Internet Relay Chat
lastmod 2025-10-17created 2014-02-054 edits
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a real-time chat protocol that lets many users gather and talk. It also supports private conversations between individuals and provides a file transfer feature called 'DCC'. IRC was created in August 1988 by Jarkko Oikarinen, who went by the nickname "WiZ", to replace a chat program used on a BBS in Finland. Oikarinen is said to have created IRC taking hints from Bitnet Relay Chat, which was used on Bitnet. IRC made its name by serving as a medium that told the outside world about the gradually collapsing Soviet Union behind the Iron Curtain, which had been veiled by information control, and later during the Gulf War it similarly informed the outside world of the situation in Kuwait. It is a traditional chat protocol, and countless server networks and clients support it.
Projects
- Ergo Chat - modern IRC server written in Go
- Bitchat - decentralized messaging app using a Bluetooth mesh network
- Halloy - modern IRC client