Users can join any channel that they choose from a variety of channels.
Each channel has a specific discussion topic. IRCs give people a chance to chat back and forth with other users on a topic that they find interesting, about which they have a great deal of knowledge, or about which they would like to learn more. A newsgroup is more similar to a virtual bulletin board where users post articles and read other people's articles, but there is no interaction. The Israel channel is an IRC that is dedicated to discussions about Israel. Topics include the history of the country, the conflict in the Middle East, the culture of the country, and other various subjects, all pertaining to Israel.