Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition

Online Linux Support

There are many ways of obtaining help online, where volunteers from around the world offer expertise and services to assist users with questions and problems.

The freenode IRC service is an Internet relay chat network devoted to so-called “peer-directed” projects, particularly those involving free software. Some of its channels are designed to provide online Linux support services.

Internet relay chat is a network service that allows you to talk interactively on the Internet to other users. IRC networks support multiple channels where different groups of people type their thoughts. Whatever you type in a channel is seen by all other users of that channel.

There are a number of active channels on the freenode IRC network, where you will find users 24 hours a day, 7 days a week who are willing and able to help you solve any Linux problems you may have, or just chat. You can use this service by installing an IRC client (some distributions install them by default), connecting to server name irc.freenode.org:6667, and joining a channel focusing on Linux, such as:

#linpeople

General help and discussion

#debian

Help for Debian distribution

#gentoo

Help for Gentoo distribution

#redhat

Help for Red Hat distribution

#suse

Help for SUSE distribution

And so on. Please be sure to read up on the rules of chat etiquette before chatting. In particular, the participants in these groups tend to expect people to read documentation and do some experimentation before asking for help with a problem. Some IRC clients include Xchat, Konqueror, and KVirc. Note that these are all graphical programs and as such are not described in this book.