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IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a loose collection of server based communities that exist for a wide variety of topics. As a feature of the Internet, IRC allows for the creation of “Channels” that may be visited by anyone who has the proper software to connect to the server with. A Channel is much like a typical chat room. However, within the channel itself there is a pseudo hierarchical status structure that distinguishes screen names (or “nics” as they are more commonly called) between those who visit the channel and those who actually run the channel itself. This “social structure” is similar to a “feudal” system where the people of more prominence have increased power and he (or she) usually will govern over people below them. The environment is more lawless though in that IRC is a favorable destination for hackers and hacker “wanna-bees”. Large portions of the population on IRC are kids. It is through this environment that many of them find more of a role in some believable fate than in their own real world. Because of this type of rationalization there is a certain “chaotic element” that thrives in these channels. Many of the people who exist on them are on there for hours and spend more of their “waking” hours here than socializing. This is not to say that the entire population on IRC is a lunatic fringe – it is opposite is actually quite true. But, of all the many different communication features on the Internet that are characteristic of real-time conversation, IRC tends to be more aggressive in nature. Therefore, it is with some guard that one should venture here. It is not uncommon for a myriad of computer hacking attempts or virus transfers to target individuals – even innocent participants.

What IRC provides for a select portion of the population who exist on this platform is a place whereby illegal files and pornography of all types can exists and be available for anyone who happens to enter into a channel which advertises to serve these files. Over the last year, IRC has been targeted by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and a conglomerate of organizations from the music recording industry (in cooperation with law enforcement) in an attempt to fight the growing popularity of channels which serve illegally copyrighted material. Newly released CDs, theatrically released movies (many months before their actual release dates) and pornography of all variations are readily available on IRC.

NOTE:A server may have as many as 27,000 channels at any given time and it is not uncommon for some of those channels to have a population of as many as 3,000 – 4,000 people within it. The sheer number of servers that are available number into the hundreds themselves so you can see that a large number of people on the Internet can be found on IRC.

The graphic above is a representation of a channel listing on a particular server. As you can see, there is a wide variety of channels with very specific themes. In this particular view, the listing is dominated by channels which offer various illegally obtained files (mp3s and theatrically released movies). Much like the newsgroups, virtually any specific theme a person wishes to find is available on IRC – it may just take a little while to find it.

This picture is a portion of what it looks like in an actual channel. It bears a strong similarity to the standard chat room environments and in all actuality; it is simply just a chat room with the exception of the various functions that are exclusive to IRC. To the right (1) is the window that shows the “nics” who are in the channel at any given time. With a listing of those channels that have 1000+ people in it the list can be quite large. Earlier, it was mentioned that the IRC channels followed a “feudal” hierarchical arrangement of status. There are founders, IRCOPs, Ops, half-Ops, voiced and normals - each has specific abilities within IRC and each bears a level of importance on the social structure. In this particular picture, the “nics” with the “@” symbol in front of them are known as Ops. They have access to special commands that are not available to the standard user which allows them to regulate the channel and have a say on who is allowed in and who must leave among other things. Within them is a structure: SOP being the highest and AOP being the lowest.

A type of instant messaging is available on IRC known as a pm or private message. There are two methods of employing this feature: through the standard private message much like the traditional ones that people are more familiar with on the Internet. The graphic above shows the standard private message. The other type of private message is called DCC Chat, which is the preferred method of communication between two individuals as it is believed to be less traceable. However, this is not a verifiable fact as yet. DCC transfers are the method that files are shared between two individuals. They connect from one computer directly into another and the file is directly deposited onto the receiving computer.