to all the fancy features (such as the ability to automatically join a channel on a server, auto-identify, etc.) you can go here and reigster for a free account:

http://www.mibbit.com/chat/

[Irene Molloy]

Will we all be together on the same chat room no matter which client thingy we use?

[Daniel Gnoutcheff]

Will we all be together on the same chat room no matter which client thingy we use?

Yep. As long as we are on the same server, I'm pretty sure we should be fine. (In fact, we are talking via different clients right now, as I write this!)

[Irene Molloy]

Oh right...haha, I'm retarded. Ignore me!

[WALL-E Dragon]

No problem, it probably could use a little explaining for people who aren't familiar.  This'll be simplified, but basically:  think of the client as your web browser, and the chat room/server as the web address.  Whether you use Firefox or IE, so long as you put in http://walleforum.com in the address bar, you'll come to WALL-E Forum.  So whether you use mIRC or ChatZilla, so long as you're logged into the chat.walleforum.de:7000 server in the room #WALL-E, you'll be at the same chat as the rest of us.

[Irene Molloy]

Ok, that makes a lot more sense. Thanks!

[Czarine]

Uhmmm... Call me stupid, but when I copy/paste it into FireFox, I get errors.

What am I doing wrong?

[UltraByte]

I have Trillian Astra, and I know that you can run IRC rooms through it, but when I go to set the connection up, it gives me a ton of information I need to fill in... is it possible that someone could help us Trillian users?