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IRC is heavily session-oriented and works well with a persistent connection. However, when you start using multiple devices, such as PCs and mobiles, you encoun

IRC is heavily session-oriented and works well with a persistent connection. However, when you start using multiple devices, such as PCs and mobiles, you encounter issues with fragmentation. It’s fine if you're only using a PC, but mixing multiple PCs and mobiles can quickly become chaotic. The lack of push notifications can also drain your mobile battery. The biggest complaint I have with IRC is its assumption of synchronous communication. If you're not connected, you won't get a backlog. People suggest setting up a persistent proxy, but this feels like a quirky workaround that doesn't fully resolve the issue. Plus, for it to be effective, everyone needs to be configured that way, which isn't practical. Additionally, any media other than text needs to be transferred off-band, through DCC or other file transfers. While Discord isn't perfect, it eliminates many of the issues I experience with IRC. Ultimately, it depends on your use case, but IRC's assumptions don't work for me or my peers. That's my two cents.

drbig 2y ago
> The biggest complaint I have with IRC is its assumption of synchronous communication. But that's like complaining that the assumption of water is that it is wet. _Chat_ by definition is right here right now. It is not mail, pager, bulletin board, forum, or... water. And indeed we have "persistent proxies" but we call them bouncers[1] and they have plugins and stuff all figured out in the _thirty plus years_ IRC has been around. IRC does one thing and does it well enough to be older than all the social media, and to outlive it too. Making your own bot[2] is easy, and "persistence" can also be done by having... wait for it... public logs[3]! And yeah I use Discord too, it's fine while it lasts. On IRC networks since... 1997, and still here and most useful. 1: https://wiki.znc.in/ZNC https://wiki.znc.in/ZNC 2: https://github.com/drbig/catabot https://github.com/drbig/catabot 3: https://github.com/drbig/chatlogger https://github.com/drbig/chatlogger
- unsignedint 2y ago
  That's why I said, "Ultimately, it depends on your use case, but IRC's assumptions don't work for me or my peers." If it works for you, great. It doesn't for me. (Believe me, I used to use it a lot back then.) For one thing, I chat with people not just to chat, but to communicate effectively. IRC simply doesn't provide the functionality that aligns with my use cases. It doesn't meet the expectations I have for such systems right out of the box. Creating and maintaining bots or workarounds just to communicate effectively isn't high on my list of priorities, given everything else I have to do.
  - drbig 2y ago
    Fair enough. So less about chat but more about async-first exchange. Sounds like e-mail?
    - unsignedint 2y ago
      Right, and another factor is that I often have to communicate with people in different time zones, sometimes with a 16-17 hour difference. It's nice to have that seamless transition between synchronous and asynchronous communication.

drbig 2y ago

> The biggest complaint I have with IRC is its assumption of synchronous communication. But that's like complaining that the assumption of water is that it is wet. _Chat_ by definition is right here right now. It is not mail, pager, bulletin board, forum, or... water. And indeed we have "persistent proxies" but we call them bouncers[1] and they have plugins and stuff all figured out in the _thirty plus years_ IRC has been around. IRC does one thing and does it well enough to be older than all the social media, and to outlive it too. Making your own bot[2] is easy, and "persistence" can also be done by having... wait for it... public logs[3]! And yeah I use Discord too, it's fine while it lasts. On IRC networks since... 1997, and still here and most useful. 1: https://wiki.znc.in/ZNC https://wiki.znc.in/ZNC 2: https://github.com/drbig/catabot https://github.com/drbig/catabot 3: https://github.com/drbig/chatlogger https://github.com/drbig/chatlogger

unsignedint 2y ago
That's why I said, "Ultimately, it depends on your use case, but IRC's assumptions don't work for me or my peers." If it works for you, great. It doesn't for me. (Believe me, I used to use it a lot back then.) For one thing, I chat with people not just to chat, but to communicate effectively. IRC simply doesn't provide the functionality that aligns with my use cases. It doesn't meet the expectations I have for such systems right out of the box. Creating and maintaining bots or workarounds just to communicate effectively isn't high on my list of priorities, given everything else I have to do.
- drbig 2y ago
  Fair enough. So less about chat but more about async-first exchange. Sounds like e-mail?
  - unsignedint 2y ago
    Right, and another factor is that I often have to communicate with people in different time zones, sometimes with a 16-17 hour difference. It's nice to have that seamless transition between synchronous and asynchronous communication.