[GLLUG] Emacs IRC Client Trouble

[Marr]

Hey all,

I'm trying to coordinate with a fellow Linux kernel module hacker to get a 
permanent fix for a long-broken kernel module into the next kernel release. 
He wants to use IRC to coordinate our efforts. Unfortunately, despite many 
years of computer hacking (the good kind!), I'm a total noob at IRC.

Based on a discussion with fellow Emacs enthusiast Patrick (Hawkins, I think) 
at a GLLUG meeting well over a year ago, I decided to run the Emacs IRC 
client known as 'erc'.

The 'erc' installation is trivial (unlike web-based 'Google Talk', which 
wanted me to install Adobe Flash 9 -- no thanks).

Unfortunately, when I run 'erc' from within Emacs, all I get is this message 
in my Emacs status line:

   irc.freenode.net:6667 name or service not known

I _can_ successfully 'ping irc.freenode.net', so I know that DNS is resolving 
it.

I played around a bit, and then Googled for that term a bit, but I cannot find 
anything to help. Of course, I *am* connected to the Internet (via dial-up) 
when I run 'erc', but it acts just like it does when I'm not connected -- 
same message. I don't think my 'iptables' firewall is blocking anything. I 
checked the Emacs 'erc' customization variables and cannot find anything that 
might help either, so I'm pretty much mystified at this point. Being a total 
noob at IRC isn't helpful, either. :^)

I'll continue to look into solutions, but thought I'd ask for some guidance 
here too.

I don't even have to use 'erc'. I'd gladly run any simple IRC client that 
won't require me to install a ton of extra junk on top of my nice Slackware 
11.0 installation. Simpler (and lower-bandwidth) is better, especially since 
I'll only be using it once.

Thanks in advance to anyone with advice!

P.S. Does anyone know when the window for Ubuntu Hardy Heron (8.04 LTS) 
closes? That is to say, "If we get our kernel module fix in by such-and-such 
date, it will be guaranteed to be included in Hardy Heron." I'm not a big 
Ubuntu user, but I just saw that this very old bug was mentioned a while ago 
on the Ubuntu forums and I'd like to get the fix in before the next release.

Regards,
Bill Marr