[IRC] The basic unit of discussion on IRC. Once one joins a channel, everything one types is read by others on that channel. Channels are named with strings that begin with a ‘#’ sign and can have topic descriptions (which are generally irrelevant to the actual subject of discussion). Some notable channels are #initgame, #hottub, callahans, and #report. At times of international crisis, #report has hundreds of members, some of whom take turns listening to various news services and typing in summaries of the news, or in some cases, giving first-hand accounts of the action (e.g., Scud missile attacks in Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991).