What is IRC and how it works ?
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a multi-user, multi-channel chatting system. Imagine sitting in front of your computer and “talking” through typed messages with either one person or many other people from all over the Internet, all in real time! Best of all, once you get set up, chatting on IRC is totally free!
IRC is based on a client-server model. You run a client program on your own computer which connects you to a server computer on the Internet. These servers link to many other servers to make up an IRC network, which transport messages from one user (client) to another. In this manner, people from all over the world can talk to each other live and simultaneously.
To join in the fun, all you need is an Internet Service Provider to get you connected to the Internet (if you’re able to read this web page, you’re already connected), and an IRC client program. The most popular clients are mIRC for the Windows operating system.
Talking, and entering commands:
Commands and text are typed in the same place. By default, commands begin with the character / . If you have a graphical client such as mIRC for Windows, many commands can be executed by clicking on icons with the mouse pointer. It is, however, highly recommended that you learn to type in the basic IRC commands first. When entering commands, pay close attention to spacing and capitalization. The basic commands work on all the good clients.
Some examples are given below. In these, suppose your nick is “yournick”, and that you are on the channel #coolness.
Your friend “MaryN” is in #coolness with you, and your friend “Tomm” is on IRC but is not on a channel with you. You can apply these examples in general by substituting the relevant nick or channel names.
What you type
What happens
/join #coolness
You join the channel #coolness.
/who #coolness
Gives some info on users in the channel.
@ = channel op, while * means IRC op.
hello everyone
Everyone on #coolness sees
/me is a pink bunny
Everyone in #coolness sees * yournick is a pink bunny
/leave #coolness
You leave the channel.
/whois Tomm
You get some info about Tomm or whatever nickname you entered.
/whois yournick
This is some info others see about you.
/nick newnick
Changes your nick to “newnick”
/msg Tomm hi there.
Only Tomm sees your message (you don’t need to be on the same channel for this to work).
/ping #coolness
Gives information on the delay (round-trip) between you and everybody on #coolness.
/ping Tomm
Gives information on the delay (round-trip) between you and just Tomm.
/dcc chat MaryN
This sends MaryN a request for a dcc chat session. MaryN types /dcc chat yournick to complete the connection. DCC chat is faster (lag free) and more secure than /msg.
/msg =MaryN Hi there!
Once a DCC connection has been established, use the /msg =nick message format to exchange messages (note the = sign). DCC does not go through servers, so it are unaffected by server lag, net splits, etc.
/help
This works in many clients. Try it!
/quit good night!
You quit IRC completely, with the parting comment so that others see “*** Signoff: yournick (good night!)”.
NOTE: When you are not in a named channel, lines not beginning with a / have no effect, and many commands work differently or fail to work altogether.
Some smileys and jargons:
Some smileys and jargon
is a smiley face, tilt your head to the left to see it. Likewise, 
is a frown. 
is a wink. :~~( is crying, while 
is someone sticking their tongue out. ~~ is drooling. (-: a lefty’s smile, etc. There are hundreds of these faces.
Here are some common acronyms used in IRC:
brb = be right back bbiaf = be back in a flash
bbl = be back later ttfn = ta ta for now
np = no problem imho = in my humble opinion
lol = laughing out loud j/k = just kidding
re = hi again, as in ‘re hi’ wb = welcome back
wtf = what the f–k rtfm = read the f–king manual
rotfl = rolling on the floor laughing
Some advice:
Etiquette
Typing in all caps, LIKE THIS, is considered “shouting” and should be avoided. Likewise, do not repeat yourself or otherwise “flood” the channel with many lines of text at once. Be sure to use correct terminology, e.g., “channel”, not “chat room”, and “nick”, not “handle”.
