General and How To
These sites offer a basic introduction to chatting on IRC, and include FAQs, tutorials, channel guides and more.
EFnet #IRChelp Archive
Ensor's IRC Extravaganza!
Internet Relay Chat FAQ
IRC Central
What is IRC?
What You Really Need to Know About IRC
Edge's IRC Page
Client Software
There are numerous clients for connecting to IRC. You can read reviews of these in InternetUser's Text Chat section.
Chat-Man 1.82
InterFace 1.4
mIRC 5.02
Netscape Chat 2.0
Pirch32, Version 0.85 beta
OrbitIRC, Version 1.24 Beta 2
Winsock IRC 3.0
XirCON Communicator, Version 1.0B2
Networks and Servers
There are many IRC networks, including Undernet, EFnet, IRCnet, and DALnet, as well as numerous regional and private networks. Undernet and EFNet are the most popular.
The Official Undernet Home Page
The Official Undernet Server List
EFNet Server Maps and Lists
EFNet Official Home Page (unreliable)
EFnet #IRChelp Archive
EFNet Server Map / List
DALnet IRC Network
DALnet Servers List
IRCnet Server List
Channel Guides
On most networks any user can create a channel, and at any given time there are thousands of channels to choose from, on every imaginable topic. The best place to find a list of channels and topic is on Yahoo!.
Warning!
IRC can be addicting.