(IMPORTANT INFO) IRC conference: Writing for translation

[John Trollope <John -dot- Trollope -at- TEAM17 -dot- COM>]

Hello Techweilers!

I hope you will attend the online conference entitled "Writing for
translation" on Saturday, 19 October 1996 at 4 p.m. British time.

Please read the following FAQ as it really does answer all the questions and
people (more than frequently) ask me. 

One question which is not in the FAQ: Lantra-L is a listserv (Like TECHWR-L)
for translators of all languages. To subscribe, read the archives, etc. go
to the following web page: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7110/lantra.htm

Please pay special attention to question 11. It explains why you are asked
**not to use a nickname** in this channel.

I hope to see you there.

Cheers,
John

P.s. If my FAQ fails to answer all the questions you may have, please to not
hesitate to write me. I'll try my best to help you.

-------------------------
    Lantra-L IRC FAQ Version 1.5 (slightly edited for TECHWR-L)

This FAQ is still being written; changes are therefore very likely. Please
mail any changes or suggestions, which are strongly encouraged, to
john -dot- trollope -at- team17 -dot- com -dot-  (Soon to come: a list of common IRC commands).

This FAQ was written by John Trollope
(http://www2.team17.com/~jtrollope/francais/) with the helpful
contributions of Yuri Vorontsoff (http://www.xs4all.nl/~jumanl)
(jumanl -at- XS4ALL -dot- NL). The most updated version can be found at
http://www2.team17.com/~jtrollope/lantra.html. If you are a Lantra-L
Member, you are welcome to redistribute this FAQ (without profit) by any
means, but please inform me before doing so.

The purpose of the Lantra IRC channel is to provide a forum for members of
Lantra-L (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7110/lantra.htm) where
translation issues can be discussed, online conferences can be held, and as
a social meeting place. If you are not a member of Lantra-L but still
interested in translation, you are still most welcome.

1. What is IRC?
It stands for Internet Relay Chat. For an introduction, see the FAQ which
can be found at :
s-ftp.bu.edu:/irc/support/alt-irc-faq
ftp.kei.com:/pub/irc/alt-irc-faq
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu:80/hypertext/faq/usenet/irc-faq/faq.html

2. What program do I need?
WINDOWS: MIRC is a very nice and simple-to-use program (and simple to
install). It can be obtained at:
ftp://ftp.winsite.com/pub/pc/win95/netutil/mirc452t.exe
ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/windows95/netutil/mirc452t.exe
Laura Scalabrini told me of the mIRC page (http://www.mirc.co.uk/get.html)
which gives you more places in which to download the most current version
as well as the mIRC FAQ (http://www.mirc.co.uk/faq.html).

MACINTOSH: Homer 0.9 is the best (it will even read everything aloud for
you if you have Speech Manager installed). You can download them from:
http://www.linknet.net/dl/comcmac.htm#ircle
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/_Communication/tcp/homer-094.hqx

UNIX: Linux program Zircon can be downloaded from:
http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Programs/Zircon/

3. What is the address?
irc.team17.com port: 6667
Channel = #lantra

4. Where is this located geographically?
In a small town called Ossett which is near Leeds, England. The server is
on some fantastically high-speed links so delays in transmission should be
minimal.

5. How do I connect? / Install the software, etc?

                                     WINDOWS
1. download the program (mIRC) into a temporary directory.
2. after you have completed the download, click on the self-installing
   program. It will ask you if you want to use the default directory
   (yes) and if you wish to keep a copy of what you downloaded (yes).
3. begin the program. You will see the typical "register" reminder
   screen. Let your conscience decide later. For now, click on the X on
   the top, right-hand corner of the screen to get rid of it.
4. you should be at a screen which says IRC servers. If not, select
   "disconnect" from file menu then select "setup" from this same file
   menu. Complete the following fields:
   Real Name -> Your *true* name, please (this is a professional forum, not
   a sex chat line)
   E-mail -> your *real* email address please
   Nick Name -> your *real* name again please
   Alternate -> your real name plus something else (in case someone has
   the same name as you)
5. click on "Add". Use these values for the various fields:
   Description -> Whatever you want really. I suggest "Lantra IRC on
   irc.team17.com"
   IRC server -> irc.team17.com
   Port -> should already be set to 6667. If not, change it using this
   value.
   Group -> leave empty
   Password -> leave empty
   Click on "add" again.
6. Choose the server you have just defined (which will be what you wrote
   in the description) and click twice. This will begin the connection.
7. After a few seconds or minutes, you should see the notice of the day
   and " sets mode: +i". You can ignore this (not the motd!)
8. Type /list to see a list of channels. You should see #lantra in a new
   window. Double click on this, and you're there! If not, refer to FAQ.
That's all there is to it folks!

                                    MACINTOSH
1. download the program.
2. after you have completed the download the program will be
   automatically unpacked. Just move the folder to the place you like
   ("Applications" folder for example). Make an alias (Apple-M) and drag
   it into the Apple-menu folder (you can find it in your System Folder)
   - it will make it easier for you to find the program.
3. start the program (skip the registration details in IRCle - you will
   be able to register later). Choose "Startup preferences" from the
   "File" menu. Choose "Other server" and fill in "irc.team17.com" as the
   server address. Choose your nickname (use your *real name* as this is a
   professional forum and not a sex chat line), fill in your real name
   and email address. That's it. You are ready. Click "OK".
4. Log in (just open ConfigPPP or whatever you use to surf the Net). When
   you are ready - go to step 5.
5. Choose "Open connection" from the "File" menu. After a few seconds or
   minutes, you should see the notice of the day and " sets mode: +i".
   You can ignore this (but not the MOTD).
6. Choose "Join" from "Commands" menu and fill in "#lantra"
   Homer acts in the same way. You may tinker with preferences adding
   faces and sounds but DO NOT change the server and port addresses.
That's all there is to it folks!

6. I went to irc.team17.com port: 6667, but I couldn't find any channels?
What's wrong?
This is because the system was reset and the administrators didn't relaunch
the demon program which maintains the channels when no one is there. In
this case, either come back later or type: "join #lantra" (w/o quotation
marks). The channel will disappear when the last person leaves.

9a. Where are there sometimes non-lantrans on our channel?
Don't forget, the server irc.team17.com : port 6667 was *not* created for
Lantra (only the channel #lantra was created for us), but rather as a place
for customers to come discuss Team 17's computer games. The server is thus
mentioned in Team 17's company literature and in certain adverstising
materials.
Very often the only channel with any people in it is #lantra, so naturally
they come to this channel. They will probably ask what "lantra" is because
they will think it's a new Team 17 product. In this case, just explain what
Lantra is. In one case, a man from Iceland entered in this way, and he
turned out to know quite a bit about MT and was quite interesting! So who
knows!

9b. What can be done about aggressive, impolite, non-lantrans or pests in
general?
The answer is sadly, not much. As I do not have "operator status" (Mr.
Helpbot has it), I can not "ban" them. You can, however, "ignore" this
person and anything they type won't be seen by you. To do this, the command
is (without the quotation marks) "/ignore ". For example, /ingore BaNaNa

10. Is only English permitted?
Of course not! We are translators, aren't we? Of course, if this means
excluding someone, then politeness dictates that a common language to all
being used. In general, use exactly the same conventions as on the mailing
part of our group.
  10a. What about accents for French, Spanish, etc.?
  You can send accents defined in ISO-LATIN1
  10b. What about non-roman alphabets?
  Transliteration!?

*** 11. What about nicknames? ***
There has only been one (very small) problem: some of you are coming in
with nicknames (in IRC, you can choose which name by which you are
identified). Please use your real name. There are three reasons for this:
 1. It helps others to know who you are. If you use a nick name like
    "Captain Spock", you may not be thanked for your great help that
    you've given others.
 2. The list *cannot* be restricted to only Lantra members. Anyone can go
    onto irc.team17.com port 6667, channel #lantra and enter. There was an
    incident on Friday of a very arrogant and probably drunk "BaNaNa".
    Before his/her true nature became known, we just assumed she or he was
    a Lantra member. If every Lantra member had used his/her real name, we
    could have immediately assumed that this was an "undesirable".
 3. At the risk of repeating myself, this is a professional forum. There
    are plenty of channels on other servers where you can use IRC as a means
    exploring human relations with anonymity. But not #Lantra !

The whole purpose of the list is to get to know each other better and to
serve as a forum for online conferences on specific themes. It makes no
sense whatsover to use a nickname for the reasons stated above and also you
will always be asked your real name in any case.
Please therefore use the name by which you are known on this list.

12. Why is the channel on a stand-alone server and not, for example, on
EFFnet where it is more accessible?
I have been asked this question on numerous occasions and there a few good
reasons for this.
 1. There are very few people who connect to this server, there is thus
    much less of a chance of "undesirables" coming into the channel.
 2. I work for Team 17, so I was able to ask that a permanent channel be
    set up (something I could not have done with a more public server).
 3. Team 17 has fantastically quick connections to Europe and to the U.S.
    Once you get there, lag (delays in communication) is minimal.

13. Who is helpbot?
It is simply a computer program which ensures that the channel stays open.
He can be safely ignored.

14. Who is Team 17?
Team 17 Software, Ltd (http://www.team17.com/) is a computer software
developement company located in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. Their
number one games include Worms, Alien Breed 3D, Project X plus many more.
They have also gone into multi-media (The Big Room
(http://www.team17.com/TBR/) and online games (The Games Room
(http://www.team17.com/TGR/).

                                     END OF FAQ
--------------------

--
John Trollope - John -dot- Trollope -at- Team17 -dot- com   \ "Un dictionnaire,
French translator and product localiser     \ c'est tout l'univers
http://www2.team17.com/~jtrollope/francais/  \ par ordre alphabétique"
Team17 Software, Ltd.-http://www.Team17.com   \ Anatole France
"A dictionary is the entire universe in alphabetical order" - Anatole France