Apps :: IRC commands in nAIM

I gave the nIRC (NAIM)  client a go in an attempt to do some IRC chatting and
apparently I don't quite grasp how it is used.

It seems I could log onto various IRC servers, however the typical IRC commands
would return "Unknown Command".
I'm not sure how I can surf the server's channels without the /list command.

The /join and /part commands seem to work. Is there something one needs to do
to get the IRC portion of naim to function?
I was unable to find any relevant info in the wiki for naim/nirc.
ANyone savvy on this app want to give a fellow some direction?