IRC - Internet Relay Chat
One of the most popular mediums for scan
collecting.
For the experienced collector nothing equals IRC
channels for keeping up with the latest scans.
WHAT IS IRC ?
IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. IRC has become
infamous for it's sex chat rooms inhabited by dirty old men that lure innocent children
for rendezvous to shopping malls etc...
Unfortunately, while this does occationally happen, IRC
is mostly harmless and offers much more.
IRC offers an excellent medium for individuals of like
interest to share information and talk to one another.
Unlike NGs, IRC is totally interactive and immediate,
and since groups are more or less private with NO DISPLAY of the scans, IRC is not subject
to the perils of copyright enforcement that the "PUBLIC" web is. You can't view
the scans until they have been sent to you by another.
These characteristics make IRC an ideal medium for scan
collecting.
SCAN GROUPS:
Organized by scanners and collectors, there are a number
of IRC channels available that provide the absolute best scans you can get. These groups
are responsible for most of the high quality output you see on the Internet.
#SWA - Scanners With Attitudes
#SDC - Scan Distribution Channel
#CIA - Celebrity Imaging Artists
#SCP - Scan Collection Point
#SNF - Scans-N-Fun
GROUP TYPES:
IRC Scan groups fall into two loose categories,
CONSORSIUM and COOPERATIVE.
CONSORSIUM type groups will scan under one name but have
independent collectons for each scanner. #SWA is a consorsium.
COOPERATIVE type groups will scan under one name and
contribute the scans to a single collection for the group. #SDC is a cooperative.
HOW DO I ACCESS IRC ?
If you are familiar with IRC then you can connect to any
DALNet server and join the channels.
If you are unfamiliar with IRC then you have to first
download an IRC reader mIRC can be downloaded from www.mirc.com
or www.mircx.com.
Once installed, you can setup your user information by
entering your name, e-mail, and Nickname.
Choose server option that says "Random US DALNet
Server," hit the connect button. When you get connected, a box will pop up asking you
what channel you want to join, type in "#SWA" in the space provided.
If you see people offering scans, announcing FTP sites,
or just having a good time, you'll know your in the right place.
SCAN GROUPS:
#SWA - Scanners With Attitude
The first IRC scan group:
#SWA is a channel on the IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
network. SWA is short for Scanners With Attitudes, and was founded in 1997 by
scanners RipTorn and Phantom. Since it's inception other scanners have joined the group
including Big Oaf, Enigmatist, UTW, Gorek, Paragon, WScan, BatScan, Kandor, OafScan,
Colibri, and Outlaw.
#SWA is frequented by many who are quite knowledgeable
in the area of scan collecting. The group's charter is based upon the tenants of
cooperation and sharing. There is no trading allowed. Only requests for scans and scan
information are honored.
#SWA Rules and Guidelines
Big_Oaf, an SWA scanner has written what has become the
definitive introductory text on #SWA. It includes many of the basic commands and
instructions for how to pick up pictures.
