Click here to read more about what IRC is, and why you should be using it on my blog post, Make your own privacy
Get started by visiting us in #foyer on irc.armchairscientist.co.uk
If you don't know what you're doing, then click on 'Guest access' above. Preferably, set up your client and join us properly.
Simply put, we've set up a private online chat room, a bit like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, but the data is held by the user and not a corporation (ask how to set up your own linked server).
You can give anybody this address and they can chat to you. If you know us, then we'll create a username and password for you so you can have access to more features. Otherwise, just click guest access above, enter a nickname and you're ready to chat.
This can all be set up to work smoothly on an iphone or android phone, you can use mIRC or any IRC program, or you can just use it in any web browser - it's up to you.
Guest access: https://irc.armchairscientist.co.uk/guest
Private access: https://irc.armchairscientist.co.uk/irc. Note, this option requires a username and password to be created before you can login.
You can connect directly using any IRC client. HexChat is free and open source client for Windows, you can download it here. mIRC is an alternative Windows shareware client that might be a little easier to use.
The server details you'll need are:
| Hostname | irc.armchairscientist.co.uk |
|---|---|
| Port | 6697 |
Choose "Use SSL" or secure encryption.
You can connect directly using any IRC client. Mutter is a free and full-featured client, you can find it on the app store, or via this iTunes link.
The server details you'll need are:
| Hostname | irc.armchairscientist.co.uk |
|---|---|
| Port | 6697 |
Click the + symbol on the top left to create a new connection. The first section is called 'Network Settings', fill in these values:
| Network | Armchair Scientist | (this can be anything) |
|---|---|---|
| Server | irc.armchairscientist.co.uk | |
| Nickname | Your first name | this can be anything, it will be shown to everybody you chat to |
| Realname | Your name | This is only shown in your profile page, it can be anything, or blank |
You can select 'Connect at Launch', then click 'Advanced', in the section named 'Connection Settings':
| Port | 6698 | Change it from the default of 6697 |
|---|---|---|
| Password | Your password | This is the password you were given (don't put it in the other password field under 'Authentication settings' |
| Use TLS encryption | Yes | Turn this on |
Now, under 'Authentication settings', enter your username followed by "@mutter/armchair", like so:
| Username | Username@mutter/armchair | If your username is 'dave', you should enter: dave@mutter/armchair (learn more?) |
|---|
That's it, hit back on 'Edit Network', then 'Done' and touch the 'Armchair Scientist' entry to connect and you should be automatically logged in. If you are still having any issues, connect using a web browser to the guest chat and we can give you a hand
I need to write some instructions, it's mostly the same as above. Enable SSL, if your username is 'dave', then the ident field should be dave@andro/armchair, host irc.armchairscientist.co.uk, port 6698.
Andro IRC is free and should be on the Google Play store (it's not open source like the below, but it's prettier).
Yaaic is a free and open source Android IRC clien also on the Google Play store.
Note; the username should be entered in the 'ident' field when setting up both clients, different versions might not accept this username, talk to us in the guest web login and we'll find a solution..
Some versions of Yaaic will require the username to be entered in the password field in the following format:
'dave' and 'armchair' tell the ZNC server who you are, the 'mutter' bit can be anything - it is used by the server know which client to send responses to (so conversations aren't missed when you are logged in at multiple locations).