Claim: Dirk Poot joined the Pirate Party in 2009 after discovering it on IRC, an application layer protocol that serves as a text communication tool.
Evidence: Dirk Poot (born 1968) is a Dutch programmer and politician who is a former lijsttrekker and spokesperson for the board of the Pirate Party of the Netherlands. Poot has been active with the Pirate Party since late 2009. He joined the party after discovering it through IRC while blogging about Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is an application layer protocol that facilitates communication in the form of text.