IRC?? What's that? --> See the bottom of this blog.
There have been some discussion about a codeforces chat here.
I have created channel #codeforces at network IRCNet, welcome!
Rules:
Do not talk about problems during contests.
Use common sense.
There should be some channel operators (who are like moderators). However, not everybody can be a operator because the risk that someone does something stupid is too high.
To become a channel operator you have to:
Have done at least 15 contests at codeforces
Have max rating >= 2200
Have a decent contribution on codeforces.com or chat history on #codeforces
Please comment if you have some suggestions. Especially I would like to hear what you think about the conditions to become a channel operator.
Have never heard about IRC?
IRC is short for Internet Relay Chat, a very handy instant messaging protocol. The IRC consists of different networks and those networks have many different channels where you can chat with people.
To connect to some network you have to have a client program. Here are some that I have heard about:
For Windows: mIRC
For Linux: XChat (graphical), irssi (command line)
There are also some plugins for web browsers that work in different operating systems:
Firefox: ChatZilla
Short instructions for ChatZilla:
Install it
Restart browser.
It should have now appered to section "Tools" at menu bar. Open it. (If you don't see your menu bar, right click and select it there)
There should be a text "Available networks are ...". Click "ircnet". If you want to connect to some specific server, I can be done by writing: /server some.server.address
Open menu "IRC" and then "Join channel"
Write there #codeforces and click "join"
Chrome/Chromium: CIRC
There is also a very easy to use client IRCCloud that works in any browser.
If you have trouble connecting, please try to connect to open.ircnet.net If that doesn't work, try some other servers mentioned in comments.
If you have any problems, please comment.
Slack now is more advanced)
why so many downvotes? Slack is one of the best corporate messengers. For example, you can paste the code directly into chat using markdown-like syntax. Also there are notifications (for example, if someone mentioned you), native apps for Windows, OS X and Android, and many many more.
Maybe it makes sense to have two separate channels for ru/en speakers. Like #codeforces — general channel in english, #codeforces-ru — in russian.
Are there any servers available to people from USA to connect to? Having some trouble :[
Perhaps it could be hosted on the Freenode server since everyone has access to that?
Edit: To anyone coming from US, ircnet.blacklotus.net works
Have you tried ircnet.blacklotus.net ? It should be in USA.
You can also try open.ircnet.net it should contain all country independent servers.
If those don't work, here is a list of servers: http://irc.tu-ilmenau.de/all_servers/
A bit weird since I have never had any trouble connecting to ircnet.
I am not form US but I also have troubles with IRCNet, tried many different servers). FreeNode works perfectly..
EDIT: open.ircnet.net worked, thx to kllp
5/5 channel.
I thought the concept of IRC died few years ago) I used it only once on last CH24, because they made clarification system via IRC channel.