Although the Fold.it ingame chat is sufficient for many players, some folders (foldit players) prefer to access chat in an enhanced manner - whether for eyesight problems, the ability to click links, the ability to copy/paste, to access the research room, etc.
Fold.it provides an IRC channel for those players, which can be accessed through either a stand alone IRC client (program), or a web-based IRC client (requiring no additional program installation for your computer).
Settings
As of this writing (5-26-2011), the IRC settings to access the Fold.it IRC channel are:
Server 128.95.1.227
Port 6667
Channels: #global, #research
Registering nickname
There are 2 methods for using IRC successfully with Fold.it.
New nickname for IRC purposes
Requires you to register a new nickname for IRC purposes only with Fold.it - this is an account that you do not play the game with! It is only used for IRC. If you are in a team, you will need to have that nick join your team, also - please contact your team admin for any instructions.
It is recommended that you use your current user name with the appendage "IRC", so "folder" would have the second account as "folderIRC".
Download a stand alone IRC client (program) that will work with your operating system - Colloquy is good for Mac OS; kvirc, chatzilla, ice-chat and xchat are just a few of many for Windows; Pidgin for linux.
Log onto Fold.it with the IRC account name and go to that user page. Open the IRC client, and do a new connection with 128.95.1.227, Port 6667, and the nick & IRC key from that page. Caution - if you have already tried to use that IRC client to connect with Fold.it under the second method below, please be sure to have all that connection information deleted so that you start fresh!
Each IRC client is different, and some will have you input the IRC key again if you are joining a team chat room (which are secured).
Have the client save your information. If possible, do not allow auto-join.
That's all you need to do - from here on, that name & the IRC are completely independent of your game client - you don't need to have your game client closed when you log into IRC like the second method below. Many clients will give you a list of rooms to join, so you do not need to know the commands - but the most common is simply "/join #anyroom" without the quotes, with one space between join and #, and substituting the room you want for "anyroom".
Using current fold.it nickname
Is to use your usual Fold.it nickname and the information in your page - where you will find the IRC key (password) that all IRC clients will require to allow you into Fold.it's channel. For this method - before you start to log in - you MUST have your Fold.it game closed! You must also be logged into the Fold.it website to be able to see your IRC key on your user page.
To access the channel using mibbit (a web based IRC) simply go to this mibbit link: http://wbe002.mibbit.com/?server=128.95.1.227&channel=%23global (be sure to have Javascript enabled). Type your user name into the "Nick" box and and click Connect. (Thanks to Judecca for the easy link!)
Now look for the tab that says 128.95.1.227 at the top (between "Home" and "#global"). Click on that, and read the bottom line for instructions. Type the phrase exactly as is written there (/msg NickServ IDENTIFY password), but substitute your IRC key from your user page for "password". If you have any problems, you are already in global & you can ask for help.
Once that has been accepted, while still on that page, type "/nick usernameIRC" without the quotation marks, but substitute your user name with the appendage IRC for "username" - for instance, "folder" becomes "folderIRC". This is necessary because Fold.it only allows you to be on the server - ingame and/or in the server IRC chat - only once per name.
You can join any Fold.it unsecured room such as #research simply by typing in "/join #research" (without the quotes, and leave just one space between the word join and the #).
- To join a group chat room using the second method:
- If you want to join your secured team chat room, then after that page has accepted your new name, type "/join #teamname" (whatever the team name is). You should see a new tab with your team name on it.
Then, and only then, you can open your Fold.it game, using the second method. Once you've done this a few times, it's really very easy...
This second method also works for a stand-alone IRC client.
Alternate IRC
Alternate IRC site:
- [[1]]
- Channel #foldit_global
- Bonus, use /EMBED to create a custom URL that prefills the nick and channel
For IRC client:
- irc.he.net
- Port 6667
- Channel #foldit_global
Alternate IRC server:
- irc.uk.mibbit.net
- Channel #foldit_global
News
2/11/2011
website and IRC server was down for 2 hours
11/15/2010 More connection problems
- Some new problems today. Currently website is up and down.
- Chat server can be accessed through an IRC client like Chatzilla or mibbit.
- All permissions seem to have been removed again, so dont be surprised to see unfamiliar names popping up in your group channel.
- 128.95.1.227
- Port 6667
- Channel #global
11/03/2010 Fold.it IRC changes
- http://fold.it/portal/user/me/edit/IRC, Select Fix IRC Group Chat Permissions, then Click Save
- Log into Fold.it website, navigate to http://fold.it/portal/user/me, Under Profile, note IRC Nick and IRC Key
- Use IRC Nick and IRC Key to log into Fold.it IRC externally
- Group manager may be able to manage their IRC channel. If you are the group founder or manager, enter feedback or contact Fold.it to resolve any channel issues
Update 10/19/2010
Alternate IRC since the Fold.it chat server is down....
For web IRC - Moved up
PLEASE NOTE - THIS SECTION IS RELATED TO AN EARLIER PROBLEM
DO NOT CHANGE YOUR 'HOST' FILE for the Oct 20th 2010 problems.
Today game is down because some odd DNS problem.
To access website you need to skip DNS lookup editing your "hosts" file.
Location of file is described there:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(file)
You need to open that file and edit it, by adding at end lines:
128.95.1.228 fold.it
128.95.1.228 irc.fold.it
128.95.1.228 www.fold.it
You may copy-paste for there :)
Windows7 need to run text editor (IE notepad) in administrator mode.
Linuxes also need to have root privileges.
Happy folding!
rav3n_pl