zwgc
--Zephyr WindowGram Client. Unlike some
chat programs like AIM, zwgc
displays each "IM" in its
own window by default. It may be an official notice, or perhaps just
a message from a friend. When you're done with it, click on it to
close the window.
athena% add ktools; owl
Once running owl, you may find it useful to hit 'h' to read
through the help menus. Owl has its own set of commands for sending
messages and adding classes. You may also wish to exit zwgc
once
owl is running, to avoid seeing multiple copies of each message.
You can exit zwgc
by running:
athena% add consult; punt zwgc
vt
, zwgc -ttymode
, Gaim (gaim
on Athena), WinZephyr (http://web.mit.edu/software/WinZephyr.html), and MacZephyr (http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?name=zephyr&platform=macintosh
) are other client options, but zephyr clients are a very
personal thing. Owl is probably the easiest to customize.
owl, vt, and zwgc -ttymode are all console programs, and thus they can
be run from non-Athena computers by using ssh to connect to
athena.dialup.mit.edu.
athena% zwrite username
You can send to more than one user at a time by listing them after the
first name.
Command | Description |
---|---|
zctl sub classname \* \* | Join the class temporarily until you logout. |
zctl add classname \* \* | Join the class until you logout, AND add to your zephyr subscriptions (so you join it automatically next time you log in). |
zctl unsub classname \* \* | Leave the class. |
zctl del classname \* \* | Leave the class, AND remove it from your zephyr subscriptions. |
~/.zephyr.subs
.
To send a message to a zephyr class, you can type
athena% zwrite -c classname -i instance
Class "message," the default class, is a special case.
When people talk about subscribing to an instance, they usually mean
an instance of class "message." Examples of such instances are
"white-magic" (for random discussion), "war" (war-related topics),
"war.d" (discussion about the war instance), and "weather" (for
automated weather announcements). Several courses also have instances
they use.
To temporarily join a specific instance of class "message"
without seeing any other instances, type:
athena% zctl sub message instancename \*
To send a message to an instance of class "message," type:
athena% zwrite -i instance
NOTE: Class "message" instances are NOT private. All instances
of class "message" are logged in the "zlog" locker, and some people
subscribe to all instances.
Before subscribing, if you're creating a class that's not your username, you should check to make sure that no one is using the class, by sending a message to the class. If you get a message that says no one is subscribed, then you're all set. Otherwise, you may want to choose a different class name.
One important fact to note is that zephyr classes are only as private as their name. Anyone who knows the name of a zephyr class can subscribe there and send messages there -- there are no ways to ban, kick, or block people from zephyr classes.~/.anyone
, and list each friend's username on a separate
line.
To see who's online, just type the command znol
at
the athena prompt. You'll get a list of people, the machines they're
logged into, and some other information. People who aren't logged in
usually won't show up.
athena% znol user1: this-machine-does-not-exist.mit.edu owl Sun Oct 2 02:51:05 2005 friend2: contents-vnder-pressvre.mit.edu pts/26 Sun Sep 25 13:10:30 2005
You can also see our March 7, 2003 column at http://www.mit.edu/~asksipb/2003columns/2003-03-07-zephyrp2/ for some additional information.