not restrict the server used, can also be abused. Usually CGI:IRC is abused to create many clones, which are used to flood an IRC network or a particular user. In response, many networks have started to ban CGI:IRC clients except those which originate from their own CGI:IRC proxy (if they have one). Server side CGI:IRC runs on a webserver such as Apache configured to run Perl, and uses Unix domain sockets. It uses a special HTTP streaming connection while communicating with the user's web browser; this reduces network usage because the user's webpage is not continually being redrawn. Early versions of some web browsers such as Apple Safari had problems with streaming connections. CGI:IRC can be configured to allow access to any server and channel, or restricted to single instances. One limitation of CGI:IRC with respect to some IRC servers is "Because CGI:IRC acts as a client, connections from it appear to be coming from the web server's address. This allows it to get past firewalls, but if several clients are connecting from the same address, some IRC servers will refuse to accept additional connections beyond a certain limit." See also Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients Web chat References External links Internet Relay Chat clients Free Internet Relay Chat clients Cross-platform free software Free software programmed in Perl