Quick Start

Experienced users can follow these steps to get up an running quickly:

1. Install IIP by downloading the Windows installer or by downloading and compiling *nix source.
2. Download and install an Internet Relay Chat Client for Windows, Mac, or Unix.
3. Start the isproxy server, and point your IRC client to localhost:6667.
4. Join any of the IIP channels and begin chatting!

Those unfamiliar with IIP or IRC are encouraged to continue reading the more detailed instructions below.

Installing IIP

You must first download the appropriate package for your operating system. Go to the IIP download page, and select the package for your operating system. The first entries on this page you can safely ignore. Scroll down the page until you see references to Beta Test and User versions of IIP. We recommend using the beta versions.

Windows users, click on the newest IIP Win32 Install link, and download the installer. You'll have the easiest time installing the IIP package - just click on the installer icon after downloading and you will be walked through the installation process.

*nix users (including Mac OS X) must download and compile the source code. Click on the newest IIP Source link, and follow the directions in the INSTALL file. Mac OS X users should note that they have their own makefile which must be invoked when compiling. Mac OS 9 users are currently out of luck, and will have to upgrade to OS X or wait for the OS 9 client to be released.

Now that you've got your IIP proxy running on your local machine, you need to download and setup an IRC client to access it.

Installing an IRC Client

There are tens, maybe hundreds, of IRC clients that have been written and used over the past decade to access various IRC networks. You will likely try out several of them in your quest to find one which suits your needs. Every platform supported by IIP will have a plethora of clients to chose from, so it would be difficult to write a step-by-step guide on how to setup and use each one.

Therefore, we will focus on setting up one IRC client: Mozilla. Mozilla is a cross-platform, free, open-source browser which includes a capable IRC client. It will work on all platforms supported by IIP.

Begin by downloading the version of Mozilla appropriate for your operating system. There are versions for Windows 98 and up, Max OS 9.x, Mac OS X, Linux, OS/2, and a whole slew of Unix flavors.

After downloading, decompress the Mozilla or mount the disk image, and follow the supplied install instructions.

You've now installed the two components necessary to get you started chatting on IIP. Continue on to 'Using IIP' to learn how to use the Mozilla IRC client to connect to IIP, and how to start chatting.

Using Mozilla to chat on IIP

To begin using IIP and IRC, start the IIP proxy by following the directions in the IIP installation. Then start up Mozilla.

Mozilla, upon loading, will provide you with a browser window and will load the Mozilla homepage. We're not interested in the web browser, but the IRC client, which is accessed by clicking the small 'cZ' icon at the bottom left of the browser window. You may also invoke the IRC client by choosing 'IRC Chat' from the 'Window' menu. Start the Mozilla IRC Client now.

If all has gone according to plan, you should now be face-to-face with ChatZilla, Mozilla's cleverly-named IRC Client. ChatZilla's interface is divided into three main areas. The largest is the chat and output window. This is where all the messages from other IRC and IIP users will appear. IRC and IIP servers will also display their messages to you in this area. To the left of the output window is a vertical bar which will display the nicknames of other users (once we connect to a server and join a channel). The bottom-most element is the command and chat entry bar. This is where you type chat messages to other users, and issue commands to the client and IRC servers.

Between the output window and entry bar is a tab row. Whenever you connect to a server or join a channel, or engage in a private conversation with another IIP user, a tab will appear. You may then use these tabs to navigate between server messages, channel conversations, and private conversations.

To open up a connection to an IRC server, we use the '/server/' command. In this case, we will be connecting to the server proxy now running on your own machine - the isproxy. Enter '/server localhost:6667' (without the quotes) into the entry bar at the bottom. Mozilla will tell you it is attempting to connect to the server. It may pause for around 1/2 a minute, and then you'll be connected.

Specify a nickname using the command '/nick '. You should then familiarize yourself with Trent, IIP's resident service bot which manages nicknames and channels. You can use Trent to reserve your IIP nickname, as well as reserve channel names. Instructions on how to work with Trent are reprinted from the IIP manual on this page, below the standard IRC command reference.

Now that you've got a nickname, you can join a channel to start chatting. First you should get an idea of the channel options available to you. The '/list' command will give you a list of available channels. This list will appear in the tab marked 'localhost'.

To join a channel, type '/join '. For example, if you wish to join the IIP technology channel, enter '/join #iip'. Your client will add you to the channel's member list, a new tab will appear in the ChatZilla tab bar, and you will be shown the channel title at the top of the message output window. The channel's participants (if any) will be shown in the vertical bar on the left of the window. Anything you type in the chat entry bar will now be sent to the channel and subsequently displayed to all channel participants. Have fun chatting!

This brief tutorial has barely scratched the surface of IRC. There are many complexities regarding channel operators, private messaging, faces, file transfer, etc. which are beyond the scope of an introductory tutorial. To help you get started using IRC more fluently, study the command reference below.

You should also familiarize yourself with Trent, the IIP service bot. Trent can help you reserve nicknames, channels, set access levels for channels, get info on other nicknames or channels, and more. He's very useful. A summary of commands which Trent understands follows the IRC command reference.

IRC Command Reference

These are basic commands you will need to learn in order to effectively use IRC. A full command reference may be viewed here.

IIP Trent Command Reference
Trent is the service for IIP that facilitates nickname and channel control. It is like the chanserv and nickserv that some other IRC networks have. The main purpose of Trent is to authenticate while keeping your anonymity. Gimmicks like auto-op and auto-voice lists are not implemented (and not planned to). The user has some responsibility on security. Don't forget your password nor pick an easy one. There is no way to change it.

Addressing Trent
The correct way to address Trent depends on your IRC client. Trent listens to the SQUERY command specified in RFC 2812. Not all IRC clients know that command or use it correctly. Both IRC commands and Trent commands may be upper- and lowercase, Trent can also be spelled in lowercase.

If you are lucky, your IRC client works like this:

/squery Trent command arguments

Otherwise you could try:

/squery Trent :command arguments

This should always work:

/quote squery Trent :command arguments

Basic Trent Commands

The name 'Trent' comes from traditional cryptographic literature. In these texts, the authors customarily use the same set of participants to illustrate their examples when describing cryptographic protocols. Alice is traditionally the first participant in the protocol being described, Bob is the second. Eve is always the sneaky eavesdropper, and Mallory Malicious is always cast as the active snooper who attempts to discover the secret messages via cryptographic attacks. Trent is known as the Trusted Arbitrator in protocols which require such a party.

This is exactly what the Trent services does - serves as a trusted third party which can verify the identities of other parties within the IIP system.