
Internet Relay Chat turns 30–and we remember how it changed our lives - pseudolus
https://arstechnica.com/staff/2018/10/internet-relay-chat-turns-30-and-we-remember-how-it-changed-our-lives/
======
dijit
And I’ve been running an irc network myself for more than half that. It’s hard
to beat the effective simplicity even if it’s janky to use and limited in
functionality.

That said I wish IRCv3 was coming sooner. The ability to replay messages and
handle TCP connection loss somewhat grafefully has an immesurable appeal;
because despite how fast the internet gets; it never seems to get more
reliable for individual long lived connections.

Edit: _shameless self promotion_ if you want to use my network for your own
needs or meet my 350+ friends then point your favourite irc client to
irc.drk.sc/+6697 (ssl-only)

~~~
giancarlostoro
Mind if I ask what server you use? I currently use ngircd when I do use a
server, just find it easier, I dont have any services for accounts setup is
the only downside for me but usually they seem to be a pain (never is it just
an apt install) and I did have a bouncer setup ages back, I wish more people
were IRC friendly.

IRCv3 really needs to hurry up, we need at least simpler account registration
and all that as part of the client if possible, it could go a long way.

Another thing I wish would happen is for a WebSockets compatible spec for IRC
so you can just use it in-browser without a "bridge" and it could be easier
for most newcomers to just spin that up and connect.

~~~
prawnsalad
We're actually putting together a Websocket spec at the moment for IRCv3.
There has been a few experiments and an implementation that has been getting
used more frequently has proven to be helpful here.

[https://github.com/kiwiirc/webircgateway](https://github.com/kiwiirc/webircgateway)

~~~
giancarlostoro
This is awesome, I'm really hoping this spec becomes adopted by all major
IRCd's

------
pcurve
Ahh... IRC... gateway into the world of Warez...

In mid 90s, I remember sending /ctcp xdcc list commands to bots and giggling
in utter joy while browsing through pirated copies of absurdly priced software
like Archicad, electric image animation system, Alias. Then hoarding them
knowing full well I'd never use them.. filling them on 100MG iomega zip disks
purchased from CompUSA or computer city.

Good old days.

~~~
linkmotif
The joy of piracy really is the getting and the having.

~~~
pcurve
haha very true... gotta have something in your stash in case you want
something from a bot that enforced upload / download ratios!

------
0898
Last year I logged into an IRC channel I frequented around 1997.

Damnit if many of the same people weren't there.

They recognised me too. Spent a beautiful couple of hours catching up.

~~~
sexydefinesher
One of the things i associate IRC with is all the dead husks of former
communities. Once highly active places you would check into daily there are at
best 10 idlers who never chat anymore, like statues in a mausoleum.

~~~
na85
Depends heavily on your channels. I frequent a few that average a few dozen
users and thousands of lines per day.

------
andrew_
IRC was the sole pathway I used to go from writing AOL "proggies" to actual,
real, meaningful code. Thankfully bash.org exists to document my transition:
[http://bash.org/?7717](http://bash.org/?7717)

------
rconti
I just followed the "Great Split" link in the article and it just goes to the
EFNet wikipedia link:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EFnet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EFnet)

As a 1994-onwards IRCer, I actually had no understanding of where the term
EFNet came from, and I don't really remember the US vs Europe/Japan/Australia
"Great Split" of 96. I'm sure I was THERE, but I mostly frequented regional
(okay #seattle and #pugetsound) channels so it wasn't particularly relevant to
me.

A few things hit me like a ton of bricks. At the time, IRC seemed unimaginably
vast; I remember netsplits were "unavoidable" once the active user count got
above 10,000, and the Wikipedia article says there are ~35,000 active users
now.

What didn't dawn on my until just now is that I must have known well over 100
IRCers even from just frequenting those regional forums, but because of how
bad we are at conceptualizing large numbers, it never occurred to me that I
must have known >1% of _ALL OF THE IRC USERS ON THE PLANET_ at the time. Mind
blowing.

------
EamonnMR
Can't let a mention of IRC go by without mentioning the classic repository of
IRC shenanigans, [http://bash.org](http://bash.org)

------
ChristianGeek
I’m not really sure how I’ve managed to avoid IRC during my years online. I
was frequenting BBSes back in 1978 or so and have been on the Web since the
early 1990s (when you could still visit every known web site in a day).

------
Jemm
Check out JS7 Call (formerly FT8 Call) on amateur radio for the next step in
IRC.

[http://js8call.com](http://js8call.com)

------
moonbug
Would pay good money for comic chat in Slack

~~~
vyrotek
I loved comic chat! I was talking to coworkers about chat clients the other
day and the usual list came up including ICQ, IRC, AIM, etc. But I was
surprised to find no one had heard of comic chat. I mentioned a few others
such as PowWow and The Palace and got the the same response.

It's amazing how just a few years of age difference shapes our past
experiences of the internet so much. It's all moving so fast.

~~~
toast0
It's not even age difference though. I don't think powwow had that much
penetration (after all it was 'just' ytalk for Windows, plus that weird shared
browsing mode, and I think it had a shared whiteboard too?). There were so
many things back then that 'everyone' used, except they had like 10% of the
market, it was just your sphere of friends that used it. (After all, who would
be friends with someone who used msn messenger instead of [your favorite])

