Using SpeedRunsLive for racing

This is how you connect to the SpeedRunsLive IRC server using the mibbit web client (if you prefer, you could install a stand-alone IRC client like icechat, hexchat, mirc, etc).

LOGGING IN:
Go to the mibbit client here:
http://www.speedrunslive.com/channel/

Enter your nickname in the first box.
If this is your first time using SRL leave the password box blank (and follow the section "HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE FIRST TIME" below).  If you have already registered with SRL and you know your SRL password, enter it in the second box.  If you forgot your password see the TROUBLESHOOTING section.
Press the "Connect" button.

(If you're NOT using the mibbit web client, but instead you're using a different IRC client like icechat/hexchat/mirc, you would type this into one of the windows:
/ns identify NICKNAME PASSWORD
Where NICKNAME is the proper nickname that you want to have, and PASSWORD is your SRL password.  But if you are using mibbit, this is already taken care of.)


HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE FIRST TIME
If you have never registered your nickname before: In the first tab (the one on the left that says "SpeedRunsLive<<" type this:
/ns register PASSWORD EMAIL
Where PASSWORD is the password you would like to use, and EMAIL is an email address that you can use to recover your password if you ever forget it.


FINDING AND JOINING THE RACE (once you're logged in):
Join the #speedrunslive channel (the second tab in mibbit, or you can type "/join #speedrunslive").  Type ".races" to see a list of all races channels.  Double click the name of the channel, something like "#srl-12345", in order to join the channel for the race you want.  Or you can type "/join #srl-12345" where "12345" is the name of the channel you want to join.

Once you're in the race channel, type ".enter" to join the race.

Once you are ready to begin the race, type ".ready" to indicate that you want to start.  If you need to get up or go away from your computer, you can type ".unready" to indicate that you're no longer ready.  Then when you come back type ".ready" again.  The race will not begin until all players have typed ".ready"

When you finish your run type ".done"

Even if your system crashes or your game freezes and you need to restart from the beginning, you might want to keep playing just in case your opponent also has a crash/freeze and needs to start again too.  The race will not end until one person successfully finishes a run, regardless of how many times they need to start over.

If you decide you don't want to play anymore you can type ".quit" to forfeit the race.


TROUBLESHOOTING:
If you forgot your password, log in with a different nickname temporarily (for example add an underscore to the end).  Log in with the temporary nickname, and type the following into the "SpeedRunsLive" tab (the first tab):
/ns resetpass NICKNAME EMAIL
Where NICKNAME is the real nickname that you want to have, and EMAIL is the email address you used when you signed up for SRL.  The password reset link will be sent to that email.  After you've used that email you can return to http://www.speedrunslive.com/channel/ and try again with the correct password.

If you try to log in and it says "Nickname already in use", log in with a different nickname temporarily (for example add an underscore to the end).  Log in with the temporary nickname, and type the following into the "SpeedRunsLive" tab (the first tab):
/ns ghost NICKNAME PASSWORD
Where NICKNAME is the proper nickname that you want to have, and PASSWORD is your SRL password.  You will now be logged in with the proper nick.

If you are unable to join any race channels, it means you are not "identified" or logged in.  Make sure you've done "/ns identify NICKNAME PASSWORD".  Make sure you are logged in with the correct nickname, and that that nickname has been registered.  You can register with "/ns register PASSWORD EMAIL".  Read the earlier sections for explanations how to log in or to register.