TalkSoup is a fully-featured IRC client written with the GNUstep framework

===============================================================================
Copyright (C) 2003 Andy Ruder

  TalkSoup is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
  (at your option) any later version.

  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
  GNU General Public License for more details.

  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
  along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
  Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA

Comments are welcome.
===============================================================================

****************************************************************
* netclasses MUST be installed before installation of TalkSoup *
****************************************************************

**** Please see README.osx for instructions dealing with OS X compilation ****

============================
Compilation/Installation/Use
============================

1. Compile and install TalkSoup
 andy ~/TalkSoup $ make
 andy ~/TalkSoup $ su -c 'make install'

2. Run TalkSoup
 andy ~ $ gopen TalkSoup.app 
  
Enjoy!  Read below for more information about what you've just installed
and are running :)

===========
Description
===========
TalkSoup.app is a fully-featured IRC client which uses GNUstep base.  While
TalkSoup.app itself is just a very basic core which can simply pass messages
between bundles (plugins), there are many bundles which make up the
functionality.

This distribution comes with:

Input Plugins:

  *NetclassesInput: an input plugin based on netclasses

Output Plugins:

  *GNUstepOutput: an output plugin based on gnustep-gui

Input Filters:
  
  *Highlighting: highlights keywords and nicknames and 
    handles highlighting tabs as well.  See the /highlighting
    command for configuration options. (Bundle must be loaded)

  *KeepAlive: sends a ping to the server every three minutes
    on every connection to keep you connected
  
  *DCCSupport: allows files to be sent and received from client
    to client.  There is no DCC chat support and probably never
    will be.  See /dcc command once the bundle is loaded for
    more information.

  Logging: allows a log of a connection to be made.  See the
    /logging command for more information (once the bundle
    is loaded).  Also see FAQ question 3.5 on using the logging
    support.
  
  MessageInTab: opens a new tab when someone private
    messages you

  Decolorizer: removes colors from incoming messages.

  Debold: removes bold from incoming messages

  Deunderline: removes underlining from incoming messages
  
Output Filters:

  *Colorizer: Lets you use %B for bold, %U for underline,
    %R for reverse, %O for clear all attributes, and 
    %C(0-15),(0-15) to set colors. (First number is the 
    foreground color, second number is the background color).

  Piper: Lets you pipe outgoing messages through arbitrary
    commands. See the /piper command when the bundle is loaded
    to configure.

* == Used by default

========
Commands
========
/load <in/out> <bundle>: 
  Loads a input/output filter bundle named <bundle>.  If that bundle
  is already loaded, it will move it to the end of the list.

/unload <in/out> <bundle>:
  Unloads a input/output filter bundle named <bundle>

/loaded :
  Shows what bundles are currently loaded

/saveloaded :
  Saves the currently loaded bundles to the defaults so that
  the same ones will be loaded upon the next startup of 
  TalkSoup.app

/join <channel1>[,channel2,...] [password1[,password2,...]]
  Joins a channel (optionally 2 or more channels separated
  by commas with no space) with an optional password (or
  if there are multiple channels specified, then multiple
  passwords separated only by a comma)

/nick <nick>
  Changes your nickname to <nick>

/msg <nick> <message>
  Sends the private message <message> to the person named <nick>

/quit <message>
  Disconnects you from the currently connected IRC server.  If 
  <message> is specified, it will use that as the quit message.

/notice <nick> <message>
  Sends the private notice <message> to the person named <nick>
  Most of the time, you should send people regular messages using
  the /msg command.  However, in certain cases, you may want to
  use a notice instead.

/away <message>
  This command sets your away message if <message> is specified.  If you
  don't specify <message>, it will mark you as back.

/colors
  This simply explains to you the valid colors that other commands may
  ask you to use.

/ctcp <nick> <ctcp> [args]
  Sends the ctcp command <ctcp> with optional arguments [args] to
  the person with the nick <nick>.  CTCP messages are used for a
  lot of extensions to IRC such as DCC and getting information
  from another person's IRC client.

/version <nick>
  This is a sortcut for /ctcp <nick> VERSION, which, on most
  IRC clients, will return the person named <nick>'s IRC client 
  and version.

/clientinfo <nick>
  This is a shortcut for /ctcp <nick> CLIENTINFO, which, on
  most IRC clients, will return information on getting the
  IRC client that the person named <nick> is using.

/ping <nick> <argument>
  This is a shortcut for /ctcp <nick> PING <argument>.  With
  most IRC clients, the other client will respond immediately
  with a PING CTCP message with the same argument.  You can
  use this to see how lagged you are.

/userinfo <nick>
  This is a shortcut for /ctcp <nick> USERINFO.  On some
  IRC clients this will respond with information about the
  user named <nick>.

/topic <channel> [topic]
  This will set <channel>'s topic to [topic].  If [topic] is
  not specified, it will refresh the channel's topic.

/kick <channel> <user> [comment]
  This will kick the specified <user> out of a <channel>.  If
  [comment] is specified, it will be displayed to the user
  instead of the default message.

/raw <message>
  This command will send <message> to the server as it is, 
  no formatting or command substitution will take place on
  the string.

/encoding <encoding>
  This command changes the encoding for incoming and
  outgoing messages on that particular connection.  By not
  specifying <encoding> the command will list the available
  encodings.

==============================================================
Commands specific to the GNUstep output plugin (GNUstepOutput)
==============================================================

/me <action>
  Sends an action to the channel, for example:
  
    /me runs around the channel screaming 'GNUstep rules'
  
  would print * <nick> runs around the channel screaming 'GNUstep rules'

/query <nick>
  Opens a new tab for a person named <nick>.  All of their private 
  messages will appear in there, and typing to the person in that tab
  will send them private messages.

/server <server> [port]
  Disconnects from current server and connects to <server>.  If
  [port] is unspecified, it defaults to 6667.

/close [name]
  This closes the tab named [name].  If you don't specify the name, it will
  close the current tab.

/clear
  Clears the text in the current tab.

/scrollback <lines>
  This sets how many lines are in the scroll-back buffer.
  This change will automatically be saved to the defaults.

/ping <person>
  Good way to find out the lag between you and that person.

/topic [topic]
  This will set the current channel's topic to [topic].  If [topic] is
  not specified, the topic for the channel will be displayed.

/exec [-o] command
  This will execute command and display it's output.  If -o is specified,
  the output will actually be sent to the current channel/query.

/alias <alias> <command>
  Alias a command to another command.  For example,

  /alias j /join

  This will make /j the same as /join.

  /alias hi hello everybody!!!!

  This will make /hi send "hello everybody!!!!" to the channel/query.

/unalias <alias>
  Unset an alias set with the /alias command.
  
===================================
Notes about GNUstepOutput (default)
===================================
  
  * Double clicking a person in the user list in a channel will
    open a query tab for them.
  
  * See the 'Bundle Setup' to configure loaded bundles.  Some of the 
    bundles even provide nice GUIs for configuration.
	
===============================================================================
The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) also covers many common questions
that TalkSoup users have.
===============================================================================

=======
Authors
=======
  Main author: Andrew Ruder <aeruder at ksu dot edu>

==============
Special Thanks
==============
  Luis Garcia Alanis <luis.garcia at mac.com>
	For his initial drive to make a GNUstep IRC client using netclasses and his
	first version of Charla.app
  Alex Perez <aperez at student.santarosa.edu>
	For his immense testing efforts and all his suggestions and he also drew
	the icon that is currently being used by the GNUstep output plugin right
	now.  Alex is also one of the primary people behind making the original OS
	X port possible.
  Jeff Reinecke
	Jeff provided the machine that the port was done on.  Using solely VNC and
	SSH into his machine, the very first TalkSoup OS X was made possible.
	Thanks a ton Jeff!!!!
  Lyndon Tremblay <humasect at shaw.ca>
	For his time and effort in both testing and making TalkSoup an icon.
  Gregory Casemento <greg_casamento at yahoo.com>
	For his tremendous work on Gorm, which made TalkSoup possible.
  Alexander Malmberg <alexander at malmberg.org>
	For his constant help, bug-fixes, and overall contributions to the GNUstep
	project. 
  Matt Rice:
    He knows something about everything; a constant source of advice and help
	during the development of TalkSoup.
  Aaron Glenn:
    Actually made several of the new TalkSoup OS X nibs with me explaining
	(over IRC, of course) how to make them.  (He was unfamiliar with 
	using Interface Builder).  Without this guy, it's unlikely I would have
	ever gotten started on the new TalkSoup OS X port.
  
  Also, a big thanks goes out to: Nicolas Roard, Thom Cherryhomes, Tim
  Harrison, Ian Jones, and all the other people I probably forgot about who
  offered bug fixes, suggestions, and just took the time to compile and use
  TalkSoup.
    
===============================================================================
Copyright (C) 2003 by Andy Ruder
[email protected]
http://talksoup.aeruder.net