*NOTE: The Go ftp archive site at IGS has changed An introduction to the game of Go can be found at: http://igs.joyjoy.net/English/learning_go/learning_go_1.html gGo, a great new Java client for IGS. Works with PC Windows, UNIX/Linux, and Apple Macintosh OS X. A new version was released in March, 2003 For more information visit http://panda-igs.joyjoy.net/java/gGo/intro.html An updated version of this document can be found at: http://igs.joyjoy.net/English/sintro1.html A Brief Introduction to the Internet Go Server http://igs.joyjoy.net/English/content.html Welcome to IGS Panda Net, the Internet Go Server, the world's leading forum for playing, watching, studying, and enjoying the game of Go on the internet. At any time, day or night, you can find hundreds of other players from all over the world and of all playing levels, from beginners to professionals. Whatever your ability, you can find opponents of similar skill to play with, and IGS provides access to the interface software to create a realistic Go board on your computer screen. IGS broadcasts live the championship matches for top professional events, including the Meijin, Honinbo, Kisei, Judan and Tengen titles and the Ricoh Cup professional pairs tournament - and daily you can watch professionals playing informal quick games with each other and with top amateurs. IGS has recently expanded its offerings for Go enthusiasts. Professional commentaries on randomly selected amateur games played on IGS are presented in the month IGS Panda Net Mail Magazine. http://igs.joyjoy.net/English/magazine.html The IGS Art Gallery (http://igs.joyjoy.net/English/galleryintro.html), features a rare and beautiful collection of classical Japanese and Chinese paintings containing Go themes. And there is a collection of challenging life-and-death (http://igs.joyjoy.net/English/tsumego/tsumegointro.html) exercises to sharpen your skill. This is a short file to help you get started on IGS. For additional information, look around the IGS Panda Net home site: http://igs.joyjoy.net/English/ Here are some hints on how to get going on IGS: 1. Where is IGS right now? 2. What do I do now? (a summary of some important commands) 3. What is the rating system? How does it work? 4. Are there clients for IGS? 5. What is IGS like? 6. IGS games archives 1. Where is IGS right now? Currently, IGS is physically located in Tokyo, Japan. TO CONNECT TO IGS, use the telnet program: telnet igs.joyjoy.net 6969 or telnet 210.146.253.13 6969 Sometimes there could be problems trying to reach IGS by using telnet igs.joyjoy.net 6969, so we suggest you use the IP address instead. telnet 210.146.253.13 6969 ** We recommend using the IP numbers 210.146.253.13 6969 instead of the the 'symbolic' (name address) igs.joyjoy.net 6969. If you are using a VMS system, use: telnet igs.joyjoy.net /port=6969 or telnet 210.146.253.13 /port=6969 or telnet /port=6969 igs.joyjoy.net telnet /port=6969 210.146.253.13 ALTERNATE IGS PORT NUMBER (7777) Some sites have blocked the telnet port number 6969 due to heavy IRC use, and some IGS players have been unable to telnet to IGS as a result. However, there is an alternate IGS port number. If you are experiencing problems, try port number 7777 telnet igs.joyjoy.net 7777 or telnet 210.146.253.13 7777 VMS systems: telnet igs.joyjoy.net /port=7777 or telnet 210.146.253.13 /port=7777 or telnet /port=7777 igs.joyjoy.net telnet /port=7777 210.146.253.13 Important Note: Remember to use the port number. Without the port number, you _cannot_ connect to IGS. Some systems use a menu system, and the port selection may be separate from the telnet address igs.joyjoy.net Choose the port number separately if this is the case. ** You can also use a 'client' program to connect to IGS. See section 4 2. So what do I do now? You can log in to the IGS game server as a guest and watch games, read documentation, and use a few commands, but to experience the full benefit of IGS you need to register an account. If you wish to register an account, please visit the registration URL located at: http://igs.joyjoy.net If you made no errors when entering your email address, you will receive your registration letter in a few seconds or a few hours. This letter will will contain the name you chose, your password, and other information whose use will become apparent later. Please save this letter for reference. The registration letter also contains important information on the IGS policies and usage agreement. Please read it carefully. If you do not receive your registration letter, then your registration failed. Simply register again. Please do not send email to IGS asking them to register an account for you. All users must register themselves. After you receive your registration letter, log in to IGS with your new account. All the IGS commands should be available to you, but if not, it probably means you entered IGS as a guest account. From this point you will be treated as a guest account with limited use. Only registered accounts have full IGS usage. If you have connected to IGS successfully via the port number, you will see the following IGS _login_ message, and at the bottom of it you will see the 'Login' prompt. ----- Escape character is '^]'. Welcome to IGS at igs.joyjoy.net 6969 (9.0) Copyright(c) 1992-2002 PANDA NET Inc. @@ @@@@ @@ @@@ There is no expectation of privacy @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@ @@@ on this server. @@@@@ @@ @@@ @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@@ @@ @@ @@@ @@ There is no warranty, implied or @@ @@@@@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ expressed, provided with this @@ @@@@@@@@ @@ @@ @ @@@@@ software. @@ @ @@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@ Please let us know what you think: @@ @@@@ @@ @@@@@@ @@@ @@ igs-adm@panda-igs.joyjoy.net @@ @@@@@ @@ @@@@@@ @ @ @@ @@ @ @@@ @@ @@ @@@ @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@ @@@ @ @@ If you are new to the server, you @@@@@@@@ @@ @@ @@@@@ @@@@@@ need to type 'guest' at the Login: @@ @ @ @@ @@@@@@ @@@ @@ prompt. You will be given a guest @@ @ @@ @@ @ @@ @@ @ @@@@@@@@@ account. @@ @ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@@@@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @@ @@@ To register, please visit the IGS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@ @@@ @ home page located at: @@@@@@@@@@ @@@ @@ @@@ @@@@ http://igs.joyjoy.net @@ @@@ @@ @@ @@@@ @ @@ @@ @@ @@@ Online help is available after you @@ @ @@ @@ enter IGS. For help, enter: help Login: ----- You will know that you failed to reach IGS if you did not see the above IGS _login_ message. This could be because you somehow did not include the port number. If you see something like the following message instead of the IGS _login_ message then you will know that you did not reach IGS: ----- Trying 210.146.253..... Connected to igs.joyjoy.net. Escape character is '^]'. These are not the droids you are looking for. If you want to use the Internet Go Server, try: telnet igs.joyjoy.net 6969 Connection closed by foreign host. ----- If you see the above, instead of the IGS _login_ prompt, it means you failed to reach IGS because the port number was not used, and there is no way for you to connect to IGS from this point. Try again and be sure to use the port number. If you are new to IGS, two really useful reference commands are: help and help commands "help commands" will give you a list of commands, and you can get help on any of them. Here are a few to check out: * password - Use this to change your password from the random one that you had originally. * rank - This command allows you to set your rank. The one you set before your first game is your seed rank, for rating purposes. If you have never played Go before, start with 30k. * match - This command allows you to ask for a game. A brief note here: It is generally good IGS etiquette to ask for a game via "tell" (see below) before issuing the match command. This is also superior to shouting for a game. ** NOTE: Not all players on IGS speak or understand English. Therefore many non-English players do not ask for a game, and instead they will simply send you a game request without asking. Please be aware of this fact and do not become upset if you receive random game requests. Some Asian software programs will send automatic responses in English to specific questions, statements, and situations, but this does not mean the person speaks English. * tell - use "tell " to talk to another person. Example: tell goplayer hello * who - This lets you see who is logged on, their ranks, and whether they are playing, looking for a game, open to the possibility of playing, or not interested in playing. * user - This is similar to "who" but tells you the country of the people listed, and their preferred language, if it isn't English. * stats - with no parameters, gives your own stats. stats to get someone else's stats. * games - Lists the games being played. * observe - observe allows you to watch and kibitz a game * kibitz - kibitz , or ' , makes a comment while observing a game. Example: kibitz interesting move A quick etiquette note: When kibitzing on a game, limit your comments to the game. For information on a chat channel, do "help yell". A further note: When commenting on high Dan, or professional games, employ some courtesy and discretion. IGS is fortunate that it attracts so many strong players and pros, and criticizing a pro's play in a rude fashion, or questioning his (or her) strength is no way to encourage any of them to return. Please remember to eliminate personal comments about the player, as it is simply rude. Also, recall that many pros do not speak English as a first language, so extra care should be taken with the tone of kibitzes. * info - info allows you to put anything in your info field. Your name, a serious message, a silly message... whatever. * toggle - There are various flags to be set on your account. Do a help toggle to see an explanation of them. * shout - use shout to send message to all of IGS. Use this sparingly, for things you really need help with. 3. What is the rating system? How does it work? As I said before, the rank command allows you to set your initial rank in the IGS rating system. Until you have played 20 games, that number will appear as your rank when people "stats" you, or look at you in the "who" output. After 20 games, your computer generated rating will appear there. It will look like 15k* (for example). You should be aware that the ratings on IGS are about 2-3 stones stonger than most other rating systems. The ratings are generated by a computer algorithm, and are different than most club rating in this way. It might help not to think of the IGS rating in the same way you think of your "real world" rating. IGS ratings are unique, and measure something that is slightly different than your normal Go strength. Some people don't take the Go on IGS as seriously as they do normally, they might have a or glass of wine while they are playing. These people are typically a stone so weaker on IGS. Some, on the other hand, take IGS very seriously, and find that they play better when they are away from the distrations of a Go club, alone by their computers. These players might be stronger on IGS. The purpose of the ratings on IGS is to ensure that it is easy to find the appropriate handicap when you play others. Don't take them too seriously. For more detailed information on the rating system, do "help rating" on IGS. 4. Are there any clients for IGS? You've discovered that you don't like watching the ascii boards scroll by, and you want something better. Well, thanks to some great programmers donating their time, there are many options. Try using a client program with IGS. All of the clients are available for anonymous ftp on ftp-igs.joyjoy.net in the directory Go/igs_clients. To get a client use ftp from your shell, a Web browser, or use a ftp program. 1) From a shell: ftp ftp-igs.joyjoy.net login as: anonymous password: Use your email address as the password client directory: cd Go/igs_clients 2) From a Web browser: ftp://ftp-igs.joyjoy.net/Go/igs_clients If you are using a PC, we recommend the 'Panda Egg', which is a client with a graphic interface for IGS. The 'Panda Egg' comes in four language versions, English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. ftp://ftp-igs.joyjoy.net/Go/igs_clients/PC/ If you are using UNIX or Linux, we recommend 'xgospel'. ftp://ftp-igs.joyjoy.net/Go/igs_clients/UNIX/ If you are using a Macintosh, try 'goservant' or 'macgo'. ftp://ftp-igs.joyjoy.net/Go/igs_clients/Macintosh/ A few notes on compiling clients and getting help: There is a set of instructions on unpacking the files on the ftp server in the top directory. Most of the clients have README files with them, plus some decent documentation. Read them! If this is not enough, message the *person that wrote the client*. DON'T ask the IGS administrators. They have NOTHING to do with writing the clients. If you use a client, you will be in the 'client mode', and should you telnet to IGS without the client, you may find your prompt has changed and looks like: 1 1 or 1 5 Don't panic if you don't see your familiar prompt, just complete your login enter your password, then enter toggle client Also you may start seeing coordinates of moves if you observe a game instead the usual board. If this happens, just enter toggle verbose On IGS, see help toggle 5. What is IGS like? IGS has some obvious, and some not so obvious differences from the normal Go club you might be familiar with. The most obvious difference is that you don't see your opponents, who are likely very far from where you are. IGS has players who log in regularly from all over the world, from Australia to Finaland, and all points in between. With so many different cultures on IGS, there are some occasional conflicts. Although English is generally the language of the internet, many people on IGS are not fluent in it. Try to avoid saying things that can be misunderstood as insulting. It is important to be careful when you deal with people who can't see you smile, and can't tell by your tone of voice when you are joking. Most problems that stem from misunderstandings can be solved by concentrating on being polite. Remember that the person you are talking to could be an 8 year old girl in Germany, a well respected 50 year old man in Korea, or even a computer program running on a machine in California, USA. Go is becoming more and more a truly international game. If you are polite and considerate, you will develop friendships with people all over the world! Often people will have problems with their connections to IGS, try to be patient with them if they do, and warn prospective opponents if you have a bad connection. 6. IGS game archives Some IGS games are archived and are available by anonymous ftp at: ftp-igs.joyjoy.net or 210.146.253.25 If you have any other questions, feel free to ask people on IGS. You will be surprised how friendly and helpful the typical IGSer is. Good luck! A quick thanks to the administrators who got IGS going, and keep IGS going. Also thanks to the client writers! One more note: Ken Warkentyne, Olli Lounella, and Frederic Chauveau have written an excellent piece on IGS etiquette. It is available from the IGS archive site. It is highly recommended. Everyone enjoys IGS more when people adhere to simple rules of etiquette. This FAQ was the creation of rjs, who bequeathed it to angus. It was updated and expanded, then maintained by angus for a couple of years. Please send corrections or suggestions for changes to tweet@panda-igs.joyjoy.net. That's it for now. See you on IGS! Last update: 2003 March 19