{{outdated|2014}}
'''Internet Relay Chat''' (or '''IRC''') is one of the oldest [[protocol]]s for online chatting and file sharing.
Some collaborative projects use it to facilitate communication between project members. For example, [[Wikipedia®Wikipedia]] and [[Conservapedia]] both use uses '''freenode''' (chat.us.freenode.net) as their its IRC server, and Conservapedia uses AccessIRC (irc.accessirc.net)
The philosophy of IRC and of collaborative projects in general seems to mesh:
==Etiquette==
* Never ask before [[pming]] a staffer - you'll run out of "allowed questions " too quickly.
* Don't enter a channel, ask a question, then give up and leave a minute later. Wait around a while, since users often idle in channels; your question will be seen and hopefully answered eventually.
*Don't flood a comment or question. Say it once, and wait a while.
[[Image:Mircscreenshot.jpg|400px|thumb|right|The graphical user interface of ''MIRC'', the most popular Internet Relay Chat client.]]
==Some IRC channels==
* #conservapedia* #conservapedia-sysop (password required)@irc.AccessIRC.net
==IRC Commands==
Most clients still use the old slash commands of irc. Here are a few.
#To get onto a server such as freenode.net#*::<code>/server irc.freenode.net</code>
#To join the channel
#*::<code>/join #conservapedia</code>
#To change your nickname
#*::<code>/nick ''newnick''</code>#To share op with someone This will only work if you are , as on op(erator of the channel) at the timeon FreeNode#*::<code>/cs op #conservapedia ''nick''</code>::Or on AccessIRC::<code>/op ''nick''</code>#to To deopon FreeNode#*::<code>/dop #conservapedia ''nick''</code>::on on AccessIRC::<code>/deop ''nick''</code>
#To set the topic
#*::<code>/topic '''new topic here'''</code>
==Software==
To connect to an IRC server, you need some kind of program. [[Command Prompt]] can be used, but [[Graphic User Interface|GUI]] programs are generally preferred. Here are some popular ones:
*[http://xchat.org XChat] (shareware)
** [http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/pchat_portable PChat] (uses same base as XChat, portable, '''free''')
** [https://hexchat.github.io/ HexChat] (uses same base as XChat, '''free''')