AbleNET is an IRC network.

The network is relatively small, with an average of 100-300 users online at any given time. The servers utilize IRCu software, and network services are provided using SRVX . The user authentication service is named AuthServ and the channel service is named X .

The network can be reached via an IRC Client , or in a Java-enabled web browser via Java Chat .

What is IRC?

IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. It was originally written by Jarkko Oikarinen (jto@tolsun.oulu.fi) in 1988. Since starting in Finland, it has been used in over 60 countries around the world. It was designed as a replacement for the "talk" program but has become much much more than that. IRC is a multi-user chat system, where people convene on channels to talk in groups, or privately.
IRC gained international fame during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, where updates from around the world came accross the wire, and most irc users who were online at the time gathered on a single channel to hear these reports. IRC had similar uses during the coup against Boris Yeltsin in September 1993, where IRC users from Moscow were giving live reports about the unstable situation there.

How is IRC set up?

The user runs a client program which connects them to the irc network. Once on the network, they choose a channel to chat in.

How do I use a client?

Look at the list of IRC clients , download one. Install it according the instructions and then connect to the irc server.

AbleNET server

You can access AbleNET server by entring this data into your irc client:

Server Name:
irc.ablenet.org
mitsune.ablenet.org
maple.ablenet.org

Port: 6667