THE CHAT COMMUNITY (IRC)
irc.americasarmy.com
Get connected!

Since IRC is a dynamic chat network, it is important that you review the IRC Rules of Engagments first so you know what to expect and what is expected from you while you're connected.

ON THE WEB:
http://irc.americasarmy.com/

1. Enter an IRC nickname to use (game names are commonly used)
2. Select the official channel you wish to join
3. Check the box that you read and understand the ROE
4. Click on the "CONNECT" button at the bottom

IN THE GAME:
The America's Army game client has had an IRC client built right in.

1. Launch the America's Army game and login to your account
2. Click "AA BROWSER"
3. Click the "CHAT" button on the top menu
4. Click on the "CONNECT" button at the bottom
   ...you should now be connected to the IRC network
5. Select one of the pre-defined official channels (ex: #americasarmy)
6. Click the "JOIN" button

Congratulations -- you are now in the #americasarmy chat channel! Type in "Hi everyone!" and hit 'Enter' to begin chatting! Be sure to read the IRC Rules & Regulations to understand how the channels are managed, first.

A large sum of America's Army players dedicate a large amount of their personal time to simply help the community with game support. We've gathered a few of these helpful people into a group we call the "Volunteer Staff" to help manage our support network!

The America's Army Chat Network provides a few channels where you can receive help by a well organized team of experienced volunteers!

The following channels are available:

#americasarmy	Official General Chat Channel channel. Here we hold events such as IRC interviews and display official news announcements. This is the place to hang out and simply chat with the crowd!
#aa-support	The America's Army IRC Support channel is the place to go to receive live, one on one, support solutions for all your questions. The Support channel is manned by our team of Volunteer experts who are ready to assist you with problems ranging from login to PB issues, training to SF missions.
#aa-newplayers	For all the new players out there, here's where you can hang out and converse about your America's Army experience.
#aa-mapping	This channel is for conversations and asking questions related to the AA Mission Editor.
#irc-ops	This channel is only for IRC-related support. Questions about IRC commands, settings and services should be asked here.

IRC STAFF & USERS

Every user on IRC is considered part of a group. There are a few different groups associated with each America's Army channel. These groups are:

&	Super-Operators (SOP)	Personnel from the Army Game Project and IRC administration. Each name is prefixed with an '&' symbol in the channel.
@	Auto-Operators (AOP)	Volunteer Support Staff who will answer your questions. Each name is prefixed with an '@' symbol in the channel.
%	Half-Operators (HOP)	Additional support volunteers who assist the community. Each name is prefixed with an '%' symbol in the channel.
+	Voiced Operators (VOP)	Normal Users who have assisted in various ways in support of the channel. Each name is prefixed with an '+' symbol in the channel.
	Normal Users	The guests of the channel. Most users will be in this group.

Become an IRC Channel Operator!
You too can join the ranks of the IRC Staff by dedicating time on the America's Army IRC network and assisting the community!

The tables below list the Channel Operators that you may see while connected to any Official Channel...

The following rules and guidelines will help maintain the official channels so that users can freely communicate with other players, U.S. Armed Forces personnel, Devs, and America's Army Community Managers (AACMs). Also, these rules are intended to help maintain channel security, provide a safe atmosphere, and create unity amongst the community.

The rules for the official channels are:

1. No Op begging.
2. No harassing other users or the operators.
3. No swearing, forms of swearing, abbreviations of swearing, or leet swearing in the channel.
4. No colors.
5. No advertising other channels.
6. No spamming.
7. No flooding or nick flooding.
8. No sexist, racist or bigoted remarks.
9. No Sharing/File Serving of Warez/Pornography or any type of copyright materials including but not limited to mp3's movies etc.
10. No flaming, constant insulting or threatening of any individual or group.
11. No linking to content otherwise in violation of the ROE.
12. No advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, commercial solicitation.
13. No posting content or links to content intended to take advantage of forum, server bugs, and/or exploits.
14. No evading or attempt to evade warnings, bans, or other actions of Channel Staff or Network Staff.

Use the commands "/ignore <nick>" or "/silence +<nick>" if someone is bothering you but they are not violating the rules of the channel.

Breaking any of the above rules can result in being kicked from the channel, banned from the channel or, kicked and/or banned from the AA IRC Network.