I was thinking that it might be cool for all five of us to get together some time and have a group chat. I know that four of us have Yahoo IM (I'm not sure about Max) so perhaps we can find a common time to meet in one of those IM conferences. I wouldn't say we need to do this on a regular basis but once every couple of months or so wouldn't hurt, just to catch up and brainstorm a little bit together. How does that sound?

- Doc

I'm not fond of using Yahoo or other major portals for my instant messaging needs.

I'd suggest IRC instead. A random channel could be opened on one of several servers and would allow real time messaging without the concern of having to expose valuable accounts some of us have on Yahoo. It would also allow me to use more public wi-fi spots that don't have nasty firewall restrictions.

I'm most comfortable with that method for meeting. If anyone needs help selecting a free IRC software client, I'm fairly good with the ins and outs. I already have regular chats on irc.esper.net and irc.nightstar.net, though I despise Nightstar for technical issues

Anyone else have any ideas?

I'm not too well versed in IRC but I am willing to give it a shot if someone can explain what I need to do.

- Doc

First off, what operating system do you use?

IRC clients are available for free for almost every OS. Once you know that a free IRC client application is available for your specific OS, you can select one and download it through a metasite like http://versiontracker.com and install it. Many of these applications are less than 15 megabytes, so the download should not be a deal breaker unless you have a really slow connection to the web.

Once you have the software installed, you'll open it and follow the directions to open an IRC channel. You'll select a user name first. Then you'll open a link to an IRC server. This is similar to opening a web page. Only you'll be accessing a series of linked servers that handle relay chat.

Example: irc.esper.net would be the server.

Then, depending on what channel I'd create, you would issue a simple command in the user prompt window to join a specific channel once you are on esper.net.

Example: /join #hipcomix

From there, you won't need to know more about the command structure and syntax of IRC to just chat.

Note that this channel is not open at the moment. But it can be created and registered once enough people show an interest.

One last detail. I'm on the west coast, so I'd only be available in your evenings from what you've posted on the subject.

I use Windows ME. Go ahead and laugh, but one good thing about using it is that no one targets it for some messed up virus or worm...

Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I can follow Max's instructions and get set up. Or, perhaps Jpeger can work out something through the site here. Whichever is the case, if Max is on the west coast perhaps a late weekend night is our best bet?

- Doc

What needs to be done to have a simple chatroom set up on the site?