The official channel web site is located here.

The secret to IRC is idling. Please have some patience and do not quit after a minute or two of inactivity.

Note that you should not continue to browse the site if you use the option to connect from the site. You should right click on that link and select "Open in New Window" to open it in a new window. That way, you can come back to this window to continue your browsing, and leave the new one open with the chat applet.

If you are registered and logged in to SpaceEmpires.net, your username in the IRC chat will be the same as your login name. If you are not logged in, or not registered, your username will be either "Guest" or "SEnetUser###" (where ### is a random 3 digit number), depending on whether anyone is logged in as Guest or not. To change your nickname on the IRC channel, use the following command (replace newname with the name you wish to use):
/nick newname