Content

• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings

The Freenode Network is a gathering place for many people interested in free software or free projects (like a wiki). The registration process is very simple and only takes a few minutes.

Steps

1. 1 Join the freenode network. Open your favorite IRC client and write:
   • / server chat.freenode.net
2. 2 Select a username and nickname. The username must only consist of letters in the range A-Z, numbers 0-9 and some characters like "_" and "-". The maximum length is 16 characters. You can do

   / nick NewNick to change nickname.

3. 3 Register your nickname or username. Write the following commands and replace "your_password" with your easy-to-remember password, and also replace "your_email_address" with your email address.
   • / msg nickserv register your_passwordyour_email_address
4. 4 Check your email and verify your account. After registration, you need to make identification with the NickServ service. To do this, check your email and, if the letter arrived, copy the account verification code.
5. 5 Write the command that you are asked to enter into the server window.
   • Press the Enter button to confirm your entry.
6. 6 Combine the alternate nickname with the main one. If you want to register an alternate nickname, the first thing you need to do is switch to an alternate nickname at the time when you are identified with the main nickname, after that, you can combine both nicknames using this command:
   • / nick NewNick
   • / msg nickserv group
7. 7 Make identification with NickServ. Each time you connect, you need to log in with your credentials, or, in other words, make identification using the following command:
   • / msg nickserv identify AccountNameYour-Password
   • SASL is the recommended authentication method if your IRC client supports it. It identifies you before you finally connect to the network and therefore makes you invisible while connecting to channels.

Tips

• To contact a network representative, use the / stats p command or / quote stats p if the former does not work. Send them a private message using / query nick.
• Usernames expire after 10 weeks + 1 week after each year since registration. This has been counted since the last time it was identified with NickServ. If you want a nickname that is not used by anyone, you can contact the freenode network support to reassign it to you. Some nicknames cannot be reassigned even if no one is using them, in any case, the freenode network support will clear this up for you.
• To check when a nick was last identified with NickServ, use / msg NickServ info Nick
• Choose a nickname from 5 to 8 characters long so you can pronounce it. This way, you won't have any problems during identification. Choose your nickname wisely. Remember, users will associate this nickname with your personality.
• Enter the required commands in the server window, not on the channels. If you type all the commands correctly, then others will not be able to see anything, but it is very easy to make a mistake, and in this case, you can give your password to other users.
• In case you cannot contact freenode / stats p support, use / who freenode / staff / * join channel #freenode using / join #freenode.
• / msg Nick message
• You can send private messages. Just replace Nick with the nickname or account of the person you want to send the message to.

Warnings

• You will need a work email to register. If you register and do not confirm your email address using the instructions sent to you, you will be automatically disconnected from the network after 24 hours.
• Don't use important words in Freenode passwords. Come up with a separate password for this network.
• These steps may not work when using the wikiHow IRC web client. You may need to download another program. Fortunately, the whole process doesn't take much of your time.