4 ms·

I miss the kind strangers who genuinely cared about helping others without being abrasive jerks. I learned a lot on IRC; made many new friends. This was back i

by bdd 7y ago

I miss the kind strangers who genuinely cared about helping others without being abrasive jerks. I learned a lot on IRC; made many new friends. This was back in 1994–98 when I was growing up in Turkey. The scene was rather small yet still full of kind enthusiasts. Sure there was some passingly “oh you’re a n00b” messing but it wasn’t toxic. EFNet and DalNet were a bit more different. Maybe less kind but still full of helpful people. If you weren’t grossly stepping out of boundaries of netiquette, you’d get treated with reciprocal dignity.

tehlike 7y ago
Once something goes from niche to mainstream, the quality of the community drops, almost by definition. Internet was a fun place when enthusiasts had their own websites written in cgi/perl/asp back in the day, and sharing was caring. I think this is why people praise ham radio community because it never went mainstream. Pick any sport that is niche, it is similar.
pmoriarty 7y ago
Honestly, I used to see a lot more abrasive jerks on the IRC of old. Lots of RTFM and refusing to answer direct technical questions because "why would you want to do that?" Some channels, like #politics on efnet were true cesspools. In contrast, my later experience with FreeNode has been consistently helpful on virtually every channel I've been to, except for #paludis, which really was full of jerks. I've seen trolls maybe once every year or two on FreeNode and they've been swiftly dealt with, rarely to be seen again. I guess your mileage will vary depending on which channels and networks you visit, though.
bjoli 7y ago
You should check out chicken scheme's IRC channel. They taught me scheme and answered all my inane questions with patience. I even found a bug once! Hanging out there has made me a more humble person, really.

4 ms·

I miss the kind strangers who genuinely cared about helping others without being abrasive jerks. I learned a lot on IRC; made many new friends. This was back i

by bdd 7y ago

tehlike 7y ago
Once something goes from niche to mainstream, the quality of the community drops, almost by definition. Internet was a fun place when enthusiasts had their own websites written in cgi/perl/asp back in the day, and sharing was caring. I think this is why people praise ham radio community because it never went mainstream. Pick any sport that is niche, it is similar.
pmoriarty 7y ago
Honestly, I used to see a lot more abrasive jerks on the IRC of old. Lots of RTFM and refusing to answer direct technical questions because "why would you want to do that?" Some channels, like #politics on efnet were true cesspools. In contrast, my later experience with FreeNode has been consistently helpful on virtually every channel I've been to, except for #paludis, which really was full of jerks. I've seen trolls maybe once every year or two on FreeNode and they've been swiftly dealt with, rarely to be seen again. I guess your mileage will vary depending on which channels and networks you visit, though.
bjoli 7y ago
You should check out chicken scheme's IRC channel. They taught me scheme and answered all my inane questions with patience. I even found a bug once! Hanging out there has made me a more humble person, really.