To be honest, user/channel modes/operators would be, IMO, under the heading of "newbie stuff". There are various tutorials around the Internet.
The
IRC FAQ has some information in section 45 about user/channel modes. You can't go into a huge amount more detail on modes, as modes are often specific to the network you use. For example, in the IRC FAQ it describes channel modes that all IRC networks support (some user modes may be restricted), as the
IRC RFC outlines them. However, other modes such as '+R' or '+r' can be available on networks, but also have different meanings. +r on DALnet means you've identified to your nickname or the channel is registered. +r on Undernet means you need to have a registered username, and be logged in, in order to join a channel. There are a large amount of modes such as this. To find out about them, go to the network's website or the network's #help channel.
More mIRC-specific information is available in the
mIRC FAQ.
You might find the links on the
More Info page handy, as well as the index at
www.mirc.co.uk/help. Even the sticky threads on these forums have information which will inform you of how things work - For example, Merlin's
Common IRC Errors thread.
Scripting in mIRC can get quite complicated. Various tutorials about scripting are available at
www.mirc.net and
www.mircscripts.org - there are also various tutorials at mirc.net
here.
A number of books that have been written about IRC are listed
here - their availability may be limited. It would be quite unnecessary to buy a book in order to learn about IRC.
Of course, the best teacher is experience - you're never going to learn everything by plugging yourself into a computer and reading gigabyte after gigabyte of information about IRC. Learning from others (helping here is a good way) and taking part in help channels on IRC will teach you faster - and in a much more fun way
Regards,
