chat, messaging (IRC) /I-R-C/, occasionally /*rk/ A
networks. IRC is structured as networks of
Internetone per user.
The IRC community and the
Usenet and
MUD communities
overlap to some extent, including both
hackers and regular
folks who have discovered the wonders of computer networks.
Some
Usenet jargon has been adopted on IRC, as have some
conventions such as
emoticons. There is also a vigorous
native jargon (see the entry for "
chat").
The largest and first IRC network is
EFNet, with a smaller
breakaway network called the
Undernet having existed since
1992, and dozens of other networks having appeared (and
sometimes disappeared) since.
(1998-01-25)