Many of our community members use IRC to communicate and talk about calcs.  The OmnomIRC client forwards messages to IRC from a browser. To take full advantage of the features of IRC (Such as other channels, and full control of your session), you must join the Omnimaga IRC channel. (irc://irc.efnet.net/#omnimaga for those who know what they are doing).  

To start out with IRC, you'll need an irc client.  I use KVIrc, but you can use whatever client floats your boat; the procedure is roughly the same. Try several out to find one you like.  

• Linux
  • HexChat - A nice IRC client for beginners
    
  • Pidgin - Yet another client that supports many networks
    
  • KVIrc - A good client that is very configurable
    
  • Konversation - KDE's IRC client
    
  • Quassel - Similar to KVIrc, but more beginner friendly
    
  • irssi - A command line client
    
• Windows
  • mIRC - One of the more popular clients, however, you must pay for it
    
  • Trillian - Yet another client that supports many networks
    
  • Miranda IM - Yet another client that supports many networks
    
  • HexChat - A nice IRC client for beginners
    
  • Pidgin - Yet another client that supports many networks
    
  • KVIrc - A good client that is very configurable
    
  • Quassel - Similar to KVIrc, but more beginner friendly
    
  • irssi - A command line client
    
• OS X
  • Colloquy - A nice client for beginners
    
  • Quassel - Similar to KVIrc, but more beginner friendly
    
  • Snak - A good client for beginners
    
  • HexChat - A nice IRC client for beginners
    
  • Pidgin - This is the OS X version of Pidgin
    
  • Linkinus - An advanced client that costs money
    
  • irssi - A command line client
    

Instructions:

• Open your IRC client; you should see something like this:
  
  
• Type in "/server irc.efnet.org" and press enter.  This will connect you to the irc server.  
  
  
• Some text will show up, and after a few seconds, more will pop up.  At this point,it should look something like this:
  
  
• Next, type "/join #omnimaga" and press enter.  This will join the channel (a place where people can talk to each other) that cemetech has.  
  
  
• After that, a your irc client should automatically switch to the channel.  If it doesn't, just click on the new tab.  Congratulations! You are now ready to talk about anything on your calc-centric mind.  
  
  

For lazy people: just click on the link and you can have IRC right in your browser: http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?action=ezportal;sa=page;p=24

Etiquette

For a smooth voyage, please follow all of the following guidelines:

• Listen to Ops.  Ops are the people with an '@' next to their name.  They can kick and ban you from the channel, so don't upset them.  
  
• We are not here 24/7.  Many people idle on irc, even when they are afk.  When you ask a question remember to hang around so we can talk to you.  
  
• IRC is not AIM.  Please keep emoticons and textspeak to a minimum.
  
• Don't Spam.  Spamming is disruptive and annoying and will not get you noticed (and may even get you kicked/banned).  
  
• Don't Troll.  Trolling will *not* be tolerated, and could result in a kick or ban.  
  
• Be Courteous.  Being nice to others will go a long way in getting help.  
  
• Respect Channel Rules.  Remember that some channels have different guidelines about what you can and cannot do.
  

That's about it; enjoy your stay!

Crossposted at the suggestion of Alberthro.   Sorry about the formatting; I couldn't get it to work right
EDIT: Fixed formatting, per seana11's request. (And yes, I did ask him to crosspost this - thanks seana11! OmnomIRC's future is kinda bleak, so IRC is your best chance for getting online and chatting with us! The New bot is also online there, so join us on IRC! )

Edited post to fix formatting (per seana11's request).
Please use this guide, since OmnomIRC will be down for a looooong time!

Juju: I think we should sticky/news this post, seeing that OmnomIRC isn't going to be online anytime soon.

I should also note that Hexchat may not be available on Linux quite yet; however, XChat (which Hexchat is based off of, and is featured in the screenshots) is the one that you should use in place of Hexchat.

I should also note that Hexchat may not be available on Linux quite yet; however, XChat (which Hexchat is based off of, and is featured in the screenshots) is the one that you should use in place of Hexchat.

Hexchat IS available for Linux right now, although it's a bit buggy.

Nice guide

I guess if the person can't install anything or for whatever reason can't use one of the programs (can't really think of one b/c you can just stick some on a flash drive but you never know), there's also the IRC link at the top of the page, which goes to a browser-based client.

Nice guide

I guess if the person can't install anything or for whatever reason can't use one of the programs (can't really think of one b/c you can just stick some on a flash drive but you never know), there's also the IRC link at the top of the page, which goes to a browser-based client.

There's also Mibbit and CGI:IRC, but the latter lags like crazy (about 2-3 minutes of lag)

I agree with DJ on mibbit. It's the one I use. It requires no installation and you don't have to use the /server command.

https://cbe001.chat.mibbit.com/

Great guide, but where's weechat? It's slowly replacing screen+irssi...