[[!meta title="Using Zephyr (a.k.a. Zephyr For Dummies)"]] ## Introduction to Zephyr Zephyr is a general purpose chat system for MIT. People use it to exchange information about classes, how their days are going, and talk on Zephyr classes and instances about everything from the latest episode of Game of Thrones to the next 18.03 problem set. 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. ## Major clients 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. ### BarnOwl [BarnOwl](http://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](http://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. In addition to primarily supporting Zephyr, BarnOwl also lets you connect to [AIM](http://aim.com), [XMPP/Jabber](http://xmpp.org/) (Google Talk, Facebook, etc.), [Twitter](http://twitter.com), and IRC networks. See [Getting Started with BarnOwl](http://barnowl.mit.edu/wiki/GettingStarted) for more information. ### Roost [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. Roost makes use of [Webathena](https://webathena.mit.edu/) to keep you subscribed to Zephyr. This makes for a much easier setup. ### Zulip [Zulip](https://zulip.com/zephyr) is a web-based Zephyr client that also provides [mobile apps](https://zephyr.zulip.com/apps) for Android and iOS and desktop apps for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Zulip is developed by a company composed largely of MIT alums and SIPB members. Zulip, like Roost, is easy to set up because it uses Webathena for authentication. See [Zulip for MIT setup](http://zulip.com/zephyr) for details. ## Culture ### Classes and Instances Generally the most interesting discussion on Zephyr happens on so-called Zephyr classes. A class is a bit like a chat room in other IM systems. Anyone can send a zephyr to a class, and anyone who is subscribed to that class will receive it. There is no security on classes -- anyone who knows the name of a class can subscribe, and there is no way to determine who is subscribed to a given class. To subscribe to a class, use the subscribe command: :subscribe CLASSNAME * * To send a zephyr to a class, use the zwrite command with the -c option: :zwrite -c CLASSNAME Zephyrs to classes usually have an instance attached. An instance is a short “topic” or “subject” that indicates the context of a zephyr. Different instances are often used to multiplex multiple conversations on a high-traffic class. You can specify an instance with the -i option to zwrite: :zwrite -c CLASSNAME -i INSTANCE A message without an instance specified will default to the instance “personal”. You can send zephyrs to individuals (as opposed to classes) with: :zwrite USERNAME ### Aside: zephyr triplets 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. 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. 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%").) ### Common classes Some common classes include: help: > -c help is a class for asking (and answering) questions on virtually > any topic imaginable. Be sure to use an instance (such as > “linux”, “barnowl”, “campus”, or > so on) when asking questions, since it's a fairly high-traffic > class. sipb: > -c sipb is where most SIPB members hang out. It's a place for > technical discussion, questions, support, and organizing SIPB events > or projects. You should also always use an instance when sending to > -c sipb. Personal Classes: > By convention, nearly every Zephyr user has a "personal" class that > is the same as their username. How this class is used varies from > person to person, but it's often a sort of mini-blog, a place to > report what one is working on or up to, or ask friends questions, or > just rant about something. ### Zephyr Slang If you spend enough time on Zephyr, you'll begin noticing some strange phrases and words being thrown around. Some of these include: i,i foo: > picked up from CMU zephyrland and means "I have no point here, I > just like saying:". Sometimes people simply use quotes: `"foo"`. mix: > If somebody accidentally sends a Zephyr to the wrong class or > person, they will send another Zephyr to that wrong/class person > simply saying "mix". This basically just means, "oops, sorry, I > didn't mean to send that Zephyr here". You might also see "-i mix", > which is the same thing, only with instances. .d: > You may see an instance change from `-i foo` to `-i foo.d`. This > indicates a deviation or tangent from the the original topic. starking: > Answering a question or replying to a topic to a topic several hours > (or days, occasionally) later. The term originates from Greg Stark, > who would often reply to zephyrs hours or occasionally days later > without seeing if anyone had answered yet, or worse, if the instance > had moved on to an entirely different topic. ttants: > Literally, "Things That Are Not The Same". prnf: > Literally, "Pseudo-Random Neuron Firings". There are many other acronyms that are used; if you don't know what it means, try using the `whats foo` command at an Athena terminal. If you don't have the command, run `add sipb` first. ### Zephyr Etiquette There are rules that people tend to use on Zephyr. These include: Good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Not everybody uses capitalization, but they will still use good English. Please do not say things such as "hey wut r u up to???". It makes you look like an idiot. Really. You don't need multiple question marks or exclamation points. Usually. There are a few abbreviations people use, such as YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) or IIRC (If I Remember Correctly), as well as some nerdier ones like DTRT (Do The Right Thing, in reference to [ The Rise of "Worse Is Better"](http://www.jwz.org/doc/worse-is-better.html)). Try running `add sipb; whats dtrt` to look up an abbreviation. Common abbreviations that you might find on AIM, however, are not often used. People tend to look down upon "lol", "rofl", and such. Personal classes are by convention considered a little more private than non-personal (public) classes. Although most people don't mind people they've met subscribing to their personal class and lurking, it's poor form to talk loudly on the personal class of someone you don't know. ## Interaction with Traditional Zephyr 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: setenv ZEPHYR_CLIENT false to your `~/.environment` file if you use `tcsh` or ZEPHYR_CLIENT=false to your `~/.bash_environment` if you use `bash`. This will cause your shell to launch the `false` executable instead of `zwgc`, thereby disabling it ('false' does nothing).