www.Packetnews.com , www.IRCSpy.com These two websites are search engines that locate Networks, servers, and bots that have your desired file. (Packetnews seems to be the best so far.) (Click on the pack number you want, it will copy a command to the clipboard, Invision will launch and take you to the server and the channel of that bot. You have to press CTRL-v to paste the command into the channel’s blue textbox.)

IRC is entirely text based; all commands have to be manually entered:

Here’s a few basic commands, each network has some different commands as well, but you’ll catch on to them pretty quick:

/nick
(change your nickname, it will stay like that until you change it again)

/server irc.servername.net / com / org (change servers)

/server –m.irc.servername.net / com / org
(opens a new connection to a server, you will still be connected to you previous server, this is good, because if you leave a server while your in queue for a file, you may lose your place)

/join #channelname
(Joins the specified channel)

/dccallow name
(Allows the specified person/ bot /or operator to send you a file. Invision does this automatically for you when you request a file (still good to know))

/ctcp botname xdcc send pack #number
(Requests a file from a bot, files are organized into “packs” and each has a number. If you want to know what is on each bot right click on their name in the right hand panel, select “notice user” then type “xdcc list” into the popup window.) (You can only have 1 file transfer; or queue, from 1 bot on a channel. You can request as many files as you want from as many different channels as you like, but only one per channel) (If a bot puts you in a queue line it will display your place in it and the projected amount of time you will have to wait for it. It NEVER takes as long as it says though, because either people have left the server or have removed themselves from the queue) (Messages from bots are always in dark green) (Most movie files are zipped into .tar format, so you’ll need to download WinRar from www.winrar.com Open the file with winrar, extract the .rar files somewhere using the wizard, the default is to your desktop in a folder, then open one of the .rar files with winrar and use the wizard on it too. When fisished you should have a .bin file and a .cue file. These are Cd image files. You’ll need to load the .cue file into a burning program (nero burning rom is best for images, then select disc at once and burn. They will work on your standalone dvd player if it supports mpeg1 or mgeg2 format. They won’t work on you PS2 unless you have a mod chip. They also work on any computer based player that supports mpeg.

/msg botname xdcc remove
(removes you from a queue line, youll receive a private message to notify you that you were removed)

/msg username
(sends a message specifically to 1 person in a channel)

/privmsg username
(sends a private “instant message” to the user)

/help (opens the manual)