Returning to IRC after a decade long break, want to find a good solution for keeping all my channels open. reddit / irc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- icarusfoundyou · 2015-01-26 17:30 Hey, Used to be a huge IRC user back in the early 00's; I basically grew up on it and lived on it on a day to day basis. Sadly most people moved on from the closed network we had (and the founder sadly passed away). As its near what would have been his birthday, I'm interested in getting back into it. I never really found a solution to keep my channels open 24/7 and easy to manage; I've seen IRCcloud, however I don't know if this is the best solution. Also interested in joining some networks to meet some cool technology minded people who just like to chill and have fun (bash.org is what makes me miss IRC) Any advice? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- flotwig · 2015-01-26 17:37 IRCcloud is good if you don't want to fool around with settings. If you're more of a command-line guy (and you want to use a normal IRC client instead of IRCcloud's web client), check out [ZNC](http://znc.in). My favorite network out of the several I idle on is Snoonet, and that's not just because I'm an oper there. There are channels for different subreddits (#techsupport for /r/techsupport, #games for /r/games, etc.) and some community channels as well (##PartyMansion being my current favorite). Snoonet has 3k users and growing, so it still has that community feel which is hard to get on larger networks. Check us out: irc.snoonet.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- icarusfoundyou · 2015-01-26 17:44 Thanks, I'll check out the network, it sounds like fun. I don't actually mind a web based client, but I just don't want to run into limitations with it; I always found it confusing how mIRC would work with some channel's features yet x-chat wouldn't. Or are the file transfer features less used nowadays because of how prevalent other services have become? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- flotwig · 2015-01-26 18:19 I think I've done DCC on IRC maybe 3 times in the past three years. It's pretty much a thing of the past unless you're on a warez channel. Sounds like you'd mesh well with IRCcloud. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Techno_Shaman · 2015-01-26 18:21 I agree with /u/flotwig on ZNC. Depending on your experience, you may enjoy a program called IRSSI, a command-line based IRC client. Otherwise, if you prefer a GUI, i suggest KVIRC to connect to ZNC. Most web-based chats are... poor. Kiwiirc is a decent webchat that connects to ZNC and is under active development. Lastly, I've been on IRC for about three years running now, and I have never used file transfer features. Partly because I dont trust the protocol, and partly because dropbox and email work for all my file- transfer needs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- flotwig · 2015-01-26 18:27 You're right not to trust DCC. While the protocol itself is extremely simple, it offers no form of encryption natively. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- icarusfoundyou · 2015-01-26 18:54 the only thing I don't understand is if IRCcloud stores all my information in cleartext on their servers? Security is somewhat of a concern; I've spoken to a friend and I'm more looking into ZNC based upon security concerns. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- flotwig · 2015-01-26 19:05 All your IRC info is on their servers. I don't personally use it, so I'd visit their IRC channel to ask them questions about their data storage policy with regards to encryption. Definitely host ZNC yourself if security is an issue. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pacmanlives · 2015-01-26 20:57 I like tmux with weechat. You can use irssi if that's your bag too. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Paradox · 2015-01-26 21:06 There are basically 3 ways people do always on connections (2 really, but I'll get to that). 1. **Shell with a client**: Something like irssi or WeeChat, that you put on a server somewhere, in a multiplexer like screen or tmux, and then connect into via SSH. These give you a consistent interface from any computer, however, they're typically a bit more limited, graphically. The clients are very fully featured, but are all CLI. 2. **Bouncer**: This is the other main way people do it. Basically, a bouncer is a program that sits on a server, as a proxy for you. You connect to the bouncer, which connects to the IRC server(s). The bouncer then manages logs, channels, replay, and so forth. This gives you the ability to use a variety of different clients, and pretty much works anywhere. 3. **Web client or Quassel:** Pretty much just mixups of the first 2. Web clients are things like IRCCloud, which is basically a shell client, but you use it through your browser, instead of through, say, a terminal. It gives you the advantage of a graphic frontend, and you can use a lot of userscripts to enhance it, but the downsides are that you have to fork over money, and might not have the highest flexibility. Quassel has more in common with a bouncer, except the client actually connects to a special type of server, which is purpose built for driving it. It is cross platform, and a lot of people like it, so ymmv ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tobsn · 2015-01-26 21:18 even a decade ago you had psybnc, muh, and a ton of other bouncers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- icarusfoundyou · 2015-01-27 03:49 a decade ago I didn't have a credit card (or access to my own vps) I know what they do and I'm sort of familiar with some of them but I've never personally used one. I'm honestly surprised irccloud is so alone in what it offers. I figured there would be a 'gmail for irc' by now (not necessarily by Google, but a browser based IRC client with searchable logs going back as long as you've been using it) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NochaQueese · 2015-02-01 13:09 If you are using a Weechat instance in a screen/tmux session, look at some of the relay options. Glowing Bear compares pretty well to kiwi for looks, and gives the persistence of weechat...