Introduction

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a network of Internet servers that use a specific protocol through which individuals can hold real-time online conversations via PCs and other devices. An IRC network consists of a set of interconnected servers. Once users are connected to an IRC server, they can converse with other users connected to any server in the IRC network,. IRC provides for group communication, via named channels, as well as personal communication through “private” messages and even supports file sharing. It was developed in August 1988 by Jarkko Oikarinen and as of June 2021, Libera Chat's IRC network(of which there are about 481), boasted the most users(20,374) hosted on 26 servers. IRC while not being as famous as some other Chat Services is still widely in use and an upturn in fortune has seen more users joining.

How I got Started

After sourcing and reading on the possible IRC clients available to use, I set camp at mIRC for Windows, and followed the steps to get started:

1. Download and Install mIRC from the official website
2. On the Download page, a step by step guide on how to use mIRC is linked for individuals that are new to mIRC.
3. After installation, I created a Username
4. The next step had me choosing a Rizon server - a large IRC network with average 20,000 users - as my server and connected
5. I was greeted with a number of important notices, this included information on popular channels, terms of use etc. which I read and agreed to.
6. From thence, I located a few channels of Interest and joined and went ahead to make my first contact.

It was enlightening and fun to get started and from here on out, I'm looking forward to learning even more and interacting with others.