1 [[!meta title="Using Zephyr (a.k.a. Zephyr For Dummies)"]]
3 <!-- For information on the archaic way of using Zephyr, see TraditionalZephyr.-->
5 ## Introduction to Zephyr
7 Zephyr is a general purpose chat system for MIT.
9 People use it to exchange information about classes, how their days are
10 going, and talk on Zephyr classes and instances about everything
11 from the latest episode of Game of Thrones to the next 18.03
14 Zephyr is an underlying chat system; the built-in tools for exchanging messages via Zephyr are rudimentary. Most people who use Zephyr today take advantage of integrated clients that make the system easy to use.
16 Here are [[detailed instructions for getting onto Zephyr.|doc/zephyr-quick]]
20 Here are some of the primary clients used at MIT. There's also a listing of [other Zephyr clients](http://zephyr.1ts.org/wiki/ZephyrClients), but their use is generally not recommended.
24 [BarnOwl](https://barnowl.mit.edu/) is a command-line Zephyr client that supports advanced filtering and customisation. It is probably the most commonly used client, but requires some effort to get started. To use BarnOwl effectively, you should connect to an [Athena dialup](https://web.mit.edu/dialup/www/ssh.html) and run BarnOwl along with a program to renew your Kerberos tickets. The Athena command `athrun sipb pag-screen` will set up ticket renewal, and `athrun barnowl` after that will run BarnOwl itself.
26 In addition to primarily supporting Zephyr, BarnOwl also lets you connect to [AIM](https://aim.com), [XMPP/Jabber](https://xmpp.org/) (Google Talk, Facebook, etc.), [Twitter](https://twitter.com), and IRC networks.
28 See [Getting Started with BarnOwl](https://barnowl.mit.edu/wiki/GettingStarted) for more information.
32 [Roost](https://roost.mit.edu/) is a graphical Zephyr client built by [David Benjamin](https://davidben.net/) (MIT '12, SIPB member) as part of his [master's thesis](https://davidben.net/thesis.pdf). It is relatively new and currently considered experimental by its author.
34 Roost makes use of [Webathena](https://webathena.mit.edu/) to keep you subscribed to Zephyr. This makes for a much easier setup.
39 [Zulip](https://zulipchat.com/zephyr) ([source code](https://github.com/zulip/zulip)) is a web-based Zephyr client that also provides [mobile apps](https://zephyr.zulipchat.com/apps) for Android and iOS and desktop apps for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Zulip was originally a proprietary product developed by a company composed largely of MIT alums and SIPB members. It was acquired by [Dropbox](https://www.dropbox.com/about) in 2014, and [released as open-source software](https://blogs.dropbox.com/tech/2015/09/open-sourcing-zulip-a-dropbox-hack-week-project/) a year later. The Zulip for Zephyr service is offered by [Tim Abbott](https://web.mit.edu/tabbott/www/) (MIT '06, SIPB member)'s Kandra Labs.
41 Zulip, like Roost, is easy to set up because it uses Webathena for authentication.
43 See [Zulip for MIT setup](https://zulipchat.com/zephyr) for details.
45 <!-- merge to http://zephyr.1ts.org/wiki/ZephyrClients (I would do this, except I can't log in…)
49 There are other clients besides the above, but their use is not
50 nearly as widespread. Some of these include:
52 * Owl (unmaintained, BarnOwl evolved from this)
54 * zwgc (see TraditionalZephyr)
56 * zephyr-mode for emacs
57 * [ZephyrPlus web client](https://zephyrplus.mit.edu)
63 ### Classes and Instances
65 Generally the most interesting discussion on Zephyr happens
66 on so-called Zephyr <em>classes</em>. A class is a bit like a chat
67 room in other IM systems. Anyone can send a zephyr to a class, and
68 anyone who is subscribed to that class will receive it. There is no
69 security on classes — anyone who knows the name of a class can
70 subscribe, and there is no way to determine who is subscribed to a
71 given class. (For secure or private zephyring, consider [[zcrypt]].)
73 To subscribe to a class, use the subscribe command:
75 :subscribe CLASSNAME * *
77 To send a zephyr to a class, use the zwrite command with the -c option:
81 Zephyrs to classes usually have an instance attached. An instance is a
82 short “topic” or “subject” that indicates the
83 context of a zephyr. Different instances are often used to multiplex
84 multiple conversations on a high-traffic class. You can specify an
85 instance with the -i option to zwrite:
87 :zwrite -c CLASSNAME -i INSTANCE
89 A message without an instance specified will default to the instance
90 “personal”.
92 You can send zephyrs to individuals (as opposed to classes) with:
96 It is possible to `zwrite` to multiple individuals at once, by listing the
97 usernames separated by spaces:
99 :zwrite -C USERONE USERTWO USERTHREE
101 The `-C` option automatically puts the line `CC: USERONE USERTWO USERTHREE`
102 in the body of the zephyr,
103 although this is only a convention and is not required or enforced.
105 ### Aside: zephyr triplets
107 All messages are actually sent to a "zephyr triplet" — a class, instance, and recipient. Subscriptions are also made to zephyr triplets. The recipient can be either "*" — to indicate a broadcast message — or a specific individual.
109 When sending, the default class is "message", instance is "personal", and recipient is "*". `zwrite` supports sending to arbitrary triples with `:zwrite -c CLASS -i INSTANCE USERNAME` — the two examples above use the defaults for the parts that aren't specified.
111 For subscriptions, the class must be specified. You can specify all instances on a class with "\*", or specify just one instance. You can only sub to recipient "\*" or your own personals (indicated by "%me%").)
115 Some common classes include:
117 <strong>help</strong>:
118 > -c help is a class for asking (and answering) questions on virtually
119 > any topic imaginable. Be sure to use an instance (such as
120 > “linux”, “barnowl”, “campus”, or
121 > so on) when asking questions, since it's a fairly high-traffic
124 <strong>sipb</strong>:
125 > -c sipb is where most SIPB members hang out. It's a place for
126 > technical discussion, questions, support, and organizing SIPB events
127 > or projects. You should also always use an instance when sending to
130 <strong>Personal Classes</strong>:
131 > By convention, nearly every Zephyr user has a "personal" class that
132 > is the same as their username. How this class is used varies from
133 > person to person, but it's often a sort of mini-blog, a place to
134 > report what one is working on or up to, or ask friends questions, or
135 > just rant about something.
137 <strong>hello</strong>:
138 > -c hello is for introducing yourself to the Zephyrsphere!
139 > Send a zephyr to `-c hello -i YOUR_USERNAME` to let people
140 > know you're a Zephyr user! This is a way to find out who else you know
141 > uses Zephyr so you can subscribe to their class, and to get to know
142 > new people through Zephyr. Also, feel free to invite others to
143 > subscribe to your class!
145 <strong>unclasses</strong>:
146 > Most classes have an unclass, formed by prefixing "un" to the name. For
147 > example, -c help has the unclass -c unhelp. The unclass is generally used for
148 > snarky or unproductive replies; the prototypical example that first inspired
149 > their creation was telling somebody with computer issues to run
150 > `sudo rm -rf /`. Rarely, un- prefixes are stacked for even snarkier
151 > discussion, on -c ununhelp and so on.
153 <strong>.d classes</strong>:
154 > Classes like -c help.d are sometimes used for discussions that deviate from
155 > the conversation on the main class. .d instances are more common, though;
160 If you spend enough time on Zephyr, you'll begin noticing some strange
161 phrases and words being thrown around. Some of these include:
163 <strong>i,i foo</strong>:
164 > USENET saying picked up from CMU zephyrland that expands to "I have no point here, I
165 > just like saying:". Sometimes people use
166 > [scare quotes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes) (e.g. `"foo"`)
167 > for similar purposes.
169 <strong>mix</strong>:
170 > If somebody accidentally sends a Zephyr to the wrong class or
171 > person, they will send another Zephyr to that wrong/class person
172 > simply saying "mix". This basically just means, "oops, sorry, I
173 > didn't mean to send that Zephyr here". You might also see "-i mix",
174 > which is the same thing, only with instances. The specific invocation "unmix"
175 > is used when accidentally sending a Zephyr to a class instead of its unclass
178 <strong>to Stark</strong>:
179 > To answer a question or replying to a topic to a topic several hours
180 > (or days, occasionally) later. The term originates from Greg Stark,
181 > who would often reply to zephyrs hours or occasionally days later
182 > without seeing if anyone had answered yet, or worse, if the instance
183 > had moved on to an entirely different topic.
186 > You may see an instance change from `-i foo` to `-i foo.d`. This
187 > indicates a deviation or tangent from the the original topic.
190 > Similarly, `.q` at the end of an instance name indicates a quote.
192 <strong>ttants</strong>:
193 > Literally, "Things That Are Not The Same". When the things are people,
194 > <strong>pwants</strong> for "People Who Are Not The Same" may be used.
196 <strong>prnf</strong>:
197 > Literally, "Pseudo-Random Neuron Firing".
199 <strong>eiz</strong> or <strong>eip</strong> or <strong>else</strong>:
200 > Instances used to comment on discussions on other classes in Zephyr without
201 > linking to the original source for reasons of privacy or discretion. "eiz"
202 > means "Elsewhere in Zephyr", "eip" means "Elsewhere in Personals".
204 <strong>eiw</strong>:
205 > "Elsewhere in Webspace": instance used to comment on events on the Internet beyond Zephyr (like, say, on another messaging service).
207 <strong>eim</strong>:
208 > "Elsewhere in Meatspace": instance used to comment on events not on Zephyr.
210 <strong>doxp</strong>:
211 > "Do X predicate", from Lisp naming convention. A discussion on whether one
213 > A common variation is "doxory", literally "Do X or Y".
215 Many of the acronyms may be suffixed onto normal instance topics with a period
216 to indicate relation. There are many other acronyms that are used; if you don't
217 know what it means, try using the `whats foo` command at an Athena terminal. If
218 you don't have the command, run `add sipb` first. Alternatively, running the
219 single command `athrun sipb whats foo` works as well.
223 There are rules that people tend to use on Zephyr. These include:
225 Good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Not everybody uses
226 capitalization, but they will still use good English. Please do not say
227 things such as "hey wut r u up to???".
229 You don't need multiple question marks or exclamation points. Usually.
231 There are a few abbreviations people use, such as YMMV (Your Mileage May
232 Vary) or IIRC (If I Remember Correctly), as well as some nerdier ones
233 like DTRT (Do The Right Thing, in reference to
234 [ The Rise of "Worse Is
235 Better"](https://www.jwz.org/doc/worse-is-better.html)).
236 As mentioned above, try running `athrun sipb whats dtrt` to look up an
239 Personal classes are by convention considered a little more private than
240 non-personal (public) classes. Although most people don't mind people
241 they've met subscribing to their personal class and lurking, it's poor
242 form to talk loudly on the personal class of someone you don't know.
245 ## Interaction with Traditional Zephyr
247 The default Athena startup scripts launch `zwgc` on login. `zwgc` displays a popup for each message, so if you are subscribed to many classes and use Zephyr as many do today, `zwgc`'s behavior is not very desirable. To disable `zwgc` startup, add:
249 setenv ZEPHYR_CLIENT false
251 to your `~/.environment` file if you use `tcsh` or
255 to your `~/.bash_environment` if you use `bash`. This will cause your
256 shell to launch the `false` executable instead of `zwgc`, thereby disabling it ('false' does nothing).