Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report

Dreamcast and Saturn AOL Instant Messenger Guide

Dreamcast's profile picture
Published in 
Dreamcast
 · 4 Nov 2018

 
Dreamcast and Saturn AOL Instant Messenger Guide

by Benjamin Paul Galway
benjamin@boobietime.com

August 18, 2002

This guide and all information from it is to be used for personal
use only. No profit may be derived either directly or indirectly
from its use. This document may not be altered in any way, nor be
distributed electronically. I only grant permission for this guide
to appear on the following sites:

My FAQs Page
[ http://www.boobietime.com/faqs ]
GameFAQs
[ http://www.gamefaqs.com ]

This is a short, ugly guide to getting AOL Instant Messenger to run
on your Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast. I have explained everything
as simple as possible, and I will not answer any questions or
respond to comments about this. All credit goes to Matthew at
zevils.com for creating this fantastic gateway. I just wrote this
because so many people are lazy to look stuff up for themselves to
even know this existed. Of course, GameFAQs is littered with "people"
pestering others on message boards asking questions about games that
are already answered in the very FAQs the site hosts and is named
for... but I digress.

Getting AOL Instant Messenger on your Dreamcast and Saturn is thanks
to a program called IMIRC. It is a great program which allows most
every Internet device that cannot normally access AOL Instant
Messenger to use it in a roundabout way. You can read more about
IMIRC, check out all of the available AIM commands, and download it
if you wish to configure your own IRC server here:

Instant Messenger to Internet Relay Chat
[ http://www.zevils.com/programs/imirc/ ]

As far as I'm aware, only the PlanetWeb browsers feature IRC. While
the Sega Saturn Netlink only has the various PlanetWeb browsers
available, the Dreamcast has a couple of others in Japan or available
through "tricks" with games. IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, an
old, somewhat archaic chat system but it works. You can still order
the Dreamcast PlanetWeb browser from the developer's site, but you
can only download the Saturn one (meaning you'd already need the disc
to get on-line to download it):

PlanetWeb 3.0 Dreamcast browser
[ http://dreamcast.planetweb.com/upgrade/ ]
PlanetWeb 4.035 Saturn browser
[ http://www.planetweb.com/netlink/upgrade.html ]

Finally, you'll already have to have a registered AIM name. You can
do this by visiting the AIM site and registering for a screen name
here:

AOL (R) Instant Messenger (TM)
[ http://www.aim.com ]

You will need to reply the e-mail sent to secure your account, but it
should be ready to use once you've signed up. You can use your
PlanetWeb browser to register an account if you like. Now with your
PlanetWeb browser in your console and with it connected to the Internet,
you can follow the instructions below:

1) Get on IRC. In a PlanetWeb browser, this is accomplished by going to
the URL bar at top and typing the following:

pwchat://irc.server.com:6667

Note that "irc.server.com" is any server equipped with IMIRC. You can
get a complete list here:

IMIRC Networks List
[ http://www.zevils.com/programs/imirc/imstat/ ]

2) Once you're on, be sure to read all text that pops up as you log on.
Note that IRC primarily uses two symbols to initiate a command: "/"
and "#." The forward slash instructs the server to do something, and
the pound sign prefaces every room listed (so a chat room called
"Sega" is located at "#sega"). Now you can sign-on to your AIM
account by typing the following in the message bar at the bottom:

/msg aimserv signon USERNAME PASSWORD

"USERNAME" and "PASSWORD" should be obvious enough, but remember to
leave out any spaces when entering them. Realize that all server
commands are only readable by the server, so don't think everyone
can see your name and password. If you're still unsure, you can
always create a new room before signing on by typing:

/join ROOMNAME

3) Now you're signed on. You can communicate with everyone on IRC and
AIM. To access your Buddy List, join the room channel that the text
that is displayed after signing on tells you to. It should be like
this:

/join #aimchan-USERNAME

Notice how all names on your Buddy List are prefaced with "AIM-" so
whenever you want to message a person on your Buddy List, type:

/msg AIM-USERNAME Your message blha blah blah

Yes, it is a pain, but it works. The nice thing is that you can
join an AIM chat room which will remove the need to specify who you
are trying to message. There are other commands linked to this guide,
but this is enough to get you started.


End of Document

← previous
next →
loading
sending ...
New to Neperos ? Sign Up for free
download Neperos from Google Play

Let's discover also

Recent Articles

Recent Comments

Neperos cookies
This website uses cookies to store your preferences and improve the service. Cookies authorization will allow me and / or my partners to process personal data such as browsing behaviour.

By pressing OK you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge the Privacy Policy

By pressing REJECT you will be able to continue to use Neperos (like read articles or write comments) but some important cookies will not be set. This may affect certain features and functions of the platform.
OK
REJECT