IRC varies greatly from the realities of the lifestyle. You will find many channels on many different nets. There are now nets that cater strictly to BDSM lifestyles and/or alternative lifestyles (such as irc.bondage.com and a couple others. Some nets and channels claim to be solely real life d/sers, some are complete fantasies. Some attempt to be a mixture of both. I am not saying which is right or which is wrong. You must find the place that is most comfortable for you and that meets your needs and reasons for being on IRC.
 

Many people who frequent the D/s channels on the nets take it very seriously. Though many of them have little or no real life D/s experience. There are a lot of wonderful people on the net, but sadly there are also a lot of predators, and jerks. So be careful with what you do, what you say, who you do it with and who you say it to. It is very easy to get caught up in the cyber world because it can be a great deal of fun, but you must always remember to be self protective first.

Each channel on the nets has their own rules of conduct, expected behavior, and what is allowed or is not allowed. But there are a few basic rules which are usually consistent through all the nets. There are exceptions to every rule but the general overall rules are as follows.

1: A capitalized nick is a dominant

2: a lowercase nick is a submissive

3: a nick with letters in brackets at the end, is a collared submissive ex: jane{D} (variances: jane-D-, jane^D^, jane[D] )

4: a collared submissive is usually untouchable by another dominant without his/her dominant's permission

5: if a collared submissive misbehaves, punishment should be given by the dominant he/she is collared to

6: if another dominant has a complaint about a collared submissive, it should be given directly to that submissive's dominant.

7: consent is a big thing, just because you have a capital nick doesn't give you the right to demand cybersex or a scene.

8. If an uncollared or free submissive misbehaves and a dominant moves to punish them, most channels (almost all of them outside of gorean channels) demand that the dominant not engage in a scene without that sub's consent.

9. Some channels require the submissives to serve the dominants in the channel

10: Always be yourself, trying to be someone else just won't work 

Be aware that there are real people, just like you, typing the words that you see on the screen. IRC has the ability to directly affect the minds and emotional states of the people using it. So be careful what you say and how you say it. A lot of damage can be done with just a few words.