IRC is a chat system used by members of the AniNIX network. See [[IRC#Available Clients|Available Clients]] for access methods.

# Etymology
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC IRC] stands for Internet Relay Chat -- it is a method of text-based communication across the network via various servers. IRC has long been the self-hosted communication medium of choice for hackers, developers, and the fringe -- though overall adoption has dropped a bit with the rise of other social media, networks like [https://freenode.org Freenode] are growing. IRC<ref name=ircgrow>https://royal.pingdom.com/2012/04/24/irc-is-dead-long-live-irc/</ref> is moving to the hacker niche, and we follow along.

# Relevant Files and Software
The configuration for the IRC service is divided into two parts -- the daemon and services.
## InspIRCd
The IRC daemon is powered by [https://inspircd.org/ InspIRCd 2][[Category:InspIRCd]]. Relevant configuration is in [file:///etc/inspircd/inspircd.conf the conf file] and it logs to [file:///var/log/inspircd/startup.log startup.log].
## Anope
The services component is supplied by [https://www.anope.org/ Anope 2][[Category:Anope]]. Relevant configuration is in [file:///etc/anope/services.conf the services.conf] and it logs to the [file:///var/log/anope/ the anope log].

Anope also takes backups of [file:///var/db/anope/anope.db the anope database] to the backups folder in the same location. [[Category:TODO]]<!--This should be backed up with Wiki-->

<b>Caution:</b> Anope with version 2.0.3 has some issues with gcc6. If you start encountering segmentation faults with Anope, sign in to [[irc://anope.org#anope The Anope support IRC]]. Script a run of "sudo -u ircd gdb /usr/bin/services core". Enter "r <your flags>" and when it crashes run "bt full". Quit out of everything and pastebin the file. Provide this to the support staff.

Anope Services' NickServ authentication can be linked to [[Sora|AniNIX::Sora]] for unified credentials.[[Category:LDAP]]

### Service entities
The following entities can be messaged personally (PM'ed) for help with "/msg <entity> help


[[Category:Public_Service]]
* NickServ will manage IRC nicknames.
* HostServ will manage IRC virtual hosts, to mask IP's.
* ChanServ will manage IRC channels -- new channels can be registered on the network here.
* MemoServ will manage IRC memos (short text-message-like messages between users).

# Available Clients
You will need to use your own client. All IRC clients will connect to the service by providing the following information:
* Host: aninix.net
* Port: 6697
* The client should accept invalid certificates.
* The client should automatically join the #lobby channel.
* The client should provide a nickname and NickServ password that the user intends to use.

### Clients by OS
Some example clients can be found here.
* Linux hosts are strongly recommended to use [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Weechat weechat] inside [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Tmux tmux] with the [https://weechat.org/themes/source/crym.theme.html/ crym theme], though a Hexchat version is also available.
* Windows hosts can connect to this service using [https://hexchat.github.io/ HexChat].
* Mac hosts can use [http://colloquy.info/downloads.html Colloquy].
* Android hosts can use [http://www.duckspike.net/andchat/ Andchat].
* iOS devices should use [http://colloquy.info/downloads.html Colloquy's mobile version].

# Equivalents or Competition
Rivals to IRC include other IRC networks like [http://freenode.net Freenode], mail services like [https://inbox.google.com Google Inbox], and other chat systems like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Snapchat, WhatsApp, etc. We use Discord to provide new users with a Web-only bridge to the IRC network at https://aninix.net/irc/ -- [[IRC/Discord Bridge|documentation for our Discord hosting]] is also available..

# Additional Reference
{{:IRC/Commands and Modes}}

### Helpful Reading

# Additional Reference