An IRC client from 2003 can still connect to an IRC server in 2023. reddit / irc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lolbifrons · 2023-10-08 04:16 Why not? It's not like the standard has really changed. The only time you'd have trouble is if the server is running some service or security protocol that the client doesn't support. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sim642 · 2023-10-08 05:33 Perhaps surprisingly, IRCv3 is developing the protocol. But it's backwards compatible. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ButItIsMyNothing · 2023-10-08 06:41 This probably wouldn't be the case for a web, email, or FTP client. Usenet perhaps though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IBNash · 2023-10-08 09:15 You can take a telnet client from 1997 and it would connect just fine to a 2023 ircd. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Paradox · 2023-10-08 09:25 Email has been mostly the same since 1983, with only minor changes in how it actually works. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ButItIsMyNothing · 2023-10-08 09:29 The big difference of course being most providers now will require TLS and SMTP authentication and use IMAP rather than POP3. (Believe me, I've tried getting the likes of Microsoft Entourage and Outlook Express working on ancient operating systems with a modern email provider, they don't connect ☹️) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- zeamp · 2023-10-08 10:34 To be fair, the IRC sever is not much newer. It’s like saying a 1989 Corolla can still use a new-in-box 90s part. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sky1ark3 · 2023-10-08 13:57 Nice I have held on to a irc program called excursion from that time that had great scrips for downloading and serving files. I have linux and crossover office and it works 100% in a winxp bottle. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ThranPoster · 2023-10-08 14:59 Nice. [Try this one next?](https://bitchx.sourceforge.net) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HexagonWin · 2023-10-08 15:40 Damn, I'm still using BitchX :p ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Spindelhalla_xb · 2023-10-08 18:11 God damn that's a name i haven't heard for years! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pidgezero_one · 2023-10-08 18:30 over the last 18 years, a mIRCscript bot my friend wrote in 2005 (on a mIRC release from 2000) has changed hands multiple times. it's currently in my possession. still works great on a free tier google cloud linux vm via wine and x11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- deepend_tilde · 2023-10-08 18:37 Basically as long as the network supports non-tls connections you would be fine with literally any irc client. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- zoredache · 2023-10-08 22:02 > Why not? I think some networks require TLS these days, and older clients might not support that, or might not support modern ciphers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lolbifrons · 2023-10-08 23:48 That's what I had in mind when I said security protocol ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LA_Kookaracha · 2023-10-12 16:56 My websites from the 90s still work fine. No big shock here but it is rather cool. IRCFTW. Had lots of fun on there back in the late 90s. it was the shit.