"Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
Albert Einstein
To connect yourself to one of these servers you need special computer software that speaks the same language (protocol) as the server. This IRC software (also known as the IRC client) can be downloaded easily onto your computer and is mostly free. You can get software that will work on your computer whether it's a Mac, a PC or whatever, and it doesn't matter if you're on a Mac talking to someone on a PC - you can still communicate no problem.
Check out this set of links to places where you can download the appropriate software.
How to get hooked up
IRC is based on what is known as client-server protocol. This is useful to know because it helps you understand a little bit about how IRC works.
Basically IRC is made up of a network of really big servers (computers) that communicate with each other. Each server takes on clients - that's us, the people using IRC. Because the servers are joined together in a network across the world, anyone can communicate with anyone else, as long as they both have access to a server in the network.
