Aaron Toponce ⚛️
I didn't get on IRC until 1999, so I never experienced these growing pains in the early 1990s. It's fascinating to learn about.
Great video.
YouTube
I'm getting a little nostalgic here, but like many, I started with mIRC so I could pirate software, audio, and video. But around this time, I was also finding my footing in #FreeSoftware.
I eventually setup a Sun workstation with NetBSD and ran BitchX behind GNU screen. So long as I had an SSH client, I could access my IRC session.
I then migrated to Irssi then WeeChat. I was connected to Freenode, OFTC, Mozilla, and many other networks. All in Free Software channels.
Of course I also had a Jabber account, so I ran a local Bitlbee server that my IRC client connected to, so I could use my IRC client to chat with my Jabber contacts.
When Bitlbee announced Twitter support, I then used it for accessing Twitter (before it turned to shit).
My IRC client was literally my only chat client for all the things. It was great.
But when Andrew Lee took over Freenode in 2021, I decided to not migrate to Libera.Chat and shut down my IRC client for good.
I was connected to IRC 24/7 for 20 years across nearly a dozen networks and thousands of channels and DMs.
Like the video mentioned, IRC is now a shadow of its former self. It's just not the same.
But man, it was a wild ride.
Jason Parker-Burlingham 🏳️🌈@atoponce I unironically wish I'd spent more time on IRC, I let it drop off as other social media took over my life, but it was a great medium
When freenode went badly off the rails seems to have been the beginning of the end.
Eric Mabuse@atoponce I just *loved* to annoy my colleagues by using Microsoft Comic Chat.
Instead of 'ops' someone had a 'hammer'...
It was awesome bringing in comics as 'chat logs' in a boardroom meeting.
Instead of 'ops' someone had a 'hammer'...
It was awesome bringing in comics as 'chat logs' in a boardroom meeting.