9.2.2. How Does It Work?
IRC works through a distributed network of servers that relay messages back and forth between connected clientshence the name Internet Relay Chat . The XChat program is one of many IRC clients available in Fedora; others include mozilla-chat , EPIC, Irssi, ninja , Konversation, and the multiprotocol clients Gaim and naim .
The FreeNode network is a small, high-capacity IRC network operated by the Peer-Directed Projects Center (PDPC) in support of peer-directed projects, including many open source projects. Most of the FreeNode staff are volunteers.
9.2.3. What About...
9.2.3.1. ...saving an IRC discussion?
There are two ways to save a discussion in XChat: you can enable logging, which automatically logs all discussion on all channels, or you can save text, which performs a one-time save of the current text (300 lines by default) in the current topic:
To enable logging, select Edit→Preferences to expose the preferences window shown in Figure 9-5. In that window, select the Chatting→Logging category (on the left side), and then select the checkbox labeled "Enable logging of conversations."
Figure 9-5. XChat preferences window
The logfiles are in plain-text format and are stored in ~/.xchat2/xchatlogs , with one log per network/channel combination:
$ cd ~/.xchat2/xchatlogs
$ ls
FreeNode (formerly OpenProjects.net)-##fedora-join-instructions.log
FreeNode (formerly OpenProjects.net)-#fedora.log
FreeNode (formerly OpenProjects.net)-freenode (formerly openprojects.net).log
To save the current text in the current channel, use the menu option Window→Save Text.
Since each log filename contains special characters and spaces, you will need to quote the filename when using it in a command:
$ grep ctyler "FreeNode (formerly OpenProjects.net)-#fedora.log"
9.2.3.2. ...other ways of accessing IRC?
From time to time, you may want to connect to IRC from a computer that does not have an IRC client when you don't have administrative permission to install oneat a friend's house or a library, for example.
The ChatZilla extension to Firefox offers a chat client that runs within the Firefox browser. Since some systems permit users to install extensions without superuser privilege, you may be able to use this approach. Within Firefox, select Tools→Extensions to bring up the Extensions window, and then click the Get More Extensions link in the corner of that window to go to the Firefox Extensions web site. Browse to or search to find the ChatZilla extension, the click the Install Now button. Confirm the installation on the dialog that appears; when the extension has finished installing, restart Firefox, then click Tools→ChatZilla.
The other option is to use a webchat client through your web browser. Web sites offering webchat clients come and go; a few minutes of searching with Google will find several, but you will need to examine them individually to see if they support connecting to the FreeNode network (where the Fedora channels are hosted).
9.2.4. Where Can I Learn More?
The Fedora Project communication page can be found at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate
The XChat home page: http://xchat.org/
General information about IRC: http://www.irchelp.org/
9.3. Using Bugzilla
Fedora consists of thousands of packages, with complex interactions between the packages. To keep track of bugs and problem reports, Fedora uses the Bugzilla bug-tracking database. You can directly query this database to get information about past and present issues, to submit bug reports of your own, and to add information to existing bug reports.
9.3.1. How Do I Do That?
You can access the Fedora Bugzilla system with a web browser by visiting http://bugzilla.redhat.com .
Figure 9-6 shows the main Bugzilla page, on which you will find a Quick Seach field. There, you can enter a bug number that you have heard mentioned elsewhere, or you can enter some keywords related to an issue or bug.
Figure 9-6. Bugzilla main page
In the Bugzilla system, the word bug is used loosely; any issue, patch, enhancement request, or trouble report is called a bug.
The Query tab provides a more precise way of searching, as shown in Figure 9-7 . Using that interface, you can narrow your search to a specific package in a particular version of Fedora Core or Fedora Extras. For options that are even more detailed, click on the Advanced tab.
Figure 9-7. Bugzilla query page
Your query will yield a list of matching bugs with their summaries, as shown in Figure 9-8 . Clicking on a bug number will display a detailed description of the bug, as in Figure 9-9. The description includes the product, version, and package information, plus a detailed text description of the bug. Additional comments may be added by the originator of the report, the maintainer of the package in question, or any other registered user of Bugzilla.
Figure 9-8. Query results
Figure 9-9. Bug detail page
If your query produces no matches, Bugzilla will helpfully inform you that "Zarro boogs" were found.
9.3.1.1. Creating a Bugzilla account
In order to add to the comments on existing bugs or to report new bugs, you must have a Bugzilla account. To create an account, click the New Account link in the upper-right corner of the page, and then enter your email address and your full name.
You may want to use a disposable email address because the address will be made public (see Lab 7.6, "Configuring the sendmail Server," for more on disposable email addresses).
Bugzilla will send you an email containing a temporary password:
From: bugzilla@redhat.com
To: jdoe@fedorabook.com
Subject: Your Bugzilla password.
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 05:37:36 -0400
To use the wonders of Bugzilla, you can use the following:
E-mail address: jdoe@fedorabook.com
Password: J8sCuid79D
To change your password, go to:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/userprefs.cgi
Follow the link in the email to set your password to a sane value. When you revisit Bugzilla, you can log in to your account using your email address and password.