IRC
n. uncountablen. Stands for Internet Relay Chat. A very old way of chatting with people on the internet using text. It was popular before modern apps like WhatsApp or Discord existed.
n. Abbreviation for Internet Relay Chat. A text-based communication protocol for live messaging and group discussion. Often associated with early internet culture and technical communities.
I still use IRC to talk with other programmers.
Before the rise of modern social media, many online communities gathered in specific IRC channels to share news in real time.
While largely supplanted by proprietary platforms, IRC remains a vital tool for open-source developers who value its decentralised nature and low system requirements.
Often used with the definite article ('the IRC') when referring to the network, or as a modifier ('an IRC channel').