How to chat with other KDE users

Chat in a Browser

One of the best ways to get questions answered is to ask them to other users. This is what IRC (internet relay chat) is about. While participating you can ask and at the same time you are encouraged to answer other users' questions when you are able to. To join a KDE chat,

• point your browser to http://webchat.freenode.net

• decide for a nickname for yourself and enter it

• as channel, enter #kde or #the_channel_name_you_have_been_told_to_use

• enter the text that is shown graphically (it is a captcha to keep away spammers)

• click on Connect

You will get a chance to talk with all other participants on the channel #kde.

These instructions can also be viewed as a video here.

Here is a list of IRC Channels. To join another channel (about fedora in this example), enter

/join #fedora-kde

If you want more configurability than a browser can give you, you can install IRC applications like Quassel or Konversation.

Setting up Konversation

Konversation is one of the easiest applications to set up that you'll ever meet. Most of the settings have defaults that are perfect, so here is what you need to do:

• Find Konversation in your menu and launch it

• The address of a Freenode server is already listed

• Click Connect

• Type the name that you want to be your username in the small box at the bottom left of the screen. If it is not already in use, it's yours for the session.

• The long bar below the chat window is where you enter all your text, so first you need to join a channel. Enter, for example, /join #mageia-kde or /join #kde-es if you want to talk to KDE users in Spain.

That's it! You're on your way!

Some optional settings for your convenience

The channel you have joined shows in a tab along the bottom of the window. Right-click on the tab. Two helpful settings there are:

• Enable Notifications (from the settings window you can tell it to play a sound if someone says your name, for instance)

• Join on Connect - automatically connecting you with the channels you have found useful, next time you connect.

In the Settings menu there are a few very useful ones to consider:

• Identities - there you can set the name that you prefer to use. It is wise to have a couple of variations (most people add an underscore at the end of their name, for instance, as a second choice) so that if your name is in use, Konversation will fall back to the second choice. You need not set anything in the other two tabs on that page.

• Configure Notifications - choose a flashing taskbar, a sound, or "Mark taskbar entry" which colours the tab for the things you most need to be aware of. I would suggest these as your starting list:
  • Query (someone wants to have a private conversation with you)
  • Nickname written

You can add others later if you find them useful.