channel

chat (Or "chat room", "room", depending on the system in

question) The basic unit of group discussion in chat systems

like IRC. Once one joins a channel, everything one types is

read by others on that channel. Channels can either be named

with numbers or with strings that begin with a "#" sign and

can have topic descriptions (which are generally irrelevant to

the actual subject of discussion).

Some notable channels are "#initgame", "#hottub" and

"#report". At times of international crisis, "#report" has

hundreds of members, some of whom take turns listening to

various news services and typing in summaries of the news, or

in some cases, giving first-hand accounts of the action

(e.g. Scud missile attacks in Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in

1991).

[Jargon File]

(1998-01-25)