I have never really been into IRC, mainly because I could never find any interesting discussions. This has finally changed as BoardGameGeek have an unofficial IRC channel on Dalnet. I have been enjoying quick discussions about games without the time lag of forums or blog posts.
IRC is a little intimidating at first, but in fact it’s easy and works on old hardware and narrowband connections.
1. Download an IRC client. mIRC is most often suggested, but it’s $20 shareware. There are good freeware alternatives:
2. Click the Connect button.
3. Find Dalnet in the server list and connect to it.
4. Type /join #bgg into the chat line.
There are better IRC tutorials that go into much more detail.
What time of day or week is most likely to find anyone there? I tried a local DALnet server a couple times looking for #bgg chatters but no one was there. Thanks!
There are always at least 8 people there, even if they are not actively chatting. You must have logged onto an incorrect server.
This page lists all the Dalnet servers: http://www.dal.net/servers/
If you run into trouble, check out my instant messenger addresses on the front page, and I might be able to help you troubleshoot it.