============
NetHirc 0.04
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>purl< NetHirc?
*purl* NetHirc is a pun *and* a Net:IRC client or a floor wax *and* a dessert 
           topping or all your fault or at ftp://ftp.nog.net/pub/tony/nethirc/
           or currently at version 0.04 or now with logging!

As you might have guessed, NetHirc is an IRC client.  As with many
programs, it was written in a fit of frustration with other IRC
clients.  Let me take a moment to dissect what purl said a second
ago, so that you might understand the origins of this program.

    (0) a pun *and* a Net::IRC client

        There are two puns in NetHirc.  One is in Net::IRC; the
        other is in Nethack.  I thought it would be interesting to
        write a Nethack-flavored IRC client -- after all, the screen
        program lets you use Nethack-style messages, and BitchX
        lets you customize messages...somewhat, but not enough.

    (1) a floor wax *and* a dessert topping

        Okay.  So I took a little poetic license and used an old
        Saturday Night Live skit that glued two incongruous things
        together.  I thought it was amusing.  NetHirc can't wax
        floors or top desserts directly, but perhaps I'm not thinking
        creatively enough. :-)

    (2) all Eggplant's fault

        I go by Eggplant on EFnet.  Well, to those who know how to
        recognize me, anyway. :-)

    (3) at ftp://ftp.nog.net/pub/tony/

	This is the official distribution site.  This changed from
	the original http://www.nog.net/~tony/NetHirc.tar.gz, which
	was where I first made it available to those who wanted to
	look at it.  If nothing else, this program is an educational
	experience for me.  I know I have learned a thing or two
	about the IRC protocol and modularity of code while writing
	it.

    (4) *ahem* self-documenting

	Okay, so this phrase is not in the factoid you see above.
	But it was for a while, and that was because I didn't
	include any documentation on how I was trying to make it
	modular and flexible and all that.  So, technically, you
	can read the code to get the documentation, and obviously
	my code is so flawless that it documents itself. :-)

If you haven't been scared away yet, take a look at INSTALL and
TODO for more information on NetHirc.  I hope that NetHirc will
make your IRC experience more enjoyable, or at least more confusing.

For the legalese and licensing terms, please consult the LICENSE
file, which should be in the same directory as this README file.

-- Tony Monroe (tony@nog.net), Eggplant or tnalpggE on EFnet

$Id: README,v 1.7 1999/09/02 17:19:27 tony Exp $
