You're about 10 seconds delayed from the rest of the channel. Suddenly, nobody is speaking, or a chunk of the lineup has disappeared. You look in the status window, and see something like this:

*** Harv (Harv@ppp32.panix.com) Quit
(enigma.mi.us.dal.net barovia.oh.us.dal.net)

What has happened? A Netsplit!

On IRC, we communicate by virtue of servers interconnecting with one another (for the newbie: a server acts like a telephone operator and coordinates the activity between several computers at once. An IRC network allows many computers to interact with eachother as servers connect together to form a single network). If that link is broken for any reason, a netsplit occurs. A bridge has fallen away and groups of folks are unable to speak to the rest of the Network.

The effect of a netsplit on a Network is determined geographically. If servers enigma.mi.us.dal.net thru barovia.oh.us.dal.net are split, then that means folks who are logged on servers between Michigan and Ohio are pretty much in the twilight zone.

When they come back in a netjoin, the success of the join will be apparent based on how badly they're lagged.

The tough thing about a netsplit is trying to determine which of the party is split. At first it looks the same from both POV: the people don't talk, they disappear off the channel, they rejoin. But WHO HAS LEFT? Good question.

The trick is to /whois yourself. If you get no prompt response, you're the split party. Either stick it out, or change servers (advisable not to do the latter if you're operator).

HOW TO AVOID NETSPLITS

Let me dispell a couple of myths:

1. There is no such thing as a consistently reliable server.
   What works well today might crash tomorrow. And for those who rely on networks which offer channel ownership capabilities, a stable server is useless to you if it is lagged from the services being used to protect you and your friends.

2. Never EVER join the server closest to you geographically.
   Rather, join the one closest to your friends.

Given the above considerations and the unstable nature of the Internet at times, try to get your friends with you on the same server, then the hopcount between chatters will be 0. There should be no more than 3 seconds' delay between participants (average ping would be 0 or 1 sec), and when a netsplit occurs there is an excellent chance that you'll face no interruption.

WHICH SERVER IS BEST?

As mentioned above, if you chat on a network which offers channel ownership services (like Dalnet, etc), then you'll want to make the most of protection features by selecting a server with a small hopcount from the one used by those services. Using the /links command, you can see a listing of all visible IRC servers. You'll find the server hopcount number in parenthesis. Simply join assorted servers until the services server hopcount is at its lowest. Then, pass along the winner to friends. Even channel hosts (called operators) will be able to enjoy the chat experience with their visitors with minimal delays.

As a guest, do a /whois on the host to see what server they're on, then change to it. You'll find it interesting how a channel can enjoy endless participation while the nicknames on your notify list wink on and off like holiday lights, as assorted people undergo all sorts of trials elsewhere on the network.