¿What is IRC?

The IRC, acronym of Internet Relay Chat, is a system of conversation in real time for users of Internet. In order to be able to participate single it is necessary to have a program IRC client (consults the section Clients of IRC) and a connection to Internet.

The IRC allows that multiple users simultaneously meet in social gatherings or debates, in which each one is expressing its opinions of written form and in real time. This is the fundamental difference between IRC and the USENET (the calls news or forums of debate) - these last ones resemble more a publication in which each usuary Lee which has written the others, being able to insert its article awaiting which it is read but late, when it reachs to him the rest of subscriptores.

In order to participate in single IRC it is necessary to connect itself to Internet in the habitual form, to execute the program IRC client, and to accede to some of the many servers of distributed everywhere. Great amount of these servers find connected between if, forming what they are known like IRC networks, that allow that usuary connected an European server they speak with connected users to an Australian server, for example.

The undernet IRC is the main network of internattional IRC and counts on great number of servers distributed by all the internattional territory. (To see Ready Section of Servers) undernet IRC is a project in expansion that welcomes every day in greater number of users distributed in numerous channels, many of them registered and maintained by the official service of channels this network.

The IRC social gatherings meet in channels (well-known in other surroundings like groups, rooms, etc) where agree several users talking simultaneously on the diverse subjects. Very specific channels exist in which it is tried to debate on a concrete subject, created channels to simply group to users of a same language or culture and chatting on any subject, or simple meetings of friends. Any user can open a channel to his taste, to call it as he wishes if in that network another one with that same name does not exist already, and simply to hope at that other people arrive.

The interest to create a channel can be varied, is even possible to do that the channel is secret and does not appear in the list of channels available, being single accessible those people who already know previously their existence; also it is possible to be caused that a channel is single for guests; it is limited a maximum of participants; be moderate and single the people authorized to it... and many things have the word more.

In addition, whenever we are speaking in a channel we can see interested in speaking us with some of the users who are in him of private form. The IRC allows to speak us with some person of private form without other people know nor that we are speaking nor whom we are saying.

The IRC is a system of communications multiplatform, that is to say, it can put in contact computers that work under but the diverse architectures and operating systems (UNIX, OS2, Windows...), single it is necessary that each one has the program appropriate client to its characteristics, and connection to a server. The programs clients more habitual and extended by their simplicity are those that are designed for the surroundings of the operating system Windows, as much in 16 as in 32 bits; most powerful they are the constructed ones for the different UNIX surroundings, although these are much less popular due to the greater professionalism and knowledge than their handling demand.

When a user executes his program client of IRC, and before connecting themselves, he must specify some of the data that will identify it within the network of chats. More characteristic it is his " nick " or pseudónimo, the name under which will be known in all the channels in which it takes part, or is of simple " listener ". Because it only can have a person by nick at a same moment, and because in the networks of IRC with characteristic mayores it is possible " to be registered " or to be reserved, we will find that first nicks that they come to us at the top they can already be taken by other people, mainly in international networks where they are possible to be reunited more than fifty thousand users simultaneously.