IRC is a real-time chat experience. Webtv introduced IRC last year with the Fall Upgrade. This is not an exclusive service for WebTV... computer users around the world can access this service as well.

How to: IRC is easy after you experience it a time or two. If you are a chatter, and have not experienced IRC, its like logging in to the internet for the first time... wonder, magical, and intimadating!! But as the new wears off and knowledge increases, it can be a lot of fun.

To begin your first experience, I suggest Talkcity. It is a friendly place to meet other WebTV'rs and all public rooms are moderated (more on this in a moment).

Access: You can use the link provided above or you can access the WebTV supplied program.

If you choose to use the goto link, you can get an active room list and the number of people in each room. This is what I recommend for serveral reasons.

First reason being that you can change the port number for faster access. Most IRC Networks default to port 6667. That is a lot of traffic going in and out of a single port so most provide alternate ports. 7000 is another common port listing.

Secondly, using the goto page allows you to explore other IRC networks other than TalkCity such as: DalNet, EfNet, IRCNet, UnderNet, and many more!! All you need is the addie and port number for gaining access. Leave the room field blank if you want a list of rooms (recommended).

You will see a lot of conversation in green which is public conversation which ALL can see. This is the most common use of a room. But sometimes, you will see a message in orange that is addressed to you. This is called a private message. Only you and the sender can view this message, and anything can be said here without problems. To use this feature, you would click on the whisper button, find the person you want to write, then send. Pretty basic, but there are shortcuts which you can find here

You will also see some conversation in a grayish/purple... this is call an action. It shows when someone leaves or enters a room (automatic), or by a command. The command for this is '/me runs around and around' and shows as....

This can be useful in trying to find someone to chat with or to make a statement to the room.

I have 2 chat-programs that are used in my site. The differences can be seen here. Both programs include audio, which I understand Plus users will not be able to use. Hope this gives some insight to how it all works. I will add more to this page with feedback as I am not a writer, and seem to miss some details. Enjoy....