The Interactive Glossary: Defining the Net
IRC
An acronym for Internet Relay Chat, IRC is a program that allows you to carry on "live" conversations with people all over the world by typing messages back and forth across the Internet. You can talk in groups or in private with only one person. IRC consists of "channels," that are usually devoted to specific topics. Anyone can create a "channel" and any message typed in a given channel is seen by all others in the channel, generally referred to as the IP address or IP number.
