@node Introduction
@chapter Introduction
+ERC is a powerful, modular, and extensible IRC client for Emacs.
+It is distributed with Emacs since version 22.1.
+
IRC is short for Internet Relay Chat. When using IRC, you can
-communicate with other users on the same IRC network. There are
-several of these networks available---if you search for ``IRC
-networks'' in your favorite search engine, you are likely to find
-up-to-date lists of IRC networks catering to various interests and
-topics.
-
-In order to use IRC, you need an IRC client such as ERC. Using the
-client, you connect to an IRC server. Once you've done that, you will
-have access to all available channels on that server's network. A
-channel is basically a chat room, and what you type in a channel will
-be shown to all other users in that channel, and you can be in several
-channels at the same time---most clients will show each channel in its
-own window. IRC channel names always begin with a @samp{#} character.
-For example, the Emacs channel on Libera.Chat is @samp{#emacs}, and
-the ERC channel is @samp{#erc}. Do not confuse them with the hashtags
+communicate with other users on the same IRC network. There are many
+different networks---if you search for ``IRC networks'' in your
+favorite search engine, you will find up-to-date lists of IRC networks
+catering to various interests and topics.
+
+To use IRC, you need an IRC client such as ERC. Using the client, you
+connect to an IRC server. Once you've done that, you will have access
+to all available channels on that server's network. A channel is
+basically a chat room, and what you type in a channel will be shown to
+all other users in that channel. You can be in several channels at
+the same time---ERC will show each channel in its own buffer.
+
+IRC channel names always begin with a @samp{#} character. For
+example, the Emacs channel on Libera.Chat is @samp{#emacs}, and the
+ERC channel is @samp{#erc}. Do not confuse them with the hashtags
used on many social media platforms.
-It is also possible to send private messages to other IRC
-users on the same network, regardless of whether or not they are in
-the same channel as you.
-
-ERC is a powerful, modular, and extensible IRC client for Emacs.
-It is distributed with Emacs since version 22.1.
+You can also send private messages to other IRC users on the same
+network, even if they are not in the same channels as you.
-It comes with the following capabilities enabled by default.
+ERC comes with the following capabilities enabled by default.
@itemize @bullet
@item Flood control
The command @kbd{M-x erc} will start ERC and prompt for the server to
connect to. If you're unsure of which server or network to connect
-to, we suggest you start with ``irc.libera.chat''. There you will
-find the @samp{#emacs} channels where you can chat with other Emacs
-and users, and if you're having trouble with ERC, you can join the
-@samp{#erc} channel and ask for help there.
+to, we suggest starting with ``irc.libera.chat''. There you will find
+the @samp{#emacs} channels where you can chat with other Emacs users,
+and if you're having trouble with ERC, you can join the @samp{#erc}
+channel and ask for help there.
If you want to place ERC settings in their own file, you can place them
in @file{~/.emacs.d/.ercrc.el}, creating it if necessary.