From a Finnish university in 1988 to a global community still going strong in 2026. The complete story of Internet Relay Chat.
IRC was created in 1988 by Jarkko Oikarinen, a Finnish computer science student, while working at the University of Oulu in Finland. Originally developed as a replacement for a program called MUT on a bulletin board system, IRC quickly outgrew its origins and spread across universities and research networks worldwide.
By 1989, IRC was running on over 40 servers across multiple countries, establishing itself as the first truly global real-time chat network.
The early 1990s saw explosive growth. During the 1991 Gulf War and the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, IRC was used to relay live updates when traditional media could not keep up. It was the Twitter of its era — raw, fast, and global.
The mid-1990s saw a period known as the network wars. EFnet experienced a significant split in 1996 that gave birth to IRCnet. Around the same time, Undernet, DALnet, and QuakeNet emerged, each attracting massive communities.
This era also saw the rise of channel takeovers, clone attacks, and the first large-scale DDoS attacks in internet history — many of which originated from or targeted IRC infrastructure.
The late 1990s through to the mid 2000s is widely regarded as the golden era of IRC. At its peak, networks like EFnet, Undernet, and QuakeNet hosted hundreds of thousands of simultaneous users. IRC was where software was shared, scenes were built, communities were organised, and friendships were formed that lasted decades.
This is the era in which TrustNetwork24 was born in 2010, growing directly out of the EFnet community and the infrastructure demands it created.
As social media platforms emerged, IRC's general public user base began to decline. Facebook, Twitter, and later Discord drew casual users away. However IRC never disappeared. Developers, open source communities, security researchers, and dedicated enthusiasts continued to use IRC throughout this period.
Networks like Libera.Chat became central to the open source software world, and EFnet continued operating with a loyal and technically sophisticated user base.
EFnet, short for Eris-Free Network, holds a unique place in IRC history as the oldest continuously operating IRC network in the world. It was born out of a split from the original IRC network in 1990 over a disagreement about open connection policies.
EFnet developed a culture unlike any other IRC network. For much of its history it had no NickServ, no ChanServ, and no automated channel registration. Channel ownership was maintained purely through presence and operator lists — a rawer, more technically demanding environment that attracted programmers, security researchers, and serious IRC enthusiasts.
EFnet is where TrustNetwork24 has its roots. Founder the founder became deeply involved in the EFnet community during the golden era, and it was the demands of that community that gave birth to TrustNetwork24 in 2010.
EFnet continues to operate in 2026, maintaining its reputation as one of the most respected and longest-running IRC networks in existence.
IRC remains active in 2026. While it will never reclaim the mass-market audience it once held, its core communities are thriving. The rise of privacy concerns, distrust of centralised platforms, and a renewed appreciation for open protocols has brought a new generation of users to IRC.
TrustNetwork24 returns in 2026 with the specific mission of supporting this revival — providing the infrastructure, guides, and community that IRC needs to grow again.
Get Started on IRC