irc.perl.org is collection of IRC servers run by various members of the Perl community. The URI of irc.perl.org is a DNS round-robin which points to these servers. This network also goes by the names of MagNET and Rhizomatic.
MagNET is an IRC network that was started by users of Efnet #perl some time ago. People use it for all sorts now, but it's mostly populated by people related to the Perl community in some way or another.
That's a hard question to answer. MagNET did not start life as the official Perl network. A while back, irc.perl.org got pointed here and we took on the mantle, however reluctantly, of the semi-official Perl network. Many Perl projects call this network home. Many do not. That is their choice. We welcome any projects or groups, perl related or not, who would like a safe place to call home.
#perl is certainly not the official Perl channel. The history of #perl is long and sordid but one truth remains: #perl is primarily a social channel for members of the Perl community. Advanced questions will often be answered but newbie-type questions are best asked in other channels. Be advised that #perl can be a rough place and is not recommended for minors, pregnant women, or those with heart conditions.
#perl-help, #perl on irc.freenode.net, #perl on irc.oftc.net
MagNET is home to hundreds of individual IRC channels. While it would be impossible to list and describe them all, we do maintain a list of the more popular and potentially "official" channels who make their home here.
MagNET is a services-free network. We do not run any channel protection or nick/handle protection services. If you have abuse/security concerns, please contact the nearest oper.
You are aware that you're reading a site for an irc network, right? An ancient chat system that is neither shiny nor full of pretty? It's text; it's all just text. This site is compatible with RFC 1866 + 1942 (circa 1996). As such, the site works well in the vast majority of browsers, including lynx, elinks, and firefox. I don't have it on hand to test but I bet the site looks great in ncsa mosaic too. (And no, I will not accept CSS patches to make this "pretty". Install the Stylish plugin for Firefox)