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Updated: 26.Sep.2004 |
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Updated: 26.Sep.2004 |
To help ease the confusion for those not acquainted with #rassm, IRC, or even RASSM, this list of Frequently Asked Questions (or FAQ) has been created with answers provided to the best of our ability.
This FAQ is by no means written in stone, and all suggestions are welcome. Email the author, post a reply to this FAQ if you saw it posted on RASSM, or let someone know on #rassm.
NOTE: This FAQ is written with the mIRC user in mind. The author's apologies for those without this program. Question 3 will list several websites to learn about various other IRC programs.
#rassm is the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel for the newsgroup Rec.Arts.Sf.Starwars.Misc, commonly referred to as RASSM. The IRC channel #rassm, along with the mailing list known as @rassm, is considered to be an alternative for the off-topic discussion among the participants of RASSM.
A general knowledge about RASSM and its participants is strongly recommended to the point where it's a requirement. You can visit the following for more information about RASSM:
The Official RASSM Homepage [http://www.shavenwookie.com/orhp/]
The Unofficial RASSM Page [http://www.shavenwookie.com/urhp/]
RASSMers Web Pages [http://www.shavenwookie.com/rassm/rassmreg.html]
Sometime back in February #rassmers started to meet on the Starlink servers (Starlink, *not* Starlink-IRC) instead of the lag-ridden Undernet. A list of Starlink servers can be found at [http://www.starlink.org/servers/].
There are still a few people who can be found on Undernet, mainly staff members of the French version of theForce.net. For a list of Undernet servers go to [http://servers.undernet.org]. Connect to a server close to you and type "/join #rassm" in the status box. - IRC Information Library [http://www.botree.co.uk/library/irc.htm] - A great resource for learning about IRC and getting started
- EFnet #IRChelp Help Archive [http://www.irchelp.org/] - Another great source for finding information about IRC, but, more importantly, it is a good source to find out about various IRC programs for Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX.
- Yahoo! IRC Directory [http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Chat/IRC/]
- The mIRC Homepage [http://www.mirc.co.uk/]
- The Official Ircle Home Page [http://www.xs4all.nl/~ircle/]
- mIRC and Eggdrop Archives [http://www.xcalibre.net/] - A source of Add-on scripts to mIRC. Note: The author of this FAQ does not use add-on scripts, and it is recommended you familiarize yourself as to what scripts are before you use an add-on. If you use one and have problems, I can't help you.
4) No one's ever on #rassm when I go there. When are the best times to meet with others?
Time zones are a problem on #rassm as there are regulars from all over the world. This FAQ contains the best estimate for when you'll likely find someone on #rassm, but the truth is that a #rassmer can be in the channel at any given time. If you don't see anyone there, try waiting, try at a different time, or perhaps try another day.
Time is given in Eastern Standard Time. (That's the East Coast of the United States.) To convert these times to your own time zone, I suggest you go here: [http://www.burbs.com/cgi-bin/tzconvert.pl]The "Afternoon Crowd" is the best time to find British #rassmers. This time spans from 15:00 to 19:00 pm. The "Evening Crowd" spans from 19:00 to 23:00 pm. The "Late Night Crowd" is from 23:00 pm to 4:00 am. "Dead" hours are from 4:00 am to 15:00 pm, but there have been several times when an individual or two can be seen on #rassm during this period. These are the hours when most #rassmers from the United States are at work, school, or sleeping.
When you first log into the channel (and there are actually people there), people will most likely already be in the middle of conversation. Don't worry about it. Say "Hello" and you can sit back for a minute to see if you can pick up what the conversation is about. Asking "So what's going on?" doesn't hurt either. #rassm is a chat room, don't be afraid to start chatting.
There's a series of answers to this problem. The most common is known as "lag" which is a delay in the time it takes for someone to see what you typed. The problem is in the server, try switching. (It could be the other person's server that is lagging. If you've tried three or more servers and still have a delay, either the other person is lagging or there's a lag problem with the whole system.)
The people on the channel could be "away." Either they're doing something else with the computer as they wait for someone else to show up, or they're not even in the same room as their computer but stay in #rassm to log other people's conversations. (No, calling them "Big Brother" won't make them go away.) There's various ways they indicate they're gone such as changing their nickname to include the word "Eat," "Away," "Gone," and various other phrases. Also, there's a topic for the channel, it's at the top of the window, and could say "Play a sound to get my attention."It's very likely that when you first start on IRC you'll find people messaging you with all sorts of spam, sex talk, and, on rare occasion, normal chat. Humor them if you want, but your best bet is to ignore them. Consult your program's help file to see about an ignore command.
Ops refers to operator status. The @ symbol indicates who has ops status. Consult your help file to see what functions an "Op" on the channel can do.
#rassm is unique among IRC channels in that the regulars on the channel are quite liberal in how they give out operator status. A regular on RASSM will usually be given op status by a #rassm regular, but be smart about how you choose to use your new-found power. Withholding ops from others, continuously kicking others, being a general ass to everyone on the channel or to other channels will cause distrust among other #rassmers. Don't cry if you discover no one ops you after that.Your assumption is correct; they are playing sounds. Consult your help file to see how you can hear and play sound files. Important to remember is the people playing these sounds need to send them to you before you can hear them.
#rassm has an FTP site containing several sounds played in #rassm. The FTP site is located at [ftp://206.50.131.2/rassm/], and it likes to be a pain in the ass and go off-line occasionally.What you just experienced is called a netsplit. To you it looks like others left the channel and to them it looks like you left the channel. Somewhere in the system a server got disconnected with the others. Wait a bit to see if the others come back or switch servers.
BRB - Be right back (Person is doing something and will be back soon)
BBL - Be back later (Parting message meaning the person will come back at some later time)
BBIAB - Be back in a bit (Parting message meaning the person will come back soon)
AFK - Away from keyboard
WB - Welcome back
BTW - By the way
LOL - Laugh out loud
FOFL - Fall on floor laughing
ROFLMAO - Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off
RASSM - Rec.Arts.Sf.Starwars.Misc
SW - Star Wars or, more likely, Sith War (Ongoing role playing on RASSM; go to [http://hamilton.htcomp.net/Rnolan/sith_war_faq.htm])
GL - George Lucas or perhaps GrayLeadr (nick of #rassm regular)
LFB - Lobot Fan Base
ORHP - Official RASSM Home Page [http://www.shavenwookie.com/orhp/]
ORB - Official RASSM Bookstore [http://subnet.virtual-pc.com/~lo386500/novels.htm]
OIC - Oh, I see
The CORN is something that is the perfect candidate for a FAQ, but it's the kind of thing that those who experienced it don't like to discuss in detail either because the recall of the memory will cause a life threatening reaction or they like to see the newbie go "Pleeeeeeze! Tell me what the CORN is and I'll worship you like a god!" You'll notice I'm not telling you what the CORN is, but I'll let you decide which is the reason why.
As was already mentioned earlier, #rassm has an FTP site which contains mainly sounds and various other files. You can access this FTP site at [ftp://206.50.131.2/rassm/]
This FAQ is also located at [http://www.shavenwookie.com/melosh/poundrassmfaq.html]Inertia, one of #rassm's many regulars, has also created a webpage for #rassm. It contains a good walkthrough for getting started with #rassm as well as answers some in depth questions not covered in this FAQ. Just change the references for Undernet to Starlink, because I doubt Inertia will ever get around to actually updating those parts of his walkthrough until it's the last resort for procrastination. The (Official :) ) #rassm Homepage can be found at [http://www.zoneworlds.demon.co.uk/ircrassm/index.html]
Since February 15, 1996,
I have happily served
seekers.