When we talk about the open source community, what we're really talking about are individuals from around the world who participate in a variety of communities. One way they communicate and collaborate is over IRC, an online chat technology. As our community moderator VM (Vicky) Brasseur explained in her article on getting started with IRC, IRC isn't as "shiny" or "usable" as modern alternatives, but it's open to anyone, and it's loggable, scriptable, discoverable, ubiquitous, and free. "Whatever your personal opinion of IRC, the truth remains that if you wish to participate in open source software and communities, you will need to learn how to use it," she says.
In an effort to help smooth out the learning curve, Vicky wrote an IRC quick start guide. And now we're happy to introduce her new IRC cheat sheet.
→ Download the IRC Cheat Sheet now (PDF) ←
Download the cheat sheet, then practice your fresh chat skills by connecting with one of your favorite open source communities in IRC. Connect with Opensource.com editors, community moderators, and writers on Freenode IRC in the #opensource.com channel. We look forward to seeing you in IRC soon!
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