IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. Users download IRC client software then join in on chat sessions on different "channels". Drupal has a number of IRC channels available to join through Freenode. The channel we used for this month's DUG meeting is #drupal-support. 

To start a Drupal IRC session, you'll need to first connect to the Freenode server. You can do this via an IRC client (software you download and install on your local computer) or by opening a web browser and navigating to an online IRC service.

IRC Clients for Download:

• OS X: http://colloquy.info/
• Windows: http://www.mirc.com/ | PDF instructions

Browser-based IRC:

• http://www.mibbit.com/ - Registration is not required to join a session.

Basic IRC Client Setup Information
Server: irc.freenode.net
Default port: 7000 (you must use this port setting for connecting at ASU)
Channel: #drupal-support

This DUG topic was inspired by this post on drupal.org. You can find out more about using the drupal IRC channels here: http://drupal.org/irc.

Here is a good tutorial on IRC commands: http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/irctutorial.html

If you'd like to reference large sections of module code, use the online service Pastie.org. Simply copy & paste the code into the textarea and click "Paste" then you can copy the URL that is generated and copy/paste it into your IRC client chat.