3 ms·

I love the fact that IRC is still alive and kicking. The #django channel on freenode is still pretty active as opposed other communities that flock to slack o

I love the fact that IRC is still alive and kicking. The #django channel on freenode is still pretty active as opposed other communities that flock to slack or gitter.

pmoriarty 9y ago
Technical chat on IRC is still alive and well on Freenode, but non-technical chat has mostly moved on from IRC to other media.
- digi_owl 9y ago
  Indeed. I still recall watching this change firsthand. When i got my first modem, i was informed of a regional IRC channel on one of the big networks. And from that day onwards i would have my client set to connect to that channel, and fire it up alongside the email client right after the handshake completed. But at one point the channel died, and the cause of death was twofold. one part was the creation first generation social media services, and their web based chat rooms. Another part, and perhaps a bigger part, was that Microsoft made a strong push of MSN Messenger with Windows XP. This resulted in a more clique style communications form online, as you had to know people and get their account info before being able to contact them. With IRC you joined the channel and that was it.
  - visarga 9y ago
    Subreddits resemble IRC from that point of view - you just need to join the right one.
    - digi_owl 9y ago
      Kinda, but not as real time. I recall having on the fly conversations about TV programs on IRC.
      - submeta 9y ago
        Twitter! When it comes to the real time aspect I know nothing better than Twitter.
        throwanem 9y ago
        What makes it so good?
        submeta 9y ago
        Whatever event happens right now (WhatsApp down? Elections in a country? A TV show running on TV [1]?) go to Twitter and search for it with relevant keywords and you'll find people writing about it. [1] at least in Germany
        throwanem 9y ago
        In my experience that's a firehose with no meaningful real-time quality metric available. Perhaps there's something I'm missing.
        elsurudo 9y ago
        I find it overwhelming. I don't know how to get over that.
        rusk 9y ago
        I wholeheartedly agree. It's great as long as the keyword you're searching for is easily distinguishable. Whenever something happens and I want to find out ahead of the news-cycle it's my go to ...
- lukevers 9y ago
  I have an IRC channel that myself and a few friends use every day. It’s probably 30% technical and 70% chat. I do wish more people still used it, but I guess most people like chat platforms with fancy features now.

I love the fact that IRC is still alive and kicking. The #django channel on freenode is still pretty active as opposed other communities that flock to slack or gitter.

pmoriarty 9y ago

Technical chat on IRC is still alive and well on Freenode, but non-technical chat has mostly moved on from IRC to other media.

digi_owl 9y ago
Indeed. I still recall watching this change firsthand. When i got my first modem, i was informed of a regional IRC channel on one of the big networks. And from that day onwards i would have my client set to connect to that channel, and fire it up alongside the email client right after the handshake completed. But at one point the channel died, and the cause of death was twofold. one part was the creation first generation social media services, and their web based chat rooms. Another part, and perhaps a bigger part, was that Microsoft made a strong push of MSN Messenger with Windows XP. This resulted in a more clique style communications form online, as you had to know people and get their account info before being able to contact them. With IRC you joined the channel and that was it.
- visarga 9y ago
  Subreddits resemble IRC from that point of view - you just need to join the right one.
  - digi_owl 9y ago
    Kinda, but not as real time. I recall having on the fly conversations about TV programs on IRC.
    - submeta 9y ago
      Twitter! When it comes to the real time aspect I know nothing better than Twitter.
      - throwanem 9y ago
        What makes it so good?
        submeta 9y ago
        Whatever event happens right now (WhatsApp down? Elections in a country? A TV show running on TV [1]?) go to Twitter and search for it with relevant keywords and you'll find people writing about it. [1] at least in Germany
        throwanem 9y ago
        In my experience that's a firehose with no meaningful real-time quality metric available. Perhaps there's something I'm missing.
        elsurudo 9y ago
        I find it overwhelming. I don't know how to get over that.
        rusk 9y ago
        I wholeheartedly agree. It's great as long as the keyword you're searching for is easily distinguishable. Whenever something happens and I want to find out ahead of the news-cycle it's my go to ...
lukevers 9y ago
I have an IRC channel that myself and a few friends use every day. It’s probably 30% technical and 70% chat. I do wish more people still used it, but I guess most people like chat platforms with fancy features now.