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Something to Talk About
Finally, we come to the [Channel] section. Like the [Operator] section, you can have multiple [Channel] sections. The following illustrates a small, two-channel configuration:
[Channel]
Name = #move2linux
Topic = Moving to Linux
Modes = tn
[Channel]
Name = #walkabout
Topic = Linux Walkabout
Modes = tn
The Name and Topic sections are pretty self-explanatory. The Modes are a longer story, however, and each letter has some meaning to the IRC server. The t indicates that the channel topic is fixed and cannot be changed, whereas the n stops users on the channel from initiating private chat sessions with the IRC /MSG command. Channel operators aren't bound by these rules and are free to make changes. For a complete list of modes and what they mean (as well as an excellent IRC primer), I recommend that you visit the (more or less) official word on the subject at the following URL:
http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/ircprimer.html
That is all you need to do in order to get going. To start your server, just type the following:
/usr/local/sbin/ngircd
All that's left is to start your favorite IRC client (Xchat, Ksirc, Kvirc, or others) and connect to your new server. Figure 1 shows a look at the new server in action, using Xchat as the client.
)
Figure
1 Using Xchat to connect to the new ngIRCd server.
If you want to see ngIRCd in action, you can try mine. I've set up a ngIRCd server to run on the same machine as my website at www.marcelgagne.com. Connect using the IRC client of your choice on default port 6667 and join the #walkabout channel, which I created specifically for this column. I won't promise that I'll be there all the time, but I'll keep the channel open whenever I've got my Xchat client running.
This marks the end of today's Walkabout, but not the end of the adventure. I'll keep wandering the hinterlands; the backwaters; the deepest, darkest corners of the Linux universe—chatting with others and trying new things in order to bring you great Linux software. It's a wide-open source world out there with new and exciting ways to get the job done.
Until we meet again, I bid you great Linux adventures!