A Quick IGS Help File

(VERSION FRANCAISE)

Welcome to IGS, the Internet Go Server. IGS is a facility that allows many people to log on and play go, watch go, and talk about go (and occasionally other things). It generally has from 100 to 250 players signed on, from 9 dan professionals to 30 kyu beginners. We hope you get many hours of pleasure from it, but not so many that you lose your job, or drop out of school!

This is a short file to help you use IGS. For more complete information, look around the official Go archive ftp site bsdserver.ucsf.edu in the "Go" directory, and subscribe to the Go newsgroup rec.games.go. The Go archives are also mirrored at igs.nuri.net and ftp.pasteur.fr .

Here are some hints on how to get going on IGS:

  1. Where is IGS right now?

  2. What the heck 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

  7. IGS' Administrators and authors of this file



1. Where is IGS right now?


Currently, IGS is physically located in Seoul Korea:

TO CONNECT TO IGS:

If you have problems telneting to igs.nuri.net 6969,
try the 'IP' address instead, which is 203.255.112.3 6969

For VMS people:
or 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 alternet IGS port number.
If you are experiencing problems, try port number 7777


For VMS people:
or Important Note: Remember the port number. Without using the port number, you cannot connect to IGS.


2. So what the heck do I do now???


First, all 'internet' users need to register. First time users can register 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 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 stronger than those of the AGA, among others. The ratings are generated by a computer algorithm, and are different than most club ratings 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 glass of wine while they are playing. These people are typically a stone or 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 distractions 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 the server, and follow the See also: pointers.


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.

All of the clients are available for anonymous ftp on bsdserver.ucsf.edu , in the directory Go/clients, they are mirrored at; ftp.pasteur.fr:pub/Go/clients ; rzis1.rz.tu-bs.de:pub/go ; and igs.nuri.net:/Go . Also if you have access to a WWW client, try jansteen's home page at: http://www.cwi.nl/~jansteen/go/go.html

Reproduced from README on bsdserver.ucsf.edu (thanks to Adrian Mariano):

 Size   Filename             Description ----            ---------

259384  aigcsounds.lha       AmigaIGC sound effects and a player
101426  aigcutilities.lha    AmigaIGC AmigaGuide and Installer
99109   amigaigc077.lha      IGS client for Amiga
169642  gs1.40.sea.hqx       GoServant, Mac interface to IGS
1062945 haicli10.zip         Hai's client: new Windows (Win32s) IGS Go client
36597   hcpatch1.zip         Patch 1 for hai's client (program will not close)
11381   help.dos             Help with setting up tgigc or pcigc
64076   igc075.zip           IBM PC, ethernet with Clarkson packet drivers
40706   igc0751.sh.Z         Ascii client for the IGS
68220   jiango.zip           DOS client for IGS
50574   kgo11.tar.Z          X11 client for IGS
194560  kgo_vms_v11.tar      VMS version of kgo
278581  macgo.31.hqx         IGS and Mac to Mac games
427877  macgo.31.ppc.hqx     IGS and Mac to Mac games -- power mac version
533304  nextgo-NIHS.tar.Z    GO board for NeXT, IGS client, Smart-Go display
127221  pcigc51x.exe         Self extracting PC IGC version 5.1<\DD>
65136   pcigcsrc.zip         Source code for PC IGC version 5.1 (Borland C)
5264    protocol.Z           Information about IGS protocol
1284585 pw1118.exe           The Win32s files from Microsoft for Hai's client
59392   stigcbin-1.9.zoo     IGS client for Atari ST
111906  stigcsrc-1.9.zoo     IGS client source for Atari ST
153852  tgigc33.zip          Telego IGC -- EGA/VGA PC client for IGS, req mouse
166636  tgigc33x.exe         Same thing, self extracting
156697  wigc1_4.zip          Winsock client for MS-Windows
236193  winigc63.zip         Client for MS-Windows
979045  xgospel-1.10c.tar.Z  X11 client for Internet Go Server
163568  xigc_v3.91.tar.Z     X11 Client for Internet Go Server

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 it, 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 and enter your password, then enter toggle client Also you may start seeing coordinates of moves if you observe a game instead of the usual board. If this happens, just enter
toggle verbose

See help toggle on IGS.


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 on regularly from all over the world, from Australia to Finland, 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


The IGS games archives are now available by anonymous ftp at:

The IGS games archives are updated everyday at 4am, Korean time.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them on IGS. You will be surprised how friendly and helpful the typical IGSer is.

Good luck!


7. IGS' Administrators and authors of this file


A quick thanks to the administrators who got IGS going, and keep IGS going. Also thanks to the client writers!

The IGS administrators are:
artemis artemis@nuri.net
fmc fmc@pasteur.fr
tim tcasey@adobe.com
taeha taeha@nuri.net
tweet tweet@igs.nuri.net

Questions or comments on IGS should be sent to igs-adm@igs.nuri.net .



One more note: Ken Warkentyne, Olli Lounella, and Frederic Chauveau have written an excellent piece on IGS etiquette. It is available for ftp from bsdserver and the mirrors. It is highly recommended: everyone enjoys IGS more when people adhere to simple rules of etiquette.

This FAQ is a revised version of the original written by rjs, and owes a good deal to the assistance of tweet. Any errors are mine, and I would appreciate corrections or suggestions via email to angus@alcyon.com

That's it for now. See you on IGS!

Rob (rjs 16k) rjs@citi.umich.edu
Clyde (angus 7k*) angus@alcyon.com

igs-adm@igs.nuri.net