OCF staff often use IRC to communicate. If you have questions, feel free to drop by — it's often faster than emailing us, especially for discussion-type questions.
We normally chat in the #rebuild channel. For historical reasons, #ocf is
mostly for non-OCF-related discussion.
You have a couple of options for chatting:
We have a web client set up at irc.ocf.berkeley.edu using the popular open-source web client The Lounge. It's already set up with our IRC network settings, so all you need to do is enter a nickname that you want to use and click the connect button at the bottom. You can enter your real name if you want, but it's not required. Once connected, you can type messages in the bottom bar and press enter and the OCF staff connected will respond to you as soon as we see your messages.
You can connect using any IRC client. If you do not already have an IRC client, we recommend using Hexchat because it is free, open source, and generally easy to use. Our server settings are listed below:
irc.ocf.berkeley.edu6697 (requires SSL/TLS)#rebuild (best to reach staff), #ocf (best for off-topic)If you're logged in to the OCF login server via SSH, you can use the pyrc script to easily connect to IRC. It will automatically launch a tmux session to contain your IRC session, so that you aren't disconnected when you close the terminal.
To do so, just type pyrc and hit enter. irssi will launch; press alt +
left/right to switch which channel you're viewing.
If you have an XMPP account, you can join IRC channels with room name
#channelname and server name irc.ocf.berkeley.edu (alternatively,
#channelname@irc.ocf.berkeley.edu depending on your client).
An `ocf.berkeley.edu` XMPP account can be used, but an account on any federated server will work.
To make sure that you can keep the same username, even after being disconnected and reconnecting again, you can register with NickServ.
To register with NickServ, choose a password and enter the command /msg
NickServ register [password] [email] into your IRC client. NickServ should
reply after you run the registration command that you have been registered with
your email. To see if you are registered properly, try running /msg NickServ
info. You should see your email address, and where you are logged in from,
among other results.
ZNC is an IRC network bouncer. It permanently connects to the IRC server, so users connecting through it can preserve their chat session. Most users don't need this, but IRC regulars may appreciate the extended chat history and the absence of join/leave messages.
ZNC also integrates with NickServ, automatically authenticating for you with a nickserv module if you save a password with ZNC.
Ask a root staffer (or ping #rebuild) to create a ZNC username / password.
Configuration is most easily done through the ZNC web interface. It requires you to login using your staff-created ZNC account.
Once you've logged in, under Your Settings you should set the following
fields:
irc.ocf.berkeley.edu +6697,
space included.Click save at the bottom, and your ZNC account should be setup to connect to the main IRC server.
The OCF ZNC server settings are:
irc.ocf.berkeley.edu4095 (requires SSL/TLS)You should also set your IRC client login settings:
Server password (/PASS password)password, or user:passwordOnce you have setup both ZNC and your IRC client, you should be able to connect to IRC normally.
If you are using ZNC, load the NickServ
module by running /znc LoadMod nickserv while connected to your
ZNC server. Then, in your ZNC web admin interface, log in and go to Your
Settings under either the global or user modules links. Under the Networks
section, click on the Edit link next to the OCF network and scroll down to
the Modules section. Enable the nickserv module and type the password you
used to register with NickServ into the arguments box. Then save your changes
using the button at the bottom of the page and ZNC should automatically
authenticate with NickServ if you get disconnected from ZNC.