This is, really a post both about a tool (XChat) and about IRC (Internet Relay Chat.) XChat is one of quite a few IRC clients. XChat is available for both Windows and Linux. There is a port of XChat called XChat-Aqua, that works natively on Mac OS X.
IRC is an incredibly useful tool. It is basically group synchronous chat. It is a tool which is used predominantly in the open source world, for developers and users of open source projects to talk to one another, and get support. I use IRC every day. Quasi-social, quasi-professional. (like right now, on the Linuxchix IRC channel, we are discussing elections, HFS+ filesystems and terabyte switches.)
Of the IRC clients, I like XChat the best, although I’ve tried quite a number. The interface is easy to learn, very clearly laid out, and there are lots of options. It’s also scriptable.
I know that for people who work in real offices, with real other people, IRC is a difficult tool to use – because it takes you away from the environment you are in, and makes it hard to be a part of multiple conversations. On the other hand, a lot of people are IMing, and tweeting, etc. I like it because I can get fast technical help, and since I don’t have many people around me most days, it does provide a bit of a social atmosphere. Like the water cooler to go to when you’re taking a break.
And if you want to find me on IRC, go to either the Linuxchix IRC server or to irc.freenode.net, #nosi and #nptech.
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