instant message software

irchelp.org     mirc.com/ircintro.html> 

Internet Relay Chat （網上即時聊天），源於歐洲芬蘭。早在一九八八年，芬蘭已經使用這種純文字模式傳輸作互聯網上的通訊工具，遠比現在流行的 ICQ 線上傳呼機早現世，名聲也不比 ICQ 小。 IRC 之所以能夠這樣受歡迎，都要歸功於它那獨有的聊天方式。

IRC 那吸引人的獨特之處，是它不限制聊天人數，即是同時間可以數十個人一起聊天，而且互相看見互相的說話，令溝通變得更有效率；而且，在一個聊天網路裏，還可以有多個 Channel （聊天頻道，即聊天室），使用者可自行進入適合自己的話題的聊天室，也可以隨自己需要輕易地設立自己的聊天室，令 IRC 變得更自由，也令使用者更加容易找到志同道合的網友。

IRC 除了基本的聊天功能外，還設有完善的管理階層，每個聊天室都有該室的 Owner （擁有者）、 Operator （管理員）、 HalfOp （助理管理員）、 Voice （發言權），無形間為聊天室設了一個司法制度，不但可以幫助管理，還可以防止聊天室罪惡；

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a virtual meeting place where people from all over the world can meet and talk; you'll find the whole diversity of human interests, ideas, and issues here, and you'll be able to participate in group discussions on one of the many thousands of IRC channels, on hundreds of IRC networks, or just talk in private to family or friends, wherever they are in the world.

How is IRC set up?

As a user you run a "client" program which connects to a "server" in an IRC network. All servers are interconnected and pass messages from user to user over the IRC network. One server can be connected to several other servers and up to hundreds of clients. Several larger and smaller IRC networks exist. The largest one, called EFnet (Eris Free net), usually serves over 15000 users at any given moment. Smaller ones, like Undernet (10000) and Dalnet (5000), are a lot less populated but often offer more stability and convenience.

• What is IRC?
  Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, is a real-time chat system, connecting
  clients on many different servers. People can talk to eachother one on
  one, or in a more public environment in channels (think CB radios)..
• What is EFnet?
  EFnet is the modern-day descendant of the original IRC network.
• Why "EFnet"?
  EFnet is short for "Eris Free" network. eris.berkeley.edu was a server in
  the very early nineties that was not run so well. When it left the
  network, the powers that be decided to name the network Eris Free network,
  or EFnet.
• How long has EFnet been around?
  IRC was started in 1988. The network started being called EFnet in August
  of 1990. You can find a longer version of the history here