Once you have opened Pirch and entered your information, click "Connect". You should now connect to an IRC server, probably ChatNet if you followed the example. You will see a bunch of text scroll up your screen. This is the server's Message of the Day, or MOTD. This information can be important, so if you want, scroll up and read it.

Sometimes you might get an error that won't let you connect. Here are a few common messages and some tips that might help.

• "Connection timed out..."

  This may mean that the server you are trying to connect to is "down" or unaccessable. Try connecting to a different server by clicking the arrow beside the "Connect" button and choosing another.

• "You are not authorized to use this server..."

  This could mean several things, your ISP may be "k-lined" (banned) from the server, or the server may require IDENTD. Pirch has an IDENTD server built-in for this reason. Try enabling IDENTD by selecting "Ident server" from the "Tools" menu and clicking the "Active" button, or type "/set identd on USER" (without quotes) and try connecting again. If you still cannot connect, try a different server on the same network, or maybe even a different network.

• "You have been banned..."

  This means that your ISP has been temporarily banned from the server. This is most likely not your fault. Someone who uses the same internet provider as you was probably causing trouble there, and got him/herself banned. K-Lines, as they are called, do not generally last very long, just a day or two, or maybe a week. There is nothing you can do about this, just connect to a different network.

• "This server requires IDENTD..."

  See above, error 2.