upIRC - FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is IRC?
Where can I find a list of IRC servers?
How can I get a list of channels?
Can I use upIRC with the Palm.Net® service?
How do I change the name for the ident server?
Can I use an external keyboard with upIRC?
upIRC disconnects when I switch to another app... why?
Why are @ characters stripped from shortcut commands or those in the perform list?

What is IRC? (back to top)

IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, and is a worldwide multi-user chat system. You can freely create or join "channels" (sort of like virtual rooms, usually with an associated topic) and chat with others, or chat privately with other users.

The IRC protocol is completely open, invented by a Finnish student in 1988 and published in 1993. There have been several updates and improvements to it since then.

For more information, check the links page for both technical and user-level documents.

Where can I find a list of IRC servers? (back to top)

Again, check the links page. There are links there to a couple of known IRC server lists.

How can I get a list of channels? (back to top)

You can get this while connected to IRC with the /list command, but on most major IRC networks there are a LOT of channels (numbering in the thousands). If you try this command on one of those networks, then you're liable to lose your connection because of the flood of data coming back to you.

To keep you from shooting self in the foot, so to speak, by doing that, the the /list command in upIRC requires a filter for the list of channels asked for. If you insist on a list of all channels, you may use "#*" as that filter.

Check the links page for channel listing services on the web.

Can I use upIRC with the Palm.Net® service? (back to top)

Unfortunately, no. The regular network access methods in Palm OS® aren't supported for wireless access with the Palm™ VII series or the i705, and what is supported doesn't provide the functionality I need to make the app work.

How do I change the name for the ident server? (back to top)

The name that gets used for the ident server is based on the email entered in the preferences form. If you enter "joe@somewhere.com", then the name "joe" gets used by the ident server. If no email address is entered, "upirc" is used as a default name.

Can I use an external keyboard with upIRC? (back to top)

This depends entirely on your hardware. The main problem is that, on most Palm OS devices, there is internally only one serial port, and both the keyboard and your modem or network card are trying to use that serial port.

There are a few documented exceptions:

Handspring Visor series device with the Handspring Springboard modem - The modem contains its own serial hardware
TRG Pro with a CompactFlash modem

With some other devices (such as those that use the DragonBall VZ chip), it may possible to use the infrared port to communicate using a compatible phone or modem while using a keyboard.

upIRC disconnects when I switch to another app... why? (back to top)

Why does upIRC do this when apps like AIM and ICQ clients don't? Simple... it's because of the way that the IRC protocol works. An IRC server will periodically check a connection that is quiet (which it will be if you're in another app on a Palm OS device) and, if it doesn't get a response, it will close the connection. This leaves you outside of any channels you might have been in, and others will definitely be aware of your leaving and why.

ICQ and AIM both control the clients and servers involved in their instant messenger services and can make allowances if a connection is quiet for a period of time, while typically an IRC client developer doesn't have that kind of control. That's the reason that those other IM applications can seem to still be connected if you switch to another app and switch back. If they do in fact lose the connection to the server (which is a real possibility), then it's relatively painless to reconnect and pick up where it left off. The servers might even be aware of a Palm OS client and be able to make allowances for that.

Why are @ characters stripped from shortcut commands or those in the perform list? (back to top)

If you read the documentation on these features, you'd know that the @ character has a special meaning in those contexts. To get around the special meaning of that character, precede it with a backslash.

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