====== Communication IRC ======

IRC stands for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat|Internet Relay Chat]] and it is a text chat system where you can talk to community members in the channel //#cryptoparty// on the [[http://www.oftc.net/|irc.oftc.net server]].

<code>
#cryptoparty@irc.oftc.net
</code>

To use it, you can either

  * Go to [[https://oftc.net/?channels=cryptoparty|https://oftc.net]] in your browser (this used to work with Tor-Browser, too, but OFTC currently does not like Tor).
  * Dial in with one of the many chat clients as for example [[http://pidgin.im|Pidgin]], which you might already know from using it for Jabber+OTR.

For advanced use, see the [[:connect:contact:irc:irssi_plus_tor|irssi+tor guide]] and the [[https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/TorifyHOWTO/irssi|Torprojects Torify HowTo (irssi)]].

Whichever method you use to connect, it is recommended that you cloak once you have connected to the server. To do that, just type

<code>
/msg nickserv SET CLOAK ON
</code>

into the chat window.

There is an additional channel which has news fetching irc-bots in it:

<code>
#cryptoparty-bots@irc.oftc.net
</code>