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Short for internet relay chat - irc
IRC
Short for Internet Relay Chat, IRC is a multi-user chat system that allows to people gather on "channels" or "rooms" to talk in groups or privately. IRC is based on a client/server model. That is, to join an IRC discussion, you need an IRC client (such a mIRC) and Internet access. The IRC client is a program that runs on your computer and sends and receives messages to and from an IRC server. The IRC server, in turn, is responsible for making sure that all messages are broadcast to everyone participating in a discussion. There can be many discussions going on at once and each one is assigned a unique channel. Once you have joined an IRC chat room (chatroom discussions are designated by topics), you can type your messages in the public chatroom where all participants will see it, or you can send a private message to a single participant. With many IRC clients you can easily create your own chatroom and invite others to join your channel. You can also password protect your chatroom to allow for a more private discussion with just people whom you invite.
Once you become familiar with your IRC client you'll find many options available to help you moderate and take part in a channel. One problem commonly associated with IRC is lag. IRC relies on the connections between the servers, and the connections or the servers can slow down. If you're in a discussion and people do not respond, or you notice that people are responding to things you types several minutes ago, then you can attribute this to lag. If you continue to experience lag, you can try connecting to the IRC network on a different server.
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