(Or "chat room", "room", depeNdiNg oN the system iN questioN) The basic uNit of group discussioN iNchat systems like IRC. ONce oNe joiNs a chaNNel, everythiNg oNe types is read by others oN that chaNNel. ChaNNels caN either be Named with Numbers or 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" 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). [JargoN File] (1998-01-25)
