2.2 Communication and Private Conversation

2.2 Communication and Private Conversation

Table 5: Private conversation commands
--------------------------------------
Keyword Action
~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
MSG sends a private message
QUERY starts a private conversation
NOTICE sends a private message
NOTIFY warns you of people logging in or out IRC
IGNORE removes output from specific people off your screen

You can use the MSG command, (usually "M" is an alias for it), to send someone a message that only that person can read.

/MSG |

Send a private message to specified nickname.

/MSG Nap This message is for Nap only.
-> *Nap* This message is for Nap only.

On my screen will appear:

*YourNick* This message is for Nap only.

If you want to send a private message to more than one person, you can specify a list of nicknames separated by commas, (no spaces).

/MSG Nap,Sorg This message for both Nap and Sorg.
-> *Nap* This message for both Nap and Sorg.
-> *Sorg* This message for both Nap and Sorg.

Two special case nicknames are defined. If the nickname is "," (a comma), the message is sent to the last person who sent you a MSG. If the nickname is "." (a period), the message is sent to the last person to whom you sent a message.

You can have a private conversation by only using /MSG. However, typing "/MSG " or "/MSG . " gets cumbersome. That's where the /QUERY command comes in handy.

/QUERY [|]

Starts a private conversation with .

All text you type that would normally be sent to your channel now goes to the supplied nickname in the form of MSGs. To cancel a private conversation, use QUERY with no arguments.

/QUERY Nap
*** Starting conversation with Nap

Blahblahblah
-> *Nap* Blahblahblah

/QUERY
*** Ending conversation with Nap

There is also another command to send messages, called NOTICE. Unlike MSGs, NOTICEs are surrounded by '-' when printed, and no automated responses, (such as generated by IGNORE or an automaton), will be sent in reply. Services, (robots), on IRC often use this form of interaction.

/NOTICE |

Sends a private message to the specified .

/NOTICE Nap Better use /MSG instead of /NOTICE.
-> -Nap- Better use /MSG instead of /NOTICE.

On my screen will appear:

-YourNick- Better use /MSG instead of /NOTICE.

As you begin to make new friends over IRC, you'll want to mark certain nicknames such that you will be warned when they signon or off.

/NOTIFY [[-]]

Adds or removes to the list of people you'll be warned when they enter or quit IRC (in ircII versions prior to 2.2, too many people in the NOTIFY list cause excessive slowness).

/NOTIFY Nap Nappy
*** Signon by Nap detected

/NOTIFY
*** Currently present: Nap
*** Currently absent: Nappy

Eventually, you may wish some day not to see messages from a specific user on your screen. This may happen when someone is dumping large amounts of garbage, or if someone is harassing you. The proper response to such a behavior is to IGNORE that person. IGNORE is a very powerful command, and can be used in many ways. However the basic usage of this tool is the following.

/IGNORE [| [[-]]]

Suppresses output from the given people from your screen. IGNORE can be set by nickname or by specifying a userid@hostname format. Wildcards may be used in all formats. Output that can be ignored includes MSGs, NOTICEs, PUBLIC messages, INVITEs, ALL or NONE. Preceding a type with a "-" indicates removal of ignoring of that type of message.

/IGNORE *@cheshire.oxy.edu ALL
*** Ignoring ALL messages from *@CHESHIRE.OXY.EDU

/IGNORE
*** Ignorance list:
*** *@CHESHIRE.OXY.EDU ALL

/IGNORE *@cheshire.oxy.edu NONE
*** *@cheshire.oxy.edu removed from ignorance list