Hello everybody. This is my first article here at the Daily Click and I think I want to make this article a helpful one to all the newbies and people alike who still haven't been to the so-called 'heart' of the community known as the channel #k&p.

First of all, some of you might be wondering things like, "What is this channel?" and "How do I get there?". Perhaps you're still stuck at "What the heck IS a channel?" and "What is #k&p"? Well, for starters, #k&p is a chatroom where the people (are supposed) to talk about Klik. It's not quite a help channel anymore as much as a time-killing chat for old klikkers but it's still nice to see new people pop in all the time, so here goes! *evil smirk*

First of all, #k&p is located on IRC. If you don't know what that is, it stands for Internet Relay Chat. When you talk to everyone else in the chatroom, the message goes to the server, and the server sends it back to all the people in the channel. Channels start with the # character, hence the # in #k&p. There are many servers around networked together with names like DALnet, EFnet, and Undernet, but more on that later.

To get on IRC, first you need an IRC client. I suggest mIRC, which can be downloaded at www.mirc.com! Once you have downloaded mIRC, you want to set your server and user preferences.

Start open mIRC. An about screen will appear and you may close this. Now, the mIRC options screen will appear. Select from the list, "Random US/UK DALnet server". #k&p is hosted on DALnet. You will not see anyone in the channel if you connect to a different network. Type in your name, email, and most importantly your NICKNAME. Everything except the nickname in these fields is optional. You may put in fake values for them if you want.

Now, press connect! Some messages will appear past the screen and a channels folder will pop up. You can type in #k&p now and join the channel, or you can do it from the Status window by typing /join. Do as you feel what's most comfortable to you. There you have it, you should now be in the chat!

Some common questions asked by newbies:

"Why does my nickname change to a Guest name automatically?" This is the service known as NickServ which DALnet provides to register everyone's usernames to different people. If this is happening, your nickname has already been chosen by somebody else and they have chosen to rename people who use it automatically. I suggest you choose a different nickname, or add a trailing mark to your name like a backslash, underscore, dash, or carat to your nick.

"What does the @ in front of people mean? What does the + in front of people's names mean?" These two questions refer specifically to special modes these people are set to. If a user has a @ in front of them, that means they are a channel Operator, and may set special things like the channel topic, and basically kick/ban unruly occupants. They also have keg parties on a regular basis. Users with + on their nickname are Voiced users. If the channel were to become moderated, only the @'s and the +'s would be able to speak. This doesn't happen often in #k&p.

Well, I hope this gets you well on your way to chatting with the regulars! Good luck and godspeed and all that. :3

-Nobuyuki