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For any seeking refuge in the triple gems: the Buddha, the dharma, the sangha.
Welcome to #buddhism
#buddhism began as a channel on the Undernet Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network many years ago.
It is now linked via a relay bot to the #buddhism channel on a number of other networks.
The name of the relay bot is gem4. Users on your local server will appear the same as usual, but users from remote servers will appear like <gem4> [net] <remote_user> Hello World! That is the bot, network name in square brackets, the user speaking, and their message.
The idea of the channel is to support practising Buddhists in their practice, and provide a place online to discuss Buddhism in a friendly, inclusive, relaxed environment. Think of it like a coffee shop next door to a monastery.
Code of Conduct
There are many paths to enlightenment, both within the various Buddhist traditions, and also outside of them. Channel participants should be respectful of all paths, and not impose a particular view on any others.
That said, in order to allow any beings a place to seek refuge, certain things aren't appropriate. Trolling or other harmful conduct won't get far. All forms of hatred or intolerance are right out, including sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. Any slurs are discouraged at best. If you feel such things, you aren't required to change your view on them, but you will have to leave those aspects outside of the channel. There are plenty of other places online where you may troll freely, this doesn't need to be another one.
Participants aren't required to stay on-topic all the time, but if someone comes along and wishes to discuss a Buddhist topic, please be mindful and let the focus shift to Buddhism. If you're engaged in a deep off-topic conversation, feel free to take it to private messages or a different channel. It's also encouraged to look for a Buddhist angle to any off-topic things that come up.
And what is right speech? Avoiding speech that's false, divisive, harsh, or nonsensical. This is called right speech.
How to connect?
For IRC access, you'll need an IRC client. You can download an IRC client for your operating system, such as Hexchat (Cross-platform), mIRC (Windows), Colloquy (macOS), or irssi (command line). Alternately, you can use a web-based IRC client at irccloud.com or kiwiirc.com.
Here is a direct link to Liberia.chat IRC network's web access for #buddhism. It does not require any registration and you can be anonymous.
https://web.libera.chat/#buddhism
Which chat servers are included in the relay?
Server: irc.undernet.org Port: 6667 Abbreviation: [und] Server: ssl.ircnet.com Port: 6697 (SSL) Abbreviation: [irn] Server: irc.rizon.net Port: 6697 (SSL) Abbreviation: [rzn] Server: irc.slashnet.org Port: 6697 (SSL) Abbreviation: [sln] Server: irc.lunarirc.net Port: 6697 (SSL) Abbreviation: [lnr] Server: irc.libera.chat Port: 6697 (SSL) Abbreviation: [lba] Server: irc.choopa.net Port: 9999 (SSL) Abbreviation: [efn] Server: irc.stardust.cx Port: 6697 (SSL) Abbreviation: [sdn]
