upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

Do any of you remember IRC? Any of you still use it? IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. It's a place where you can talk to thousands of other people in real time who have the same interests as you.

The other week I was starting to really miss it so I decided to go out to the IRC servers and see if I could find anyone but to no avail. Then I started thinking... We have almost 8,000 people on here who just talk about aviculture. Why not just put up a new server here? A few minutes later I got to work putting a new machine on the network in hopes that I could re-experience the fun I used to have. The memories of chatting at all hours of the night with other avi-addicts offered plenty of motivation.

Things have changed a little since I was last addicted to IRC. For one thing, the applications I used to use are almost all now commercial. I've used quite a few applications in the past but I found that my memory on most of the IRC commands were as lost as the people who I used to enjoy chatting with. In the end, I opted to go download a FireFox IRC plug in named ChatZilla. It didn't have all the features but was pretty easy to use as compared to the other's that I'd seen and was quite stable. BTW, if you're the last kid on the block who is NOT using Firefox, I'd suggest you take a look. You can get a copy at http://www.getfirefox.com/ . It's a really nice web browser that's a lot more secure than the default OS installations. It has a ton of plugins that you can add/remove at your leisure as well as quite a few skins so you can make it look very unique.

The ChatZilla install was easy, I just clicked a button on their website and had to restart my browser. Afterwards, I opened it up, set the correct server/settings, and was on my way. Now to see if I can get others to join in =)

So, if anyone would like to join me, you're invited to log in. The server is up 24/7. It's on a dedicated server with an OC3 connection (i.e. it's VERY fast!)

The software I'm using now can be found at the following locations:

* Direct link if you have software: irc://irc.upatsix.com:1488
* Firefox: http://www.getfirefox.com/
* Firefox Add-ons: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/
* ChatZilla IRC Plugin: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/16

IRC Server information:
server: irc.upatsix.com
port: 1488

The server is NOT linked in any network for the same reason it's running on an 'off port'. It's just because I'd like to keep it animal, if not aviculture only. I've been playing around with writing some Bots for name and channel registration. We'll see how it goes. Slowly but surely the old commands and syntax is coming back but it's been a long time. Years to be more specific.

I hope to see some of you on there. Also, if you're interested, I could always use a few operators to help out in case trolls ever show up. If you're interested in that aspect, just send me a PM. I'm also looking for other IRC Clients that are easy to use. Anyone have suggestions?

Enjoy the system,

Damian

Hi Damian,

I never did do much on any IRC, but I don't think it'd be that hard for me to pick up the commands. I'd be available to help out if/when the need arises.

Sam

Well, I didn't really care for Inspir IRCD so I moved over to Bahamut which is the DalNet type server. I also got the following services running:

NickServ: Register your username with a password. To use this service, just type /msg NickServ HELP

ChanServ: Register Channels so you're always an 'OP' on them. To use this service, just type /msg ChanServ HELP

MemoServ : Nice little service that allows you to send messages and notes to offline users so they can see them when they log on. To use this service, just type /msg MemoServ HELP

BotServ: Will show you how to setup a BOT on your own channel. This is for folks who can't host their own bots. It will help you run your own channel(s). Not as powerful as say EggDrop but for those of you without shell access, it should be a nice feature. For help here, just /msg BotServ HELP

Finally, I got a bot that seems to be working fine and even got it semi working with a FAQ (wiki.upatsix.com). The main bot's name is UASBot and it's kinda neat. I'll be adding more to it as time goes on and if anyone has a suggestion, please let me know.

Unfortunately, I've only seen one two two folks on so far but that's probably because the Inspir IRC daemon was giving me a hard time. I'm sure it was a misconfiguration but it was easier for my frustration levels to move to something I was a little more familiar with.

I'm going to write the start up scripts for everything now and make a few more minor changes then decide how to get more folks in =)

Enjoy the system,

Damian

Hi Damian....i too used to sit up for hours on end chatting with Grey Friends here and now that feature is gone...so i quit comming here because i wasnt getting real time responce which i liked. I just rejoined 2 years ago because i do like the site. I sold a lot of birds here and made tons of friends....glad to see it come back.
Kat

Hi,
I use mIRC for IRC chats. It logs onto the server, but asks for a channel name. Is there a channel name or did I just get there when nobody else was there??

Thanks,
Marcia

I think I'm there now, but I have no one to chat with. The bot isn't too talkative.

cahvah wrote:Hi,
I use mIRC for IRC chats. It logs onto the server, but asks for a channel name. Is there a channel name or did I just get there when nobody else was there??

Thanks,
Marcia

Try irc.upatsix.com port 1488

Thanks..I did figure it out, but haven't run into anyone there yet. I'll keep trying.
Marcia

IRC rocks! I really miss it too. MIRC is still around and is probably the best IRC program out there!

Thanks for restoring the chat Damian. I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends and meeting a few new ones.