Wow! How can I become a member of HG Industries for just pennies a day?

So, you wish to become an Acolyte to our Old and Noble Order. Be warned, Pilgrim, that the way is long and hard. Many will be the bad movies that you witness, many will be the horrors that you will be asked to rank upon. The Way to True HG Enlightenment is paved with the souls of those such as Zarkoff, Francis, Honda, and Flagg. If your Heart is not True, if your Spirit does waver, turn back now, or be forever Damned to the Lesser Levels of the Riff. However, if you deem yourself worthy, read on, and seek The One True Way.

  The First Step has already been accomplished. You have found your way here, to the Sacred Place.

The Second Step is to fetch hither a IRC Client, otherwise known as a Chat Client. HG Industries suggests that Unannointed Ones get the client known as mIRC, which can be located here. Download and install the program according to the Sacred Instructions contained in the program. And, of course, register your new software, as we here at HG Industries in no way condone software piracy.

The Third Step is to prepare your software to connect to the Gathering Place of the HomeGame, which is the Chat Server called events.scifi.com. This Hallowed Location is not in the basic server listings, so we here have made your travails easier by giving you this server list for download. Simply place the downloaded file in your mIRC directory, allowing it to overwrite the server.ini already there. For those among you who hesitate to download files from Unknown Places, here are Step-by-step instructions for adding the Sacred Gathering Place to your Server File. If you choose to download and use the server.ini file, skip to part Three below.

One, open your mIRC Client. You should see a small window pop open that looks similar to this.

Full Name: The name you wish to have appear when someone does a /whois or similar command that retrieves this type of information. You can use your real name if you wish, or not. Just remember, the Information you type here is easily obtained.
E-Mail Address: Self-explanatory. You can use your real E-mail address or not. Remember, this information is as easily obtained as the Full Name you provided.
Nickname : The fake name you wish to use on an IRC Channel. Try to refrain from using characters from MST3K, as the server is already full of them.
Alternative : A variation of your chosen Nickname, in case someone is already using the name you picked.
Click "OK" to have mIRC keep this information

Five, you want to get a channel list. Click on the small globe icon as shown below.

 Channels, otherwise known as Rooms, are the individual places where the chatting actually happens. The window should resemble this, with some of the channels shown perhaps missing, others not shown perhaps present. Worry not.

Channel Name: Usually preceded with a "#". Some are a bit cryptic, as they may be based on private jokes only understood by the users of that channel.
Number of Users: That's the number you see in column 2. For instance, note that the channel known as #dominion has 12 users.
Topic: A message that usually changes a lot, this sometimes explains what goes on in a given channel. Or, it may once again be some sort of Private Joke, comment on a current News Event, remark to another channel, or just about anything. The Topic on MST-Homegame usually announces the next movie to be Riffed, with Movie Name, the TV Station it's appearing on, Day, and Time listed. You may also want to check the MST-HomeGame Page for the Time and TV Station of upcoming games, as well.
 

Now, just double-click on #MST-HomeGame (as highlighted above), turn your TV to the appropriate movie, and prepare to be tested. If you have any more mIRC-related questions, we suggest you refer to the mIRC FAQ. It should be available for download on the mIRC Home Page.

Uh, Tested? What do you mean, Tested?

Just as we said. Tested. Not everyone who makes it to The Holy Shrine makes it as an Acolyte. Just because you've arrived at the Channel, it does not mean your Journey is over. See, HG Industries has several requirements of you: Be Amusing. Be Quick with your Riffs. Do not repeat yours, or others, Riffs ad nauseum, thinking that qualifies as Funny. Do not worry, the Enlightened members will be more than happy to tell you whether you measure up to HG Industries High Standards. After all, we do have our Measurement of Quality to uphold (and Stockholders to answer to).

And Now, a few Rules, Things to Remember, and Other Assorted Nuggets of Wisdom

Q) I see a couple of names with a "@" next to them. What's that mean?
A) It means that these folks are the Operators of the Channel. They hold the power of Life and Death in their hands, so be very, very nice to them. If you have any special questions, problems, or the like, ask these folks before or after a game.

Q) Hey! I was kicked out of the Channel! How come?
A) Probably for a very good cause. Perhaps you were annoying another person. Perhaps your Riffing was not up to our Lofty Standards. Perhaps you were advertising (Spamming) your Channel/Web page/sister,  Perhaps you violated one of our many other Rules. In any case, rest assured, your being kicked was not without Reason.

Q) Could I have a quick list of what the TV Station Abbreviations mean?
A) Surely. Here they are, in no particular order.

AMC - American Movie Classics
BET - Black Entertainment Television
TBS - Formerly known as WTBS, TBS is now the Official TV Station name
TNT - Turner Network Television. TBS' sister station
Sci-Fi - Sci-Fi Channel
FOX  - Your local FOX affiliate station
 

Q) What is a /whois command?
A) It's an IRC command that fetches information about a person. Type in /whois "Nickname" (without the quotes) and you'll see what the person typed in his information window, as well as information about his ISP dial-up, what other Channels he might be on, if s/he's sitting idle or not, and other such Things. If you wish to learn more about IRC Commands, visit your local library. Or, get the IRC Commands file from here.

Q) Are there really Nickname restrictions?
A) Yes. As stated above, please refrain from any "clever" MST3K-related names, as the server has quite enough of them. Also, it's a good idea to avoid names that are Star Wars, Star Trek, and Anime-related, as the server is full of those, as well. Besides that, your HG Industries Name can be just about anything you like. Hint: Keep it relatively short.

Q) How come you don't do a HomeGame on (Insert TV Station Name here)?
A) Probably because the TV Station in question has what is known as a Split Feed. That means that the station has more than one Network Feed, in an attempt to have the Starting Times of Shows match-up NationWide.

For instance, a show may appear on HGI-TV at 7:05 Eastern Time. This would mean it's shown at 4:05 Pacific Time. However, HGI-TV is a Split Feed, meaning there is a HGI-TV East and a HGI-TV West. HGI-TV East would show the movie at 7:05 Eastern, while HGI-TV West would show it at 7:05 Pacific, which would be 10:05 Eastern. Thus, not all HomeGame members could view the movie at the same Standard Time. The Powers That Be try to choose movies that appear on channels without Split Feeds, for the benefit of all.

Return to HG Industries
Return to MST-HomeGame