IRC IRC... Internet Relay Chat is probably *THE* most useful tool planetarion has at the moment. It is likely the one item who's presence will make or break your galaxy's effectiveness. It can act as a meeting place for your galaxy members, and it'll allow you to get to know them a bit, make some friends, and above all, it can greatly increase your chances of survival. Should you get incomings in your galaxy, IRC will allow you to organize some collective defence in order to save your poor, besieged planet! This simple chat program is a lot easier to use than mailing individual planets in your galaxy begging for defence, posting on the galaxy forums, or even just going to bed and praying to the divine powers that be. IRC is also probably the one thing above all others that will help you get into an alliance. An alliance is a group of people who work together towards a common goal. They attack together, they defend each other, and the organization behind an alliance is a great method for meeting people and having a grande old time. Some of the younger alliances don't require a lot to get in. Simply be on irc for some amount of time per day, and talk in the channels. Most people are quite fun to talk with, and you may learn some interesting tids and tidbits on how planetarion works, or better strategies for attacking that one mean person who keeps trying to steal your asteroids. The last thing to note about irc, is that it's not all about planetarion and alliances. There are many more social channels around. Each one has a different purpose and different subject content too. There are some channels which are geared more specifically towards programming and computers in general, while there are some who are more focussed on european sports. Guaranteed, there's a channel to be found that will be along the same lines of what you're looking for. It just takes a little while to find! IRC is quite the useful little program, as it allows you to meet other people... whether it be in your galaxy, in an alliance you wish to join, or if you're just looking for a bunch of really weird people who enjoy having fun!