9.2.2. How Does It Work?

IRC works through a distributed network of servers that relay messages back and forth between connected clientshence the name Internet Relay Chat . The XChat program is one of many IRC clients available in Fedora; others include mozilla-chat , EPIC, Irssi, ninja , Konversation, and the multiprotocol clients Gaim and naim .

The FreeNode network is a small, high-capacity IRC network operated by the Peer-Directed Projects Center (PDPC) in support of peer-directed projects, including many open source projects. Most of the FreeNode staff are volunteers.