Wookieepedia:IRC/Guides/HexChat

This guide will help you set up HexChat to join the Wookieepedia IRC channels.

Step 1: Installing
Download the HexChat installer from here. Most modern computers use a 64-bit operating system, so pick the download labeled "x64". Execute the downloaded installer and click through the short setup. It is recommended you include the Perl and Python interfaces during the install, as these can be used later for plugins and such, though installing is not necessary.

When the installation is complete, simply launch HexChat like you would launch any installed program. In fact, the HexChat installer asks you if you want to run the program after the setup.

Step 2: Basic setup
On your first run, you will be confronted with the above window. This is the network list of HexChat, and it contains most major IRC networks, including freenode, where Wookieepedia's IRC channels are. This is also the default network of HexChat. There are four "user information fields" you will need to fill:
 * Nick name: Your IRC nick. IRC nicknames can only contain the characters A-Z, 0-9, and a number of special characters, including - and _. However, they may not start with a number or a -, and nicks are restricted to 16 characters in length. For example, if your wiki username is "Star Wars Fan 123", you can use "StarWarsFan123" as IRC nickname.
 * Second and third choice: These are the nicknames your client will try to use if the nick you picked is being used by someone else. For example, you can append an underscore or two to your primary nickname.
 * User name: This field is what will appear in your IRC hostmask in the   field. The user name is also restricted by the nickname guidelines as outlined above, but it will be cut off at 9 characters (in some cases 10). The user name field is also the parameter used for identification with IRC's nickname registration service (see below), so it is recommended you pick something that you want to use as accountname. For example, you can use "AStarWarsFan123", but only "AStarWarsFan" will be seen.

While you have "freenode" selected in the network list, click "edit". The default setup of HexChat contains the correct parameters for freenode, so you won't have to worry about adding servers. Tick the box that says "Connect to this network automatically". In addition, for SSL (secure sockets layer; essentially encrypted connection) to work, you need to tick both SSL-related boxes: "Use SSL for all the servers on this network" and "Accept invalid SSL certificates". Once you've done that, click "Close" &mdash; we'll have a look at the other fields later. Once you're back in the network list, click "connect". Once the connection has been established, a popup will ask you to join channels. Select "Nothing" and disable the popup from appearing again.

This is what HexChat will look after establishing your connection. On your left side, you have the window list, where open channels and PMs will appear. Right now, only the server tab is visible. Most of the window is occupied by the server tab, and you can see the network MOTD (message of the day). At the bottom, you have the input box, where you type messages. To join the main Wookieepedia channel, type /join #wookieepedia. Note that the slash MUST be the first character of the line. HexChat will the open a new window with the #wookieepedia IRC channel open. A new sidebar on the right will open, containing a list of users currently on the IRC channel. Channel operators, Wookieepedia administrators, are on the top of the list.

Wookieepedia strongly recommends you register an IRC account to establish your presence and prevent impersonation. A guide to registering can be found here.

Step 3: Advanced setup


HexChat can be set up to automatically join channels and identify with nickname services. To do this, click on "HexChat" > "Network list" in the top right corner and "edit freenode".

Below the server list, navigate to the "Autojoin channels" tab and add #wookieepedia. HexChat will now open #wookieepedia automatically without you having to type "/join #wookieepedia" every time.

In the login method, SASL is the default. SASL is the recommended way to authenticate with nickname services, as the method ensures that you are identified before establishing the connection properly. This is useful when you have an IRC cloak and want to ensure you don't accidentally show your real IP when joining channels. See IRC/Cloaks for further details on cloaks.

Note that the SASL username must match your NickServ account name. The SASL username is the same as what you entered in the "user name" field (see the first image), so if your NickServ account name is "AStarWarsFan123", your user name field must be "AStarWarsFan123" for SASL to work. In the password field, simply enter your NickServ password.

When done, simply save your changes by clicking "close". When you open HexChat the next time, the client will both identify you with NickServ and join you to #wookieepedia. Voilá!