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I don't think so. I know everybody loves to say that IRC is better than [insert commercial chat application] but in this particular use case discord is superior

I don't think so. I know everybody loves to say that IRC is better than [insert commercial chat application] but in this particular use case discord is superior to irc imo because of the voice/video chat features and greater convenience.

jorvi 3y ago
IRC’s biggest fault is no history. Everything else is secondary. Yeah, bouncers exist, but it should have been baked into the spec at some point.
sho_hn 3y ago
It's the structure/topology. Discord has a million deserted "servers" with redundant general channels. Peak IRC had a dozen or so large networks that often bundled a lot of e.g. adjacent FOSS projects. The chances of running into someone interesting a la the article anecdote was just higher. Discord is a massive net negative for chatting on the internet because of this flaw imho.
- skeaker 3y ago
  This wasn't my experience with IRC. Our channel only ever had thirty people tops before being swallowed by discord. It's got the same discovery/accessibility issues that the Windows vs Linux issue has. Want Windows/Discord? Google Windows/Discord, first result, done. Want Linux/IRC? Weeeell, first you're going to have to find a distro/client. There's no singular trusted expert and everyone disagrees on what's best, so you better pick one and pray it was the right choice. Oh, you'll also have to configure it a bit, or a lot if you chose the wrong one.
  - sho_hn 3y ago
    > This wasn't my experience with IRC. The thing is, my experience is different, but of course similarly anecdotal. I essentially got my entire professional network and career on IRC, and that includes contacts all over the modern tech stack and adjacent interests, being on just two IRC "servers". And I could connect many other people in the same way. On Discord, there seem to be just more barriers against this. Getting someone into a new place doesn't just require hopping into a new channel with a single /join command, but an entire new "server" with a new crowd. There's more inhibition against that.
anthk 3y ago
You mean, like Jabber did 10 years ago using 10x less resources?

jorvi 3y ago

IRC’s biggest fault is no history. Everything else is secondary. Yeah, bouncers exist, but it should have been baked into the spec at some point.

sho_hn 3y ago

It's the structure/topology. Discord has a million deserted "servers" with redundant general channels. Peak IRC had a dozen or so large networks that often bundled a lot of e.g. adjacent FOSS projects. The chances of running into someone interesting a la the article anecdote was just higher. Discord is a massive net negative for chatting on the internet because of this flaw imho.

skeaker 3y ago
This wasn't my experience with IRC. Our channel only ever had thirty people tops before being swallowed by discord. It's got the same discovery/accessibility issues that the Windows vs Linux issue has. Want Windows/Discord? Google Windows/Discord, first result, done. Want Linux/IRC? Weeeell, first you're going to have to find a distro/client. There's no singular trusted expert and everyone disagrees on what's best, so you better pick one and pray it was the right choice. Oh, you'll also have to configure it a bit, or a lot if you chose the wrong one.
- sho_hn 3y ago
  > This wasn't my experience with IRC. The thing is, my experience is different, but of course similarly anecdotal. I essentially got my entire professional network and career on IRC, and that includes contacts all over the modern tech stack and adjacent interests, being on just two IRC "servers". And I could connect many other people in the same way. On Discord, there seem to be just more barriers against this. Getting someone into a new place doesn't just require hopping into a new channel with a single /join command, but an entire new "server" with a new crowd. There's more inhibition against that.

anthk 3y ago

You mean, like Jabber did 10 years ago using 10x less resources?