internet relay chat (IRC) is one of the oldest chat protocols around and still popular in many open source communities. IRC’s best strengths are as a decentralized and open communication method, making it easy for anyone to participate by running a network of their own. There are also a variety of clients and bots available for IRC.
irc chat rooms for all
But on the reverse side, usability is a concern. Most of the common user interfaces for IRC clients or platforms aren’t always intuitive. People from parts of the world with unstable internet connections have a hard time remaining connected to participate in conversations.
An IRC channel is a discrete chatroom. People outside of the room cannot see what is being said within. Channels are usually topical in nature. To reflect that, most will set a topic which will appear when you join the channel. Please always read the topic (and any links contained in it) and adhere to any strictures written there.
types of irc chat room
There are different types of channels on IRC, signified by a prefix before the channel name. The two which you will see most often (if not 100% of the time) are ‘#’ and ‘##’. Channels whose name is prefixed with a single ‘#’ are “official” channels for projects or groups. These are places where work gets done and where you should strive to stay on topic. Then there are channels which start with a double ‘##’. These channels are “unofficial” and usually are more casual in nature. Either way, please always be sure to read the channel topic and obey the rules of that particular channel.
guidelines:
With these concepts under your belt, you’re ready to dive in and get started with IRC. I’ve written an IRC quick start guide to help minimize the learning curve and get you into the conversations as easily as possible. Once you get started you’ll find that IRC can be a great place for learning, fun, and friendships.
IRC started as one summer trainee’s programming exercise. A hack grew into a software development project that hundreds of people participated in and became a worldwide environment where tens of thousands of people now spend time with one another.