Is there a reason to start using IRC? reddit / irc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TheMagmaSlasher · 2022-11-05 20:46 So, I'm not old. I wasn't around during the 90s, when IRC was the only option available, and I grew up with all sorts of corporate social media like Instagram and Discord. Despite that, I've always had an interest in these older chat clients, but never really pursued it much more than a passing thought here and there. So, now I'm asking, is it still worth it to move over to IRC now? Do people still regularly use it, and will I have a chance of fitting in? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bestonecrazy · 2022-11-05 21:48 Yes(however Matrix is more secure). Move over to IRC and Matrix(like IRC but more secure and modern). Both are decentralized(not in the crypto sense), and not by corporate overlords. Edit: yes you have a chance to fit in. Start at snoonet(https://snoonet.org/) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- joscher123 · 2022-11-05 21:49 Is there any reason to use IRC over Matrix these days? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bestonecrazy · 2022-11-05 21:57 Not much. Easier to self-host. Highly standardized. Tons of server scripts and apps still support it. Both can bridge to each other. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- fishfacecakes · 2022-11-05 21:58 Critical mass? Availability of certain channels? Not saying irc is better but they would be some reasons ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bestonecrazy · 2022-11-05 21:58 Yes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kent-C-Aka-Burnout · 2022-11-05 23:23 ZNC w/ binding host DNS + Blowfish Encryption. Matrix you have to setup your account into a room that's private encryption: e.g. : https://matrix.to/#/@username:matrix.org That's on Android BTW. I prefer IRC because it's more robust, you can get multiple plugins and add scripts. Matrix is decent, easier to encrypt chat where BF the key exchange can be hard unless you IM or 2nd username chat in the open. Cheers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bllgvn · 2022-11-05 23:27 I would say that there are reasons to us orc in today's world. The most common thing I use it for participating in support communities for a couple of different open-source projects. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- anths · 2022-11-06 02:54 Well-established open protocol with lots of clients/libraries/etc for most platforms. Lots of specific channels in one place but not the other, but that depends on caring about those specific channels of course. I find it easier to use and like the community more, but YMMV. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- gostgoose · 2022-11-06 07:52 You might as well try. Unlike discord, you don't have to worry about zero privacy and arbitrary crap. The audience is much smaller but there are upsides and IRC influenced the more popular apps. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- deepend_tilde · 2022-11-06 08:44 Guess it depends what your looking to get out of it. All these chat platforms have their place in the world. My opinion is IRC is where to go. Full stop. But your not me so it’s hard to suggest that irc is better then anything else. But one thing is for sure. Matrix is not a good solution IMHO. Matrix makes discord seem like a lightweight platform to chat on. And yes you can fit in. If you don’t feel like you fit in them there is a ton of different networks to choose from. Shop around. You’ll find the right one :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mccobsta · 2022-11-06 10:21 Clients are way lighter for irc than matrix ---------------------------------------------------------------------- qudat · 2022-11-06 14:56 I recently got into IRC having barely used it previously. My primary motivation was not being a huge fan of slack, discord, matrix, etc. Slack and discord are heavy, closed ecosystems that focus on monetization and gamification. Everytime I've used Matrix it didn't feel different enough from discord and was also kind of slow. IRC is a relatively simple and open protocol. IRCv3 is the latest movement on "modernizing" IRC. There have been a bunch of improvements to IRC but it's still a little rough. The single thing that I found the most frustrating was figuring out how to get push notifications on my phone. With all the other chat apps I mentioned, it's done for you through their official apps. With IRC, it's a hot mess. Also if you want basic features like chat history or always online, you're going to have to deploy a bouncer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- gostgoose · 2022-11-06 21:02 Yeah, IRC is a little rough. Chat history should be an option. You can always save it on your client but it's not the same. Still, IRC is fast and simple. IRC clients are great. Most of the other apps have terrible clients that eat tons of resources. Discord can spy on everything you do and they routinely do mass bans and takedowns. I was banned from Discord for no reason and when I finally got an answer from their support they said "whoops, you got caught in a filter". They restored my account but I stopped using it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PerfectMeet3997 · 2022-11-07 11:02 > always save it on your client but it's not the same. > >Still, IRC is fast and simple. IRC clients are great. Most of the other apps have terrible clients that eat tons of resources. > >Discord can spy on everything you do and they routinely do mass bans and takedowns. I was banned from Discord for no reason and when I finally got an answer from their support they said "whoops, you got caught in Hi, with IRCCloud you get push notifications on smartphone/smartwatch and you don't lose chat history! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- qudat · 2022-11-07 13:29 Yea that is definitely the easy path. In my case I already had a self hosted bouncer so it made things a little more complicated. I ended up connecting a bot to my bouncer and then just sent messages to my email which would then send me notifications. I also wanted to make sure I was using v3 capabilities and wasn’t sure where irccloud was at with those. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- b3zi · 2022-11-10 11:40 \##math on libera was a life saver for me multiple times. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- b3zi · 2022-11-10 11:41 get a bouncer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- M32H9 · 2022-11-15 21:42 I've also been thinking the same and today set up weechat and had a look around. imo anything that takes a bit more maintenance / knowhow / nerdery / looks basic is going to attract a certain style of person (good and bad), who are people that are more up my alley. Every time I go on Discord I almost pass out with the amount of visual over stimuli, pop ups, colors, sounds. And the only time I'm happy to go with the 'one app to rule them all' paradigm - is the CLI. It's fast, snappy and bare bones. Plus the general atmosphere of a corporate app siphoning data and accruing control just pisses me off by now. Had enough of that vibe. I actually think IRC might pick up a bit. I've been seeing a lot of attention being put back onto the terminal with little companies sprouting up making command line apps and golang becoming highly adopted now and very adept at making CLI apps. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GreenArrowo · 2022-11-21 06:41 If you find the right community, it can be really great, resulting in memories that last a lifetime. It can also be a trying experience, if you encounter trolls. Do your research about the network you're considering joining. Some IRC networks will mask your IP, and some will leave it exposed for anyone to see. If you're unsure, start out on a well-known network that has IP masking. The right group of people will be happy to find a new person interested in IRC. You just have to find them! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SouthernIcelion · 2022-11-26 19:04 It is fun, what more reasons do you need, its simple - and its still a great place for Nerds/Geeks/Foss-Enthusiasts or people who want to have a simple channel for their hobby available! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ComputerTech312 · 2022-12-30 04:05 100%, I'm probably younger than you(20 years old now) and i started off at IRC when i was 17, and i have to say, i've had some of the best moments of my life on it, no regrests whatsoever, so you should join and use it for sure!(assuming you haven't already since this post is over 2 months old) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TheMagmaSlasher · 2022-12-30 05:06 I started using it for a while after this post went up, but my computer got super messed up for unrelated reasons (still hasn't been fixed), and I haven't gotten around to setting it up on my laptop. Thanks for reminding me about this, though! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ComputerTech312 · 2022-12-30 05:07 Neat, maybe hit me up when you do, would be nice to meet people similiar age to myself on IRC. :\^) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bobcrotch · 2022-12-30 16:59 > basic features Irc was designed without having these features and there’s multiple options on the client side to implement them. I do get what you’re saying though. To me it’s important to make the distinction that this was by design and not “wtf there isn’t chat history!!??” ---------------------------------------------------------------------- qudat · 2022-12-30 18:15 Yep totally, but it’s also the reason why people invent other protocols or chat apps: the weight of its historical context makes progress crawl. Some people like that the chat history disappears and fight against incorporating chat history into the irc servers themselves. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bobcrotch · 2022-12-30 18:19 No for sure, irc was written in RFCs mainly as a protocol. Which is just not something that happens often anymore. Plus irc to most people is just their client, irssi, mirc, and whatever feature sets those include. I’ve been hoping against hope that a problem space exists for irc today but.. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- melodic-maybe23 · 2023-01-14 22:44 it's not really a community or network, just a protocol best thing about IRC is anyone can start their own server, and unlike discord, you fully own your server. IE no one else sees what you do on it by any legal means also contrary to what other posters said, there's IRC servers and software with chat history, just have to be using a more modern IRC software ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Klement-Metternich1 · 2023-01-18 17:16 How do I access chat in other countries?