Netsplits Netsplits are caused when a hub gets overloaded and the routing buffers fail to handle the flow. A split occurs when the IRC server you are communicating on detaches from the rest of the net. If the split lasts more then a few minutes, you might want to change to another server.
Splits dont usually take that long to rejoin though.
Dont worry that you caused the split, there is nothing you can do to prevent or to cause a netsplit from happening. Sometimes, during a netsplit, servers will become desynched. A desynch is like a partial netsplit. During desynches, some people may be able to see the topic of the channel while others can't. Same goes for ops.