IRC (Internet Relay Chat)

IRC is a graphic-interface worldwide "party line" protocol that allows a number of users to exchange text messages within a group or privately in real time. The protocol gained notoriety during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and during the coup against Boris Yeltsin in September 1993 when the system was used to provide minute-to-minute, up-to-date reports on those situations.

URLs:

IRC Frequently Asked Questions

The IRC FAQ.

IRC Primer

The best, basic, IRC user's manual is the IRC Primer, available in plain text, PostScript, and LaTeX by ftp.

rfc1459

For more technical information, consult the IRC RFC.

W3E References:

worlds chat

IRC is an expansion of the text-based chat protocol, worlds chat is a Webified version.

Detail:

IRC is a multi-user chat system originally written by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988 as a replacement for the text-based talk and chat programs.

IRC users run a client program (usually called 'irc') on one of various IRC networks each with its own selection of channels, often numbering in the hundreds. Each channel is controlled by an operator, and each user identified by a nickname.

IRC networks are in a constant state of evolution. WebChat include representations of users via graphics and Global Chat adds sound clips.