Check
this useful thread posted by Mentality. It pretty much covers the whole creating & keeping an IRC channel up
Edit: There is the possibily of having moderators (usually called Operators or Ops, which can manage the channel: kicking abusive users; banning them, changin the channel's topic, changing the chan's modes, etc.. You can start by connecting to an IRC network and joining #help (/join #Help) or any help channel and asking more info
Good luck!
Zyzzyx
