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title: "IRC"

date: 2019-06-04T00:12:17-04:00

Create an IRC account and sign into it. After you've signed on, you can use the _Buddies_ -> _Join a Chat_ menu option on the Buddy List window to join a channel. In any window, either a conversation or a chat, in which your IRC user is the sender, you can also use the `/join` command to connect to a new channel.

See the next question.

Try the [irchelper](https://bitbucket.org/pidgin/purple-plugin-pack/src/default/irchelper/) plugin from the [Purple Plugin Pack](https://bitbucket.org/pidgin/purple-plugin-pack/). This plugin provides fields to enter the services bot's nickname and your services password. It also automatically suppresses messages from the services bots sent on connection. Note that this plugin _does_, in fact, work with Q on Quakenet, and networks that use AuthServ, not just networks that use NickServ.

Alternatively, see the next question for a way using Pidgin's built in features.

Follow these steps:

* Create (if necessary) and enable your IRC account.

* Add the nick of the services bot to your buddy list using _Buddies_ -> _Add Buddy_.

* Right-click the new buddy and click "Add Buddy Pounce" to create a new pounce.

* Make sure "Signs on" is the only checked box in the "Pounce When Buddy..." section.

* Make sure "Send a message" is checked under "Action".

* Enter the message, such as `identify mypassword` if you're trying to authenticate.

* Ensure "Recurring" is checked beneath "Options" or the pounce will only work once.

* Click "Save" to save the pounce.

Note that you do **_NOT_** include `/msg nickname` as part of the message in the pounce.

Absolutely. In the Buddy List window, select _Buddies_ -> _Add Chat_. Use this dialog to add the chat to your buddy list. Once the chat appears in the buddy list, right-click the chat and select "Auto-Join". The channel will autojoin whenever you sign onto your IRC account.

In the Buddy List window, select _Accounts_ -> your IRC account -> _Edit Account_. Click the "Advanced" tab. Enter a name in the Username field.

In the Buddy List window, select _Accounts_ -> your IRC account -> _Edit Account_. Click the "Advanced" tab. Enter a name in the Real Name field.

IRC has no comprehension of character sets or encodings. It simply sends (almost) any random chunk of data a user enters. Pidgin by default assumes everything is UTF-8. If this is not the case, you will need to edit your account (in the Buddy List window, select _Accounts_ -> your IRC account -> _Edit Account_) and change the Encoding setting on the "Advance"d" tab. You will need to enter the correct encoding for your channels there. You can specify multiple encodings in a comma-delimited list, such as `UTF-8,ISO-8859-15`, to cause Pidgin to attempt multiple encodings. In this case, each encoding is tried in succession until a successful decode happens or all encodings listed are exhausted.

In the Buddy List window, select _Tools_ -> _Plugins_. Find and checkmark "Join/Part Hiding" and click the "Configure Plugin" button. Configure the plugin as you like.