 I left the IRC client running for a period of 36 hours in these 60 channels - the largest public channels in the world. Upon entering each channel, more often than not I was greeted with messages similar to the following:
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    If you are affiliated with any government, police. ANTI-Piracy Group, RIAA, MPAA, FBI, movie production company/distribution company or related groups you are violating code 431.322.12 of the Internet Privacy Act signed by Bill Clinton in 1995,Therefore you CANNOT threaten our ISP(s),person(s) or company storing these file and cannot :prosecute anyone. And you must LEAVE NOW. 
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This is an obvious indicator that something illegal is going on. I have no involvement with the government, FBI, etc. so I was apparently free to stay.
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Within a few seconds, my IRC client was bombarded by a stream of messages advertising illegal unlicensed software, mp3s and the latest movies - items known collectively by illegal file sharers as "warez". 