XChat Tutorial

XChat is a free and open-source chat client for Windows and Linux machines. This tutorial will help you in setting up XChat on your computer.

1. Downloading

Linux users with an rpm based distro (such as Fedora or Mandriva) can download XChat from the official website.

Ubuntu (or similar) users should run one of the following commands at a terminal to automate the process:

sudo apt-get install xchat

sudo apt-get install xchat-gnome

An alternative to sudo is su root

In spite of being open-source, the Windows version of XChat, which is freely available on the official site, is trial purpose only and expires after 30 days of use. A fully functional version of XChat for Windows is available at http://www.silverex.org/download/.

2. Installation

Windows users can start the installation by running the downloaded executable. The installation for most part is straightforward, except for a few options you can safely deselect at the Select Components screen, namely:

• Scripting Plugins - You won't need these unless you plan to automate some tasks with Perl, Tcl or Ruby.
• Interface Translations - You will only need these if you intend to see the interface in languages other than English.

So, the installation window at the Select Components stage would look like the following:

Every other screen is self-explanatory.

3. Configuration

By this point, XChat has been installed on the computer. Now we need to configure XChat so that it can connect to the synIRC network properly.

Start XChat. You will see a screen similar to the one shown below:

Now, fill the User Information boxes. The nick name is the identifier by which you will be known on IRC. Second and third choices are necessary since XChat will attempt to sign in using them in case the nick name is already in use. This can happen if someone is already using that nick name, or if your computer got disconnected from the internet while you were chatting. If you don't feel comfortable with sharing your real name online, leave the box blank. The window at this point will resemble the following screenshot:

What we need now is to create a shortcut to the Gamesurge network, which will be used each time you connect to IRC using XChat. In order to do that, click the Add button next to the Networks list, and enter Gamesurge as the label to the list item. Then click the Edit button next to the Networks list. This will bring up another window, similar to the screenshot below:

Click the list item saying "newserver/6667", and enter irc.gamesurge.net/6667. The "irc.gamesurge.net" part is the server you are connecting to, and 6667 is the port to which you will be connecting. You can also enter #x-clan and #xsbs under Channels to join if you intend to join us as soon as you connect to Gamesurge. The dialog box will resemble the following screenshot by this point:

4. Connecting

Great! Now we have a properly configured chat client for chatting in Smogon's IRC channels! Let's connect to the server now. Click Close on the Edit Network dialog box, and click Connect on the network selection screen. You will see a lot of text fly by the screen. Unless you see a sentence in red at the end of the text, this is a fair indication that you have been logged onto the network.

If you want to register an account on Gamesurge.net you should follow this link: http://www.gamesurge.net/newuser/ (the "authserv auth nick_name password" should be placed in the "Connect command" Box, without the quotes).

Enjoy your time and remember the rules!

Source: http://www.smogon.com/irc/xchat_tutorial