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Not quite an event, but it is something happening in the community! (If there is a better place for this thread, I'm sure it'll get moved to that proper place.)
If you want to join the IRC, go to #hawkenscrim on irc.quakenet.org if you already have a preferred IRC client and are familiar with using IRC. If you are not so familiar, you can use this link to jump right in: [Clicky] Just pick a name and join the conversation.
#HawkenScrim is an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel on Quakenet where a bunch of people in the Hawken community hang out and relax. There, we talk about everything from the deepest vagaries of the Hawken meta to what we had for lunch that day.
But Saturnine, what is IRC, and why should I go there if we have these forums?
IRC channels are great places to hang out and have your IRC client open in, where you can pop in at any time and join the conversation. Like forums, IRC channels are generally pretty slow going, but they have the form and function of an instant messenger app. When the conversation heats up though, it can really get going. The IRC is also kind of like the beating core of the community - when something new comes up, often the first place you'll see it is on the IRC chat. The people in Scrim are also very knowledgeable and friendly, and there'll almost certainly be someone there who can answer any question you have, and if not, someone should be able to point you in the right direction.
I joined this IRC thing and I said hi and no one said anything. What gives? I left after a minute or two, this channel is clearly dead.
Remember how IRC is like a forum? People aren't always watching IRC like a hawk, even though 30 people might be in it at that moment. The way most people are using IRC most of the time is by having their IRC client of choice connected to the channel and having it run in the background while they're doing whatever else they would normally be doing. Be that playing a game, watching youtube, doing homework, or writing a post on this forum. While they're doing whatever, IRC users will occasionally click over to the IRC chat and catch up on whatever they've missed, chat a bit if they have something to add, then carry on! When the conversation gets going however, people will tend to watch it more carefully, and then things start to look like an instant message conversation that you may be more accustomed with.
So, when you join the IRC, go ahead and say hi, and if you have a question, ask it! But sometimes it may take a bit to get answered, other times someone will respond straight away. In general though, hang out for more than a few minutes and you'll see the activity start up.
Ok I guess this is a thing I'll do now, but this webchat client is terrible!
Yeah it totally is. The webchat client is useful for people who don't normally hang out in an IRC channel and just have a thing or two they want to say before leaving. For people who actually want to hang out and chat with the people there though, webchat will start to bug the hell out of you before long. For this, there are IRC clients (and a few all-in-one messaging clients that mix IRC and other things but we don't talk about those). There are several options available, and like all programs for exceptionally nerdy purposes, these can range from highly accessible with various purposes, to highly specific and hard to use. I can't cover all the options here, but here's a few of the more popular choices.
mIRC - The most simple, and probably most popular IRC client. This is likely what you'll want to start with if you don't know much about IRC clients. It's gonna bug you about buying it after the first 30 days though - you never have to to my recollection, but still.
Hexchat - A more simple IRC client, and is open source. Very customizable, still pretty easy to use. I'd probably recommend this for most users once you start having an idea of what you're looking for out of IRC. One of the more popular choices in Hawkenscrim
Limechat (for mac) - I don't know much about this besides that people use this IRC client when using a mac!
KVIRC - Apparently pretty nice!
Quassel - Hoo boy. So, this is what I use, along with a few other HawkenScrim people. How do you use it? I have no idea. I bumbled my way through it until things worked. This is THE power user IRC client, and when you need it, you'll know. Until then, if you don't know you need this, you probably don't. When you do need it though, oh man is it nice!
All of these IRC clients connect to IRC servers in different ways, but the server hosters themselves (like www.quakenet.org or www.synirc.net ) will have tutorials available on their websites, and there will also be tutorials easily available for your specific client. It seems daunting at first, but becomes pretty straightforward once you know what you are looking at. Once you've got one of these running, you'll never want to look at webchat ever again. As a bonus, you'll find there's a whole universe of IRC channels for all sorts of other interests out there; even Twitch chat is run through IRC.
Why does this guy have a + next to his name and I don't?
A + sign indicates 'voice' and it means literally nothing on HawkenScrim. All it means is that you authed on Quakenet (which lets you log into quakenet and be the one person with your name, etc.) and asked an operator (like a moderator) to give you voice. Congratulations, you now have a + next to your name.
I have a billion other questions!
Then you can ask them here, or even on the IRC itself! Depending on the question, someone should be able to help you out with it.
So that about covers it - HawkenScrim is where cool kids hang out, talk about cool things, and find out about all the cool stuff first. If you want to be a cool kid too, you gotta jump on HawkenScrim.
Edited by Saturnine, 22 March 2015 - 07:33 AM.
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