An approach that seems to work well for me is to use IRC as a way to communicate with groups people that mostly I know in person and share a common interest wit

An approach that seems to work well for me is to use IRC as a way to communicate with groups people that mostly I know in person and share a common interest with. That way, I'm able to avoid a social pecking order or having to be "initiated" into a group. You may already be in one of these groups already, though the medium isn't necessarily always IRC--think Skype (text) chats groups with a subset of regulars. Remember, you can always drag others along with you and start your own channel.