Step 1. This "How-to" Assumes that you are computer literate and can fill in the obvious logical blanks,
in other words this is a simple guide for computer geeks and not for the Novice computer users.

Step 2. Obtain MIRC program from: http://www.mirc.com  (Not that big, a little over 1 MB)

Step 3. When you initially configure MIRC Chat please pick fictitious names and emails for your own protection. There are many wierd people in the world and you do not want to be stalked by some freak out there. Please be aware that just because you do pick a fictitious name does not mean that other people won't know who you are. You can be "ping'd" which will give others your IP Address, or "Whois" can give other information about your username. In other words don't do anything Illegal or you can get caught.

Step 4. Obtain Popular server names. If you can't find any you can always just connect to a random server from MIRC.

Step 5. Simple commands and connection methods:

Step 6. READ READ READ THE FOLLOWING

To connect to a server you simply go to the status window of MIRC and type: /server infront of the server name,
example: /server irc.fastlane.net    Then simply press enter.

Other commands are pretty much automated into the MIRC Software or once you are in a specific channel you can simply type: help ,and it will give a list of help commands that are used in that specific room.

To see a list of the available channels simply type: /list from the status window of MIRC, or if you wish to create your own
chat room you can simply click on the channel folder and create your own room or join an existing room if you know the name.

LIST CHANNELS - other choice - for file transferring
The other choice is to click on the list channels icon, type a keyword in match type, click on apply, click on ok.

Once you get a list of channels, you double click on the channel you desire.
Many Channels that share pictures/files have triggers set up, they are usually advertised within the channel and are indicated
by a "!" mark before the word. (Example: !hello)

So if you see !hello, simply highlight !hello (which is the same as copy), then click on command line at bottom of the channel window, then click Ctrl-V which as you know is paste, then press enter.

If there is an available slot you will be prompted to chat. At that point you simply click on yes or no. If you click on yes you will be shown a list of directories or files.
These Chat servers primarily work with basic unix commands such as:

ls=list
dir=directory
get=get file
read=read file
cd=change directory
cd .. = go back one directory

This information is enough to get you going on mirc. You should search the web for pages on IRC etiquet because if you type
the wrong thing you may find yourself banned from many channels. Example: Do not type in all capital letters - This is like screaming to the person you are chatting with.

You should also try to learn the lingo. MIRC users are sometimes suspicious of anyone and if you don't know the lingo you will get kicked off a channel or ignored. LEARN THE LINGO.

I will be creating a basic tutorial on fserve(File Server) very soon so please check back.
For the MIRC Impaired: fserve = you can use MIRC as a file server (Be careful with this if you decide to do it on your own before I post the tutorial).