IRC is the chat solution of choice for many free/open source projects. It's freely licensed. It's free to use. It's free (as in puppy) to set up and maintain. It's discoverable.

If you want to communicate with people on these projects you need to learn how to use IRC. Unfortunately, much of the criticism of IRC is true: It's an arcane system, and unfortunately it's one whose documentation was mostly written ages ago by people who didn't have usability or UX in mind. Even with those docs, there is a lot of tribal knowledge locked in the brains of the grey haired members of open source, making it more difficult to get started using the technology.

This talk will demystify IRC and make it almost as easy (and maybe even as enjoyable) as using a different chat system. You'll learn how to get connected and find channels, how to claim your nickname, how to navigate the enigmatic social mores, and more!