To join IRC, you need to have an IRC client and set it up to join our network.  There are many free IRC programs available on the web.  I recommend Trillian and mIRC.

Once you have an IRC program, just add a connection and name it Allakhazam, or whatever you want.  There are really only two things you need to fill in.

IRC Client Settings:

Host Servername:  irc.allakhazam.com
Port: 6667, 6668, 6669, 5667 or 7000 (any one will work). Alternative, SSL-enabled ports: 6697 or 5697

Choose an IRC Identity

NickName: Your Allakhazam website user name
Alternative: Any username
Email Address: E-mail

We've integrated IRC with the website, in the sense that your Board name is your IRC nickname. When you first join IRC, you need to make Nickserv aware of your login name.  You do this with the register command.

/msg nickserv register USERNAME PASSWORD

You only need to do this once, or whenever you change your login password, this will migrate your login to the IRC database. Thereafter, when you connect, you just need to identify yourself.  It is important for you to do this to keep others from using your registered name while in chat.

/msg nickserv identify PASSWORD

--- WARNING ---

Allakhazam staff will NEVER ask you for your password on irc.

Nicknames are forced, anyone who doesn't register and login is renamed to a random guest name. The goal is to make it difficult to appear to be someone else.

Once you log in, you can join one of these channels by typing /join followed by the channel name:

#Asylum - Unfettered Open Topic Chat
#DAoC - Dark Age of Camelot Related Discussions
#EQ - Everquest Related Discussions
#EQ2 - Everquest 2 Related Discussions
#EQOA - Everquest Online Adventures Related Discussions
#FFXI - Final Fantasy XI Related Discussions
#L2 - Lineage 2 Related Discussions
#OOT - Open Discussion Channel for all topics
#SWG - Star Wars Galaxies Related Discussion
#WOW - World of Warcraft Related Discussions
#Wikibase - General discussion and live help with all things Wikibase.

In the chatrooms, you will notice several differet types of users:
Operators: @ are people who own the channel. In all the main supported channels the @'s are the people working for Allakhzam. They should be familiar to you because they are the ones that post on your games websites about all the latest information.
Halfops: % are helpers to the channel staff. These guys are the ones that will watch a channel and keep people from harassing you and ruining your chat experience.
Voice: +'s next to a persons name means they have a paid account with Allakhazam and get special status in the channel, during times of moderation people with +'s get to still speak in the channel

Have fun!