IRC

Internet Relay Chat is a tried-and-true broadcast messaging protocol favored by free and open source software projects. The Linux and Unix Users Group at Virginia Tech has a relatively active channel, #vtluug, on OFTC.

• Web access
• Link for native clients (like XChat)

Note: Due to spam, only users registered with NickServ can join the channel. You can register your chosen nick with

/msg nickserv register YourPassword your@email.address.com

and then you must identify on every login with

/msg nickserv identify YourPassword

We also have a full tutorial for setting up weechat, a common IRC client, on our wiki.