Tony -- Java? Ewww... It took me 4 hours just to fine a Java VM for WinXP... Java is probably not an option to newbies with XP that don't know where to get a Virtual Machine.
EDIT -- Hey look, the chatroom's empty....
Sure is .
There are other methods of getting irc on a site besides java, a refreshing php solution might work, but I dont know how bad the server load would be..
Java can also still be a viable option, just include a link to Java Virtual Machine (its easy to find around still belive me for XP users..rather simple