Knowledge base Using irc
Internet Relay Chat (irc) is a simple on-line live chat system. It allows text messages to be posted and read in channels. There is a chat channel for A&A customers which can be very useful for getting advice and contacting support staff in or out of normal hours.
Firefox plug-in chatzilla
There is a plug-in for Firefox to provide irc, called chatzilla. This is simple to install in Firefox. First ensure you have Firefox installed. The find the chatzilla plug-in in the mozilla addons page - just search for chatzilla. Don't pick the French language one by mistake (unless you want French!). Just click to install and confirm.
Once you have installed, just type irc://irc.z.je/A&A in to Firefox location bar (where you type a web page). That will open the chatzilla window and join the A&A chat channel. You will want to type /nick followed by a suitable nick name that you want to use. You can use irc://6.irc.z.je/A&A instead if you have IPv6 connectivity.
There are many other irc servers and channels. It is a good idea not to get in to arguments as this is one of the causes of denial or service attacks. Whilst the A&A chat channel is pretty safe, some irc channel have hackers and script kiddies that can easily attack your broadband line if you offend them - so please be nice.
Online IRC Client
You can use this web-based IRC client to join IRC, enter a nickname, and click Login.
Once connected you'll be able to chat with other customers as well as staff. (For help using irc, there will be a ? help icon on the top/right.
Getting our attention
Staff do take part in the irc channel, but it can be quite lively from time to time. If you want to get the attention of a member of staff then use the word staff which the staff stalk. Staff generally have names starting AA-. It helps to say if you need sales, support or accounts as well.
