IIGS™ Internet Relay Chat
by Camilla von Massenbach


IRC, which stands for "Internet Relay Chat," is a part of the Internet that most Internet users have access to although they may not realise it. After installing an IRC client, which is a piece of software easily downloaded from the WWW, people can log on and chat with others in real time from their keyboards. This service is IIGS™'s first tool for genealogists and hosted by Rootsweb. Set up exclusively for genealogy, the IIGS™ IRC is open 24 hours per day for genealogists around the world to meet and exchange their research and ideas. All genealogists are welcome to come and start a "channel" for discussion, or join an existing one.

Initially, the IIGS™ IRC was used exclusively by IIGS™ teams to thrash out their ideas and plans of action. Someone would post a message on the team mailing list arranging a time, and those that could manage to would turn up. After the "official" meetings were over, the chat often turned to genealogy and social talk. It is quite an experience to talk to people from, for example, Tennessee, Ontario, Australia and London in real time.

Since the weekend of June 21st, three scheduled meetings per weekend have been hosted; people met and discussed research, IIGS™ business, and generally socialised. These have now become regular occurences. The times (quoted in GMT) are Sat 20:00, Sun 01:00, and Sun 11:00. Everyone is extremely welcome.

Sunday, July 6th, marked the first "themed" meeting at IIGS™ IRC. William Disbro hosted a session about United States military research. US military records from the Revolutionary War (1775) to Desert Storm (1991) were discussed. He will be hosting sessions on this subject each Sunday between 19:00 and 22:00 GMT. Please join in if you are interested.

Another "themed" session which is just getting off the ground concerns genealogy in the United Kingdom. If you have UK ancestors, join us on Tuesdays at 20:00 GMT.

New! On Sunday, July 20th, at 18:00 GMT, we launched the first Belgium-Netherlands-Luxembourg chat on channel #IIGS™-BNL Bring your surnames to IIGS™ IRC and join us each week in discussing research in these areas.

See the IIGS™ IRC page at http://www.iigs.org/irc/index.htm for more information.

For conversions to your time zone, a useful Web site is http://www.iigs.org/webmasters/faq/time_chart.htm

About the Author: Camilla von Massenbach currently works part-time providing business plans and cashflows for a hi-tech company. While this is Camilla's first foray into writing for a publication, she has previously written public relations materials and owned AL Publishing Services, London. Camilla is a member of the Cambridgeshire Family History Society and Union des Cercles Genealogiques Lorrains and is co-owner of http://www.links.org.site. Camilla resides in London and is the mother of two small children. She is the IIGS™ Public Relations Liaison to the Publications Staff as well as IIGS™ Newsletter staff writer.

Return to Front Page

Home Page ~ Global Village ~ IRC ~ Library ~ Newsletter ~ Projects Registry ~ University ~ FAQ ~ Listowners Team ~ Translation Team ~ Webmasters

© 1997-2003 IIGS™
IIGS is a trademark of the International Internet Genealogical Society


Supervised by the IIGS™ Webmaster Team
Created & Maintained by the IIGS™ Newsletter Team


Revised: 14 August 1998