IRC

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) was created by Jarkko Oikarinen in August 1988. It was first written to replace a program called MUT (MultiUser? Talk) on a BBS called OuluBox? in Finland. Jarkko Oikarinen found inspiration in [Bitnet Relay Chat]? which operated on the Bitnet network.

IRC has a decentralized network of servers that can be accessed by special client programs. The protocol for IRC is open, and there are many client (and server) implementations.

The IRC protocol was originally defined in [RFC 1459]? but has been updated in RFC 2810?, 2811?, 2812? and 2813?.

Today the largest IRC Networks are /EFNet, /Undernet, /IRCNet and /Dalnet. They run various implementations of serversoftware, but the basic protocol is the same, and all networks can be accessed by the same IRC Clients.

Popular IRC clients:

• Microsoft Windows:
  • /mIRC
  • /pIRCh?.
• Unix:
  • /ircII
  • /BitchX
  • /XChat