IRC is one way to get to know your fellow students. You are not required to use IRC to be a member of HOL. As some of you may know we have a house chat room on IRC, it is #gryffindor and can be found on the Blitzed network. I will explain how to get there and stuff in a second. This is a great place to come and talk with fellow gryffindors and also to meet people from other houses. If you have never used IRC or don’t know how to get to #gryffindor I will explain two different ways, the easiest way is using cgi off the blitzed website, but while that is easier overall it is much better to go and download a program like mIRC which required a little more effort but is much better in the long run.

1) CGI- Getting on to #gryffindor using CGI is the easiest. The best/easiest way is to do this is by going to the HOL homepage here. Once you have done that you will notice in the upper right hand of the page under the house cup standings and HOL search text which says "HOL Chatrooms", below that there is a place for a nick and a box for the channel. First you enter the nickname you which to use, and then you replace the channel which is #hpgalleries by default with #gryffindor. Once you have done that you click on the log in button and wait for it to connect to the server, once you are connected you can chat using by typing into the text box at the bottom of the screen.

2) mIRC (for PCs)- Accessing IRC in this way makes it easier to chat, but requires a little more effort. Download the program at www.mirc.com, then click on download mIRC on the right of the screen. Choose a download location (it doesn't have to be your/state or country) and click on it. You then save the file and allow it to download. Once the download is complete you open the file and install the program.

Once mIRC has been installed open the program. If you get a message at the beginning about having to pay for mIRC you just click on the x on the upper right of the small box. mIRC has a 30 day trial period, but you do not have to pay for it after the period is over. You can just keep pressing continue on the message and use mIRC. Once you are registered you will come to an option screen (if you don’t hit alt+o and it will open, or find it at the top menu by going to File >Connect >Server). There will be text saying "IRC network" and next to it a small box with an arrow on the right side. Click on that box and scroll down until you find Blizted.

Press "Connect" on the small menu to the left again, and fill in your HOL name and choose a nick. Make sure you have a full name and email address entered below as well as a nickname. You should NOT put your real full name as people outside of HOL can see this. Once you have done that click on the connect to IRC button and wait for a connection once you have one type /join #gryffindor in the main window that opens up and you will have a secondary window open with our chat room in it.

If you have any questions you can direct them towards one of your friendly prefects. Hope to see you all in #gryffindor and don’t just come once keep coming back.

3.) SNAK (Mac) - For Mac users you can go to www.snak.com and download a chat client there. It has a 30 trial period, and after using it for 30 days, the program will disconnect every 30 minutes. The program costs $20 USD.

HOL Channels:

#Hpgalleries- This is the main IRC channel for HOL. The easiest way to get on is by using the CGI script on the main HOL page, but if you plan to go on IRC a fair amount it is worth it to download mIRC (for PC’s) or Snak (For Macs)

#Gryffindor- This is the Gryffindor house chat, once you are on IRC all you have to do is type /join #Gryffindor and you will join the channel. Students from all houses are welcome in all house chats.

Other house channels, do the same as above - #Hufflepuff, #Ravenclaw, #Slytherin

We have young members at HOL, so remember to keep chats clean and g-rated - if the conversation is going in a questionable direction, take it someplace other than the official chat channel, which is #gryffindor for our House. We need to make sure we are keeping HOL a safe place for the youngest members - do not jeopardize their membership at HOL by upsetting their parents who might (and should) be watching over their child's shoulder.