oxidised layer & irc

Hello,

Im new to this forum, im very existed to get involved in the community.
I have two questions,

The first is is there an irc server(like #blacksmith), i was not able to find one, if not can we make one?
Secondly i wanted to ask about the oxidised layer on the forge, from what i can gather there is a part of the forge where the iron does not melt but instead the heat soaks in how do i identify this part. (i have a bottom blower forge, fire pot design)

im dyslexic so sorry for bad spelling