Arachne chat, an Internet Relay Chat client, provides a user-friendly interface for use with the Internet Relay Chat network. The IRC network is a virtual meeting place where people from all over the world can meet and talk.

To IRC all you need to do is connect to a server, join a channel and chat !
But first you have to setup IRCservername,portnumber,nickname and username. Beginners should read IRChelp first.

Search for channels at IRC Channel Lists

Get usefull informations at www.irchelp.org  www.undernet.org  www.dalnet.org 

For ambitious chatters : RFC's about IRC  RFC 1459  RFC 2811  news:alt.irc /A>