As far as I know, IRC is the term for the network of servers; mIRC and IRCle are the programs you use to connect and communicate with the IRC network. mIRC is shareware -- you can download it here:
www.mirc.com and then register it later if you think it's worth it. I think it's a great program, and it's a nice way to hang out with friends
The archive has a section in their FAQ about it:
http://lcfanfic.com/faq_archive.html#whatisirc and the "channel" a lot of us hang out on is #loisclark -- it's password-protected just to keep out the random trolls and make sure we're not corrupting minors
You can sign up for the password here:
http://www.nfanfic.net/loisclark.html And everyone is welcome
Of course, you may come in, see us acting like loons, and decide to get out while the gettin's good <g> but that's a risk we'll have to take
PJ
