In this lab, you will start using Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a chat service that has been around for a long time.
In particular, you will explore freenode, an IRC network that provides support for peer-directed project communities.
Install and configure IRC
Follow these WikiHow instructions for getting IRC working on your laptop.
Get onto freenode
Take a looke at the freenode website. You might notice that their philosophy resonates with certain themes explored in this course. Peruse their policies.
To get onto freenode, you should configure your IRC client to access the server chat.freenode.net
Join the channel #ischool. To do that, type the command:
/join #ischool
Take a look at this list of IRC commands. Try all of them.
Scavenger hunt
Freenode is a vast world to explore. This lab is open ended. Try to go through the steps below. If you find anything funny, try copying it into a pastebin and sharing it with the class.
The #git channel
Some of you have had trouble using git.
IRC channels are normally a great place to go if you are having trouble with a project.
I asked in the #git channel whether or not you should come to them with your Git questions. I got some helpful responses.
Find the IRC channels for all the open source projects used in this course. Add them to your automatic join list so that you are more plugged in to these communities.
Other projects your use
Check out this incomplete list of projects supported by freenode. Do you use any of them? Join their channel.
Your project's channel
Does your project (the one you are exploring for your assignments) have a channel? Find it. Send the name to the class so that they can check it out.
Introduce yourself. Say you are interested in contributing.
Try to determine if the channel has an IRC bot.
Find Karl Fogel and tell him you like his book
Karl Fogel might be on-line. See if you can find him. Tell him you are reading his book for a class. See if he is as nice as everyone says he is.
Celebrity watch
You get one (1) point for every person with a non-user Wikipedia page you can find in IRC.
Send a link to the wikipedia page and the name of the chatroom you have found them in into the #ischool channel so others can verify your find.
Play with more commands
There are a lot more commands.
Send an IRC bot into our channel
There are a lot of great IRC bots. If you are interested in meeting facilitation, you might like MeetBot. If you like nonsense, you might prefer Markovsky.
If you get bored of exploring IRC and there is still time in the lab, try to get an IRC bot into the #ischool channel.