This is just a blatent plug to get people in the IRC channel - since me, faf, dawid, blike and yt seem to be the only people that use it, I thought I'd at least try and get some of you people on there
For those unfamiliar to IRC, it's not that hard really. An IRC network comprises of a number of servers that are linked together. You choose a nickname, and join one or more channels on the network to talk to other people with. There are a few more things than that though.
The network we're on at the moment (SorceryNet) runs a nickname and channel management system. Basically, it enables you to register a particular nickname as being used, and register a number of channels as being used. It's completely optional, but I suggest if you're gonna come on there a lot, you register your nickname. So that the services know you are who you say you are, you choose a password, and identify for that nickname when you connect to the network. More on that in a minute.
First, let's get you connected. If you have Windows, I suggest you go to http://www.mirc.com/ and grab yourself a copy of mIRC. This is an IRC client that will allow you to connect to a server. There are others, but this is a good one for beginners. You'll need to change a few options on there, but it's all fairly straightforward. Make sure you select irc.sorcery.net to connect to. Once you've configured it all, hit connect to connect to SorceryNet.
If it tells you that your nickname is in use, you'll need to change it. If you get a message from NickServ (the nickname service) that this nickname is registered, you'll need to find another nickname to use. You can change nicks with /nick <newnick> - leaving out the < and the >. When you're connected, type /join #scienceforums to join our channel (all channel names begin with #).
Services
To register your nickname, type: /msg nickserv register <password> <e-mail address> (without using the < and >).
To identify for a nickname when you've registered it, type: /msg nickserv identify password.
Hope this helps some more people get onto IRC