Chatting on the
Net 101
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is to
the high-tech 90s what the telephone party
line was to the 80s. Anyone with the
right equipment and a
telephone connection can participate
in affordable real-time communication,
and meet people without stepping
outside the front door.
The IRC multi-user chat system was
created in 1988 in Finland by
computer-guy Jarkko Oikarinen, and
today allows people from all over the
world to talk to each other by
simply typing on a computer keyboard.
All that is needed is a computer,
IRC software, and an Internet
connection.
The IRC system is made up of a
number of computer networks from all around
the world. They are run by people,
such as universities, some Internet
Service Providers (ISP) and the
occasional IRC-fan, who has decided to create a
network by running IRC server
programs.