Internet Relay Chat: Introduction
"My idea of good company, Mr Elliot, is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation" (Jane Austen)
Internet chat differs from other forms of Internet communication in that it takes place in "real-time". A line of text entered on your computer can be seen on the monitor of a computer thousands of miles away within seconds of you pressing the Enter key.
There are five major types of online chat:
Internet Relay Chat
One of the most popular forms of online chat, IRC, was developed in 1988 and is now used by thousands of people, every day, as a virtual meeting place in which to discuss various topics of interest. Users enter specific areas, or channels, in which a specific subject or theme is usually predominant. Channels can be either public, where anybody on the Internet can join, or private, in which two, or more, people can carry on a private conversation.
In order to use IRC, you must have an IRC client (software). Popular IRC clients are mIRC for Windows and IRCle for Mac users. Once you have downloaded and installed this software, you will need to be able to provide the following information:
- the name of an IRC server
- your e-mail address
- your name
- the nick name (nick) that you wish to use.
IRC Servers
IRC uses specific servers known, unsuprisingly, as IRC servers. In order to use IRC, you will have to tell your IRC client which IRC server to connect to. There are plenty of servers about, although it is usually a good idea to choose a server geographically close to you if you want a good, fast, connection, with minimal lag time (delays). In some, rare, cases, you may be denied access to a given IRC server because of some personal issues of behaviour (unlikely), or perhaps because there have been problems with other IRC users from your ISP. In either situation, there is nothing you can really do to gain access and you're probably best simply trying another IRC server.
Nicknames on IRC
When using IRC, people refer to one another by nicknames, or nicks. Although you can choose any nickname that you want, you are limited to choosing one that is only ten characters long. Avoid common nicks such as "john" or "sue" as these are likely to be already "taken" and many IRC servers will not allow two users to have the same nick. For this reason, some IRC clients will ask for you to provide two nicks as part of the basic setup - one being a backup in case your first choice is already being used.
IRC Channels
In order to provide some form of organisation, many different channels often exist on one server - each with it's own particular topic of conversation or theme. Each channel is controlled by channel operators, or chan ops for short. Chan ops can have the final word on all matters within the channel: who can enter the channel, who can talk, and so on.
A channel can be:
- public
- visible on a channel list and open to all
- private
- visible on a channel list but limited to specified users
- secret
- not visible on a channel list and limited to specified users
The names given to channels often represent their topic of discussion or purpose. Further information regarding a specific channel's theme can be found in the Topic line of a channel list. This often gives a one line description of the current topic of conversation in that channel.
All channel names begin with the # symbol, so a channel devoted to providing help for new users might be called #newbies.
Web-based Chat
There are many Internet chat sites on the World Wide Web. These, Web-based, chat rooms often use a Java interface so you will need to check that your browser can support Java and is Java-enabled. Check your browser settings and in the browser's Help facility, if necessary. A current listing of Java-based chat sites should obtainable from any of the search engines listed Search Engine Section using the search keywords Java+chat.
ISP-Exclusive Chat
Some ISPs, such as AOL, provide chat rooms for their own users which are not available outside of that Provider. Contact your own ISP to see if they offer such a service.
MUDs
Although these have been largely replaced by IRC, Multi-User Dungeons, or MUD's, are still around and are usually used for playing real-time, role-playing, games. Like IRC, MUDs provide real-time chat, but are usually accessed by telnetting into a remote Internet site and logging in with a special nickname and/or password. Yahoo! maintains a list of currently available MUDs. Simply search on the keyword "MUD".
Instant Messaging
Although not strictly Internet Chat, there are now many programs available that offer instant text messaging services, such as AOL's Instant Messenger. Others, like ICQ, not only provide a messaging service but real-time chat similar to IRC.
A list of resources for various forms of online chat can be found in the IRC Section of the Resource List