Silly Things I do: vol. 2

Starring the best communication protocol known to man: ssh+screen+irssi

Most nights I am done with my computer for the night and I want to leave IRC on one computer. To detatch the screen session and return  to it later I do ctrl+a and then ctrl +d. Then I type ‘logout’ and then ‘exit’ go to bed. To get back in the morning I do ssh user@server.com and then i authenticate. I return to irc using the screen -rd command. Very simple.

Sometimes I try to leave by doing this. ctrl+a and then ctrl+d and then +exit+exit. The next morning I get mad and have to log back into IRC.

Explanation. Ctrl+a followed by ctrl+d in screen will detatch the screen at the server. However, by using ‘exit exit’ twice to close my connection to the server and the terminal/konsole/bash shell on the laptop, I am killing screen and the attached irssi/irc sessions. This is the opposite of why I want to use screen+irssi+ssh.

The proper way is to do ctrl+a and then ctrl+d for screen on the remote server. Type ‘logout’ to end the connection and then type exit to close my terminal.

So don’t do what I do, follow proper screen+ssh+irssi technique unless you want to wake up in the morning, curse at yourself, and sign back into all your irc rooms.