#OOC - Out of Character Chat
This channel is a place to interact with your fellow players in real time.
For more specialized OOC chat, we also have #OOC-Rules
#IC - In Character chat via the HTC Lunatic
This channel allows characters to interact with each other online in real time. All conversations appear to the characters the same, more or less, as they appear to the players.
The option to access this chat is available for your character on their HTC Lunatic. If you do not have an HTC Lunatic for that character, you cannot use this channel.
#Downtime - Downtime Scenes with a Storyteller
Sometimes, the Storytellers would like to run downtime scenes for one or more people, but they just can't get together in real life between games to do it. This channel is a place where those scenes can take place instead.
If you would like to schedule a downtime scene that requires a Storyteller, drop them a line and something can usually be arranged.
"In Person" Channels
We have provided a few "in person" channels so that our characters can interact "face to face" in between games, even if the players can't. The standard Soft-Roleplay rules apply here.
If you wish to convey what your character is doing, rather than just what they are saying, you can use the "/me" command. For example, you could type "/me glares at Finious" and it would show up in the channel as:
* FrankBlack glares at Finious
A few of the channels are for members of a certain clan only. If you do not belong to that clan (or otherwise have permission from the Storyteller to be there), you cannot use that channel.
Nickname Rules
For Out of Character chatting, your nickname must end with "-OOC". For example, Jason's nickname on IRC is "Jason-OOC". For ease of identification, you can use your username from the forums. Otherwise, we suggest using some form of your real name.
For In Character chatting, your nickname must be some form of your character's name. For example, "FrankBlack" or "Aleksandr". It should be enough for other players to quickly identify who you are.
If you are chatting in both IC and OOC channels, you can use your character's nickname.
To change your nickname while signed into IRC, you can use the command "/nick (username)".
Impersonating Other Characters
If you wish to attempt to impersonate another character in the online chat, whether it is over the HTC Lunatic or in one of the "in person" channels, you MUST get approval from a Storyteller first.
Web Based IRC Chat
If you would like to jump in and get started immediately, you can start chatting with our web-based IRC chat. For OOC chatting, you can just use the nickname shown below.
Note: You may notice a slight delay when using the web based chat. Unfortunately, there's not much we can do about this without making it less accessible to some people. If this bugs you too much, or if you're planning to spend much time in the chat, we recommend using one of the IRC clients below instead.
Your antivirus software may cause some lagging to occur. To get around this, you can try adding an exception for http://okcbynight.com/irc/*.
IRC Server Settings
If you prefer to use your own IRC client, you're free to do that as well. You can use the settings below to connect to our IRC server.
If your client doesn't have a spot to enter the port, enter the server name as irc.okcbynight.com:6660 instead.
Also, if for some reason your network is not allowing you to connect, you can also try port 8002 instead. It will usually get past attempts to block access to IRC.
IRC Clients
If you'd like to try it out, here are two IRC clients we recommend:
mIRC - a popular Internet Relay Chat client for Windows
Trillian - a powerful IM client for Windows. It supports IRC as well as Yahoo!, Live Messenger, AIM and other services.