Sugar Labs

What is IRC?

IRC stands for Internet(I) Relay(R) Chat(C).
It is a method to broadcast and receive live, synchronous, messages similar to chat systems like Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, etc.
It allows users to connect to a server through a software program/web service for communication with each other.
One must have an IRC client/web interface that connects him/her to IRC servers in to connect and chat with other IRC users.
IRC clients communicate with chat servers to transfer messages to other clients and these IRC clients are actually computer programs that a user can install on his/her system.
IRC allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat, data transfer, and file sharing. But, it is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels.
A channel is the basic means of communication among a group of users in an established IRC session.
There are hundreds of IRC channels (discussion areas) around the world, hosted on different servers.
There are client IRC programs which provide graphical interfaces making it easier for people to log on, access channels and send/receive messages.

IRC channels allow real-time discussions among a large number of people at a time.
Users can meet new people through the IRC channels.
IRC chats can be logged if required which allows users to look at those logs in the future.
There is no centralized control over IRC. Hence, any person can set up his/her own server and use it.
IRC has many access levels and complex channel modes. So, there is scope for privacy in form of restrictions in IRC. For example, few channels may need username/password to access, etc.
And many more....