Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a chat protocol that has been around for a long time but still remains popular, especially among the open source crowd.
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Virginia Tech Related IRC Channels
Freenode
irc.freenode.net is probably the most popular IRC service for free cultural projects. Big names like Wikipedia and Ubuntu have their official channels there.
#vtluug- Channel for the Linux and Unix Users Group
#ossie- Channel for the OSSIE software defined radio project
#vtfreeculture- Channel for Free Culture, once defunct but active again as of January 2010
##vt-enge1104- Unofficial channel for students in ENGE 1104
2600net
irc.2600.net offers some nice features like SSL. Virginia Tech students typically primarily idle in just one channel on that server.
#va2600- Channel for 2600 readers, group members and others in Virginia, VT idlers minimal these days