Whew!!! You've made it this far, eh? [This swami tends to be a tad long-winded :-) !!!] The whole point of this techno-overload has been to get you to this point--joining #osho, and chatting.

How to join #osho
How to "speak" on IRC
IRC Short-hand
Actions on IRC
Some General IRC Commands
In Conclusion
Additional Info on IRC
Who am I?

Assuming you've established a connection to one of the Undernet servers (OZ or US), you are now ready to join the channel so lovingly called #osho. While each IRC program will have various features allowing you to list, join, and quit channels, as well as a whole slew of other things, they will nearly all support standard IRC text commands, which are usually typed with a forward slash "/" and then the command name. Channel names in standard IRC format are preceded with the "#" symbol, hence the name "#osho."

So, very simply, to join #osho, you would type:

then press the ENTER key.

Once you learn your IRC software better, you can configure it to join #osho automatically upon connecting with a server, or create menus or shortcut commands to join your favorite channels, including #osho (of course!).

Once you're in #osho, unless you've arranged to meet someone there ahead of time, you will probably notice that there is only one other person in the channel with you who never seems to say anything. On the US Undernet #osho this person is @X and on OZ it's @Z. (The "@" in front of the name indicates "channel operator" status.) X and Z or not real people, but are "bots," i.e. programs that maintain and control registered channels, such as #osho.

To "speak" on IRC you simply type your message and press the enter key. So, for example, if my nickname (or "nick" for short) is "Vipal," and I type:

It will show up in the channel as:

A form of short-hand has developed with IRC and other chat programs in order to minimize some of the typing and speed things along. Many of you are already familiar with some of them...

And there are tons more on the Web.

In addition to this short-hand, you can also perform "actions." To perform an action, start the next line with "/me" followed by the action as if you are speaking of yourself in the third person. For example, if my nick is "Agarva" and I type:

It would appear in the channel as:

Pretty kewl, eh?

You can also have "private" conversations with people that only the two of you will be able to "hear." This is accomplished with the /msg command, with the syntax being:

So...if I wanted to ask Sammoda something I didn't want the rest of the channel to hear, like "what was the result of Agarva's rabbit test?" I would write the following:

In addition to chatting on IRC, other fun things can happen. You can share files, including pictures, programs, and sounds. But let's save that stuff for a future installation, OK?

There are many useful commands to learn for IRC; here's a short list to get you started:

General Commands

/JOIN #channel

Join the specified channel.
example: /join #osho

This will make you join the #osho channel. Once on a channel, anything you type will be seen by all the users on this channel. If the channel you specified doesn't exist, a channel with that name will be created for you.

/PART #channel

Leave a channel.
example: /part #osho

/ME message

Tells the current channel or query about what you are doing.

/MSG nickname message

Send a private message to this user without opening a query window.

/QUERY nickname message

Open a query window to this user and send them a private message.

/WHOIS nickname

Shows information about someone.

/NICK nickname

Changes your nickname to a new nickname.

/QUIT [reason]

This will disconnect you from IRC and will give the optional message as the reason for your departure. (this message only appears to people who are on the same channels as you).
example: /quit That's all folks!

/AWAY [away message]

Leave a message explaining that you are not currently paying attention to IRC. Whenever someone sends you a MSG or does a WHOIS on you, they automatically see whatever message you set. Using AWAY with no parameters marks you as no longer being away.
example: /away off to get something to eat, back in a moment!

/TOPIC #osho newtopic

Changes the topic for the channel.
example: /topic #osho Where we come to celebrate!

/INVITE nickname #channel

Invites another user to a channel.

In Conclusion

For those of you who have subscribed to the sannyas or other mailing lists on the internet, you know what a "virtual community" it can become. Certain personalities start to emerge over time, some attract, some annoy--many delight. One gets a sense of people's "energy" from what they write, and this is an organic and evolutionary process. With IRC it's the same kind of thing, only more immediate because it is in "real time."

Imagine, if you will, a connection of loving, open hearts ranging all around the globe, sharing a special space together--laughing, loving, crying, confiding. It can all happen on IRC. As friends and lovers of Osho, we can be even more attuned to the energetic aspects of this connecting, and those of us who have been spending time together on #osho have quite fallen in love with one another. It is so beautiful to share in this way.

Come! Join us!

Additional Info

• New IRC Users page
• IRC Intro
• IRC Prelude
• IRC FAQ
• mIRC Tutorial
• mIRC Tricks

Now a disclaimer--I'm not perfect (did you notice?) and I've probably made a few mistakes here and there. So please feel free to offer any corrections, advice (or even praise) to Sw. Vipal Prem (me) at vprem@wolfenet.com. I prefer that you encrypt your mail using PGP (my public key is available at most of the major keyservers, as well as by "finger." Special thanks to Ma Prem Agarva and Sw. Dhyan Sammoda - a love affair that started on IRC! and also to Sw. Anand Manadeva who tested some of this code for me. Many blessings!