IRC - #pianotech

[Vanderhoofven]

Dear Friends,

This is a reminder that Tuesday night is a regular scheduled time to chat
"live"  on the #pianotech channel on the undernet.  Hope to see you there!

I am posting a copy of the message John Musselwhite usually sends out.

>
>Hello Everyone:
>
>Piano technicians have our own live chat channel on the Undernet called
>"#pianotech". The Undernet is part of "Inter Relay Chat" (IRC) and is
>available to most people with internet access these days. All you need to
>join us is an IRC chat "client" such as mIRC or Netscape Chat and a ppp
>(graphical) internet connection. Unfortunately, users of Compuserve  may not
>be able to access the channel due to their connection type.
>
>We have set up Tuesday evenings from about 21:00 EDT to midnight as a time
>for us to meet. All are welcome at any time as you never know who may show
>up on any day or any time. The room is open at all times (Saturday mornings
>seem to be a good time to find people there as well) and if no one is there,
>wait around a bit and someone usually shows up.
>
>To join us, load up your chat client (there are many IRC clients out there
>for all computers) and if you're running it for the first time, answer the
>questions it asks. Choose a nickname (it will tell you if the "nick" is
>already in use once you connect and then let you change it), and connect to
>a server such as "us.undernet.org" or "ca.undernet.org". When it connects,
>use your software to "Join" the channel called #pianotech  (all IRC channels
>have a pound sign # in front of the name).  Most software comes with a list
>of servers installed already and you can choose any Undernet server to
>connect with #pianotech. If you encounter slow connections or have problems
>connecting, keep trying. IRC has a tendency to be a little unstable at
>times. If you have problems send me EMail (I should get it within a couple
>of minutes) and I will do my best to help.
>
>So far, we've had participants from England, South Africa, Australia,
>Mexico, Argentina, Portugal and of course, Canada and the United States.
>Some have been interested piano players but others have been technicians as
>well. It's been fascinating hearing about unusual piano problems and
>situations in far-away places!
>
>If you do join us, one of the "nicks" that you will see there is "@X". For
>those unfamiliar with it, X is not a participant, but a program (called a
>"bot") which keeps the basic information about #pianotech and a number of
>other registered channels. "X" will not respond if you attempt to converse
>with it, so just ignore it and wait a while for someone else to show up.
>
>If anyone has any questions, just EMail me unless you feel the group might
>be interested. Live chat is a great way to exchange ideas or just spend some
>time in friendly conversation with like-minded people.
>
>We're hoping to see some of you there on Tuesday evenings (or ANY night!)
>in  #pianotech !
>
>			John
>
>John Musselwhite, RPT
>Calgary, Alberta Canada
>musselj@cadvision.com
>


Sincerely,



David A. Vanderhoofven
dkvander@clandjop.com
Joplin, Missouri, USA
Associate Member, Piano Technicians Guild
web page:  http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/