====== IRC chat ======

**PBirc** is a plug-in that gives callers a full-screen IRC chat client inside the board. It looks like the classic BBS IRC doors, with a topic bar, the chat, a status bar and an input line, but it is a ProBoard plug-in: no door files and no extra program. It connects **out** from the board's computer to the IRC network you choose, and opens no port on your board.

===== What a caller gets =====

  * Several windows, one for each channel and private conversation, switched with Ctrl-N and Ctrl-P, Alt-1 to 9, or ''/win''. A nick list beside the chat.
  * About 50 slash commands: ''/join'', ''/part'', ''/msg'', ''/query'', ''/me'', ''/nick'', ''/away'', ''/whois'', ''/who'', ''/list'', ''/topic'', ''/mode'', ''/kick'', ''/ban'', ''/ignore'', ''/server'' and more. ''/help'' lists them. Tab completes nicknames and commands.
  * Scrollback with PgUp and PgDn, mIRC colour and bold codes, five colour themes (''/set theme bitchx|ice|green|amber|mono''), timestamps and a bell for private messages. Each caller's choices, aliases and ignore list are remembered.
  * Flood protection, an idle limit, and a warning before the visit's time runs out.
  * A plain line-by-line mode for callers without ANSI colour.
  * Secure connections (TLS) through Windows' own SChannel.
  * Login to a network's account services: a name and password as a server password, SASL (PLAIN) or a NickServ identify, chosen per network.

===== Turn it on =====

  - Open **Network > IRC Chat** in PBConfig. It starts with Libera.Chat as an example. Edit the networks, tick **Enable** and click **Save** (this writes ''Configs\PBIRC.CFG'').
  - Put ''PBirc.p3x'' in your ''PEX'' folder (PBInstall does this).
  - Add a menu item with function **60** and the data ''PBIRC''. A first word picks a network straight away, such as ''PBIRC Libera''. The option ''/T'' turns off colours for every caller.
  - Nothing needs restarting. The next caller who opens the menu item uses the new settings.
  - The board's computer must be allowed to connect **out** to the IRC server's port: 6667 plain, 6697 secure. Nothing needs forwarding in the router.

With one network configured, the caller goes straight in. With several, a short numbered list appears. If a network needs a login, the caller is asked for a name and password before connecting; the password is never shown, logged or kept.

//MRC chat rooms are a separate plug-in (''MRCChat.P3X'') with the ''/mrc'' command.//