Selinde, do you see a person called 'X'? He's always on, except when his server is down. It's the bot that will automatically op people. I am on right now (with the joy of a non-talkative X *sigh*), so maybe you could try it now?
As for IRC, most people here indeed use #loisclark when it's actually being used. Most people have moved on to MSN or other such chat programs.
There are even a few post on the boards on how to use IRC... but I am too lazy to hunt them down right now. (hey, my muse is keeping me rather busy at the moment!)
Saskia
