# Gavin Andresen
# 2011-05-11 01:57:54
# https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=7907.msg115231#msg115231

giraffe.heliacal.net is also known as irc.lfnet.org @p{brk}

Code:
PING giraffe.heliacal.net (92.243.23.21): 56 data bytes @p{brk}
PING irc.lfnet.org (92.243.23.21): 56 data bytes @p{brk}

 @p{brk}
Laszlo runs that IRC chat server, and bitcoin uses it to "bootstrap" to find other machines running bitcoin. @p{par}

Unless you run with the -noirc switch, in which case it won't @p{--} it will try to connect via a list of compiled-in 'seed nodes' (which I'll try really hard to remember to recruit somebody to update for the next release). @p{par}

After you've run bitcoin once, it stores nodes you were able to connect with in the addr.dat file, so you can run -noirc just fine.  But if everybody did that, newbies who just downloaded bitcoin would have a hard time finding people to connect with. @p{brk}