AOL users: You have extra steps required to connect.
#anx/pan is an IRC channel. One chats on an IRC channel by running an IRC program or a using a web browser to run a java program from a web server. Essentially any internet capable device has some sort of web browser, so just about everyone should be able to connect.
#anx/pan is presently on the Starchat network. The default server for this network is irc.starchat.net
You might wish to use your web browser the first time or two to see what #anx/pan is like. If you plan to do a lot of chatting and have a personal computer in the IBM PC clone line, an Apple or one of the *nix's (such as linux), then you should consider running an IRC chat program. There is some added functionality that can make your chatting experience more pleasant. For your convenience, I've provided a few links for some popular IRC clients for various OS' and computer types. This information is only provided for your convenience, it is in no way meant to influence you as to which software package you should use or meant to say that these programs are better than any others. Chances are if you don't like what I've provided, you already know how to obtain the program you prefer.
Find an IRC client for your computer:
*nix (no real information yet)
WebTV (or any browser capable device)
Connecting to #anx/pan using a modern IRC client can be done in two ways. Please see the website or help file that supports the client you are using for details. If you are using a text mode client, use the second method.
The first way is based on the menu system of the client. If this is your first time, you will need to fill out some information including a nick you choose to identify yourself. The client will have a menu item or button that brings up a connection dialog box that provides a dropdown box with a list of networks. Choose Starchat. It will take a moment to connect to the server. If there is a problem with your nick, take care of this now. The client will have a "join" menu item or button that permits you to type in the name of a channel. Type in "#anx/pan".
The second way is to use commands. If this is your first time, you will need to fill out some information including a nick you choose to identify yourself. Type "/server irc.starchat.net" and wait for your client to connect to a server. If there is a problem with your nick, such as it is owned by someone else, take care of this now. Next, type "/join #anx/pan".
An IRC nick is simply an identifier, er, a nickname. It is basically how you'll be known on IRC. Starchat requires that nicks be "rated PG". #anx/pan also requires that nicks be non-offensive. Nicks can have the usual alphanumeric characters and some punctuation characters. ^ & - _ are OK. I don't know what the limit on number of characters is for starchat, it accepts at least 20, but most likely much of that nick will not be seen. I recommend something shorter, say four to six characters.
If you find your nick has been suddenly changed to "guest" followed by some numbers, then the nick you chose is registered to someone else. Choose another nick and type "/nick {newnick}", where "{newnick}" is the new nick. To facilitate choosing a nick, once on Starchat, you can type "/ns info {nicktotest}" to test the nick, {nicktotest}. If the reply is "not registered", then you can use that nick.
If you find that your favorite name was taken when you tried to use it as a nick, a quick fix is to append a punctuation character to the nick. For example, if the nick you wanted was "Jdoe" and you found that it was registered by someone else, try using "Jdoe_" or "Jdoe-".