The Monte Carlo Chat Channel!

Welcome to the Monte Carlo IRC Chat Homepage. The chat channel is now located on the Sorcery IRC network under the channel name #MonteCarloSS. Although the channel's chat topics center around Monte Carlos of all generations, owners of all GM G-Body cars are welcome to join in the fun. See the Channel Guidelines below for further information.

On this web page you will find a Java Gateway (above) which will allow you to enter the chat channel without special IRC software. We do however, recommend that you connect direct to the Sorcery network #MonteCarloSS channel if you have IRC software installed. You will also find a list of regular visitors of the Monte Carlo Chat Channel, with pictures of their cars, and links to their web pages.

Please review the chat channel guidelines listed below. All channel visitors are required to adhere to the guidelines listed. Violation of these guidelines are cause for permanent bannishment from the channel. The guidelines are straight-forward, fair and easy to follow.

If you plan to use the Java Gateway above, please review the operating instructions listed below before proceeding. The Gateway can be a quirky thing. Knowing about some of the quirks before-hand will make your stay in the chat room more pleasant.

Finally, the links to pictures and web pages located in the Regulars List below will open separate windows. This was implemented to eliminate Gateway users from being dropped out of the channel when browsing through links and pictures.

Enjoy your stay!

The Monte Carlo Chat Channel, as well as any internet special interest group is made up of a community of users, both regular residents and visitors passing through. As with any community, some rules are required to keep order, provide direction and deal with abusive users in the chat room. Please read through the following Monte Carlo Chat Channel guidelines. They should be straight-forward, fair and easy to follow. If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, please contact the Channel Founder via the link at the bottom of the page.

• First and foremost; No Off-color & Abusive Language.
  Being an automobile related community, the vast majority of visitors to the chat channel are of driving age, therefore, children hearing off-color language is generally not a problem. We do however, discourage the un-needed and repeated use of bad language in general chat. Not only does this kind of language show a lack of personal vocabulary, it is rather immature and does not project the community image we would like to convey to visitors in our channel. The channel operators will warn users who are being excessive in their language. Also, we would like all minor visitors (under the age of 17) to please announce their presence when they enter, so the members will know when to curtail all off-color adjectives being used.
  
  Abusive language, directed at any visitor for the purpose of demeaning that person or their car in any way, however will not be tolerated. Users of such language will find themselves kicked out of the channel, and possibily bannished without warning.
  
  
• Respect other channel members. This includes their choice of cars. Disrespect of other member's rides is not permitted. While we do reserve the right to trash talk other non-GM, non-G-Body cars and their owners in general... disrespect of a any specific person or their car in channel will not be tolerated. If you don't have an interest in, own or respect the Monte Carlo specifically, and / or GM G-Body style, you won't find many friends or allies on the channel. Don't bother to show up. If you prove yourself to fall into this catagory, you will be invited to leave, voluntarily at first, involuntarily if you do not comply.
  
  
• Keep on topic.. specifically Monte Carlos and to a lesser extent, the GM G-Body style. Remember the primary topic of this channel is anything and everything Monte Carlo related. If the topic does not apply to the Monte Carlo, there are other channels available where such discussion is appropriate. From time to time, we will venture off topic by design to have some fun. The regulars in channel like to have fun and joke with one another. You may find some interesting non-Monte Carlo, non-car related topics being discussed. This is allowed with some lieniency as long as it does not hinder any on-topic chat. Monte Carlo related chat will always have priority over anything else.
  
  
• OPs Status. You will notice some members in the chat channel with an "@" in front of their nickname. These persons have been given "Channel Operator" status of various levels. The primary advantage of Channel Operator status is the ability to change the channel topic. They also have the ability to kick and temporarily ban abusive people from the channel and as such help ensure the channel guidelines are followed. Permanent bans are handled via the Channel Founder only. Channel Operators are directed to use the Kick / Ban options only in cases of abuse, and then only after a warning is given. Other Channel Operators in channel at the time of the abuse should be notified of the impending kick or ban using the /onotice command. If a permanent kick/ban is appropriate, please contact the Channel Founder and supply the abusive user's IP address, along with the cercumstances (preferably in log format) that necessitate the permanent ban. Note, at this time, we are limited to giving Channel Operator status only to those who run a normal IRC client software. Users of the Java Gateway will not be granted permanent Channel Operator status. Please do not beg for Channel Operator status. Doing so is not only impolite and tacky, but will most likely delay your being granted Ops status. If you show up regularly, prove to be a responsible channel member, and run an IRC client software, and have your nickname registered with SorceryNet, you will eventually find yourself with Ops status. Abuse of Channel Operator privilages is subject to removal of those privilages, and possible banishment from the channel. We expect the Channel Operators to be the cream of the crop, and as such, are held to a higher standard than normal users.

The Monte Carlo Chat Channel Java Gateway is a great way to allow access into the channel for those who do not have an IRC client software installed such as mIRC. If you plan on being a regular visitor of the Monte Carlo Chat Channel, we highly recommend that you download the free IRC software available from mIRC or equivalent. The options and ease of use of the IRC software products available vastly improve your chat enjoyment.

Instructions for using the Java Gateway are shown below. The Gateway can be a quirky thing to operate. Read through all of the items below before connecting to the chat channel via the Gateway.

• To connect to the IRC server, enter a unique nickname in the 'Nick Name' box, and your name followed by your car year and type (such as 86SS) in the box provided. Once you have entered that data, push the "Connect Now!" button at the bottom of the window. The screen should change to the chat window, with a welcome message at the top. It will take a few moments to connect to the server.
  
  
• If you receive an error that says something to the affect that "You are not welcome on this network", don't panic. It is not a personal attack on you saying that you personally are not welcome. What this means is that your internet provider has been "KLined" which prevents all of its users from connecting to the network. KLine is done when one bad apple user causes problems. To aleviate the problem, the entire internet provider and all of its users are banned (temporarily) from joining the network. The good news is it is not permanent. The bad news is it is impossible to tell how long the KLine will be in affect. It could be as short as a half hour.. or as long as a month in extreme cases. Send an email to the email address in the error message. You will recieve an automated response with more details. Unfortunately, there is nothing the Channel Founder can do in this situation. It is a network level implementation, not related to the chat channel in any way. All I can suggest is try back from time to time. Eventually, you will be able to get back into the channel.
  
  
• Once you connect you will see a lot of text scroll by called the 'motd' (Message of The Day). While it is not essential that you read this information, it does have some useful data and rules. A list of people currently in the chat channel will be on the right side. The place where you type is at the bottom of the chat window.
  
  
• If you receive a network message that says in affect "The nickname you have selected is owned by someone else, please select another"... this means what it says. On Sorcerynet, you can register the use of a nickname. If someone else trys to use that same nickname, they will be warned and possibly have the nickname changed to a generic Guestxxxxx type nickname for them. You have two options: If you are the registrant of the nickname, you can identify yourself with nickserv with the following command: "/msg nickserv identify password". Type everything within the quotes, and use the password that you selected when you originally registered the nickname. If you want to get away from doing this every time, contact Z65_Paul in the chat channel and he will tell you a trick to get around it. If you do not show up and use a nickname within 20 days, it will automatically become unregistered. On the other hand, if you have selected the nickname that is registered to someone else, you can change to another nickname with the following command: "/nick nickname". Type everything within the quotes, and select another unique nickname in place of the word 'nickname'. In both cases, remember the slash (/) is necessary to tell the program what you are typing is a command. You usually have approximately 60 seconds to perform either of these operations.
  
  
• If you wish to send a private message to one of the other users within the chat room, simply double-click on their nickname in the upper right window of the chat window. Another pop-up chat window will appear that will allow you to chat privately with them. Everything you type within that private chat window will only be seen by that other person. Close the window when you are done. You can easily switch between the main chat channel and a private chat window like any other windows window.
  
  
• Commands available within the chat window: All commands start with the slash (/) symbol. Type them in the same place you type to enter text into the chat window. The following commands are available:
  /nick nickname Changes your nickname to whatever is in 'nickname'
  /me xxxxxxxxxx Types an action. Replace xxxxxx with some action
  /whois nickname Returns information on 'nickname'
  /quit 'optional quit message' Quits the Chat Channel. Resets back to the logon window. You can add an optional quit message in the command.
  /clear Clears the screen.

If you have an IRC client software available, such as mIRC, you can connect directly to the Monte Carlo Channel (#MonteCarloSS) by first connecting to the irc.sorcery.net server. Since this is a small IRC network net splits, lag between chatting users and difficulty in logging in will be just about non-existent.

Chances are your copy of mIRC already has the Sorcerynet server in it. Look for the "Sorcery" group in the server list, and connect to the "Sorcerynet: Random Server" selection. Otherwise, you can add "irc.sorcery.net" to your server list and connect to port 9000. Also, you can use "irc.montecarloss.com" as the server name and that will direct you to Sorcerynet. It is handy in that you don't have to remember what the server name is.

Once you have found or added the above server, you can connect by clicking on the 'Connect to IRC Server!' button.

Once you've connected to the irc.sorcery.net IRC network, type in "/join #MonteCarloSS" and hit return. Your IRC client software should connect you to the #MonteCarloSS Channel. You will find people in there at various times of the day. There are a few of us night owls who hold Monte Vigil late in the evenings (between 6PM and Midnight Pacific). We have a great time.

If you connect to the channel and find no-one is there, stay awhile. If everyone just popped in and then out immediately when nobody was there, the likelyhood of people finding eachother is drastically reduced. My suggestion would be to try your connections at the top and bottom of the hour, and stay at least 5 to 10 minutes. If everyone did that, your chances of running into other Monte owners will be significantly increased. Evenings seem to be very active. Lately, there hasn't been an evening gone by without at least a few people chatting in the channel constantly. If you're having problems finding people in the channel when you connect, please email me and I'll try to connect up with you. Also, if you have questions about an IRC client software such as mIRC (which I use), I will try to help you out as much as I can. And finally, if you'd like to be included in the "regulars" list above, please drop me a note with your information.

Even though this channel's primary purpose is chat about the Chevy Monte Carlo of all generations, we invite all of our GM G-Body brethren to stop by for some great chat. The channel is not exclusive to Monte Carlos only. Thanks and Good Luck!

Now WebTV users can join in the fun on the Monte Carlo Chat Channel. Below are the instructions specifically for WebTV users to connect to the channel:

• Return to the 'Home page'
• Select 'Community'
• Select 'Chat'
• Select 'Go to'
• Enter the following:
  • Server Address = irc.sorcery.net
  • Port Number = 9000
  • Channel Name = #MonteCarloSS
• Select 'Connect'
• Once you connect, if you push save on your wireless keyboard you won't have to type anything next time you want to get on.
• Please report any difficulties to the webmaster.