If you've never used Internet Relay Chat before, then you've come to the right place. This is an extremely basic overview of IRC. If you want to become experienced with IRC, I recommend that you use IRC often and ask questions of the other users. If you meet someone who doesn't feel like helping you or is rude, ask someone else.
Q: What is IRC?
A: IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. Most people with a standard Internet connection can access IRC. America On-Line and Compuserve users can also access IRC. While you are using IRC, you can talk to people all over the world in real time by typing messages. When you chat, the text travels across a network of IRC servers.
Q: How is IRC set up?
A: On every IRC network, there are many separate chat areas called channels. If you have used chat on an on-line service, the equivalent of a channel would be a chat room. There are usually several thousand channels on a single network. The number of channels on a network is generally much larger than anything on an on-line service, usually numbering several thousand. #sonic, which is the name of the Sonic the Hedgehog channel, is located on EFNet. EFNet is the oldest and largest IRC Network in the world. At its busiest times, it can have about 27,000 people and 8000 different channels.
Q: How do I use IRC?
A: IRC is a separate part of the Internet and requires its own program. One of the best IRC programs, at least for Windows users, is mIRC. By clicking here, you will be taken to the mIRC Home Page. You can download mIRC from there. This page also contains useful information about mIRC and IRC in general. mIRC is not the only Windows IRC client that is available. There are always alternatives, but I will explain how to set up and use mIRC. If you're new at this, I recommend mIRC, at least for now.
After you download the client, please install it and proceed to the next section,
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