26 votes

IRC turns 30

Tags: protocol, irc, chat

13 comments

  1. [6]
    unknown user
    Link
    IRC is older than me, yet I still use it daily. Such a useful resource. It's a shame so many developer communities are now fractured between Slack, Discord, and Gitter (in order of increasing...

    IRC is older than me, yet I still use it daily. Such a useful resource. It's a shame so many developer communities are now fractured between Slack, Discord, and Gitter (in order of increasing terribleness).

    7 votes
    1. [5]
      mrbig
      Link Parent
      All these companies could easily make nice standalone apps that didn’t hog resources, but they make Electron crap instead. A messaging app shouldn’t lock my system ever. Hexchat is lightweight and...

      All these companies could easily make nice standalone apps that didn’t hog resources, but they make Electron crap instead. A messaging app shouldn’t lock my system ever. Hexchat is lightweight and stable. And the people on IRC are usually nice, knowledgeable and active. I see no advantage on those emoji ridden apps.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        unknown user
        Link Parent
        It really concerns me, actually, that we appear to be heading towards a language monoculture, in my mind, where so much mindshare is devoted to Javascript and Javascript alone; with Ionic/React...

        It really concerns me, actually, that we appear to be heading towards a language monoculture, in my mind, where so much mindshare is devoted to Javascript and Javascript alone; with Ionic/React allowing for "native" JS mobile applications, and Electron allowing for "native" desktop programs. Frankly when I develop personal projects these days it's not hard to find an excuse to use any language other than JS.

        5 votes
        1. mrbig
          Link Parent
          I think these Electron apps are just after thoughts to please a small audience. Most people are happy to live in the browser. But the cost to make a native app is peanuts for companies like...

          I think these Electron apps are just after thoughts to please a small audience. Most people are happy to live in the browser. But the cost to make a native app is peanuts for companies like Microsoft, Slack and Github, and I think it would make sense to invest a little to please their core IT audience.

          4 votes
      2. Akronymus
        Link Parent
        I atribute that to there being a barrier to enty at all.

        And the people on IRC are usually nice, knowledgeable and active.

        I atribute that to there being a barrier to enty at all.

        3 votes
      3. clerical_terrors
        Link Parent
        I know at least in the case of Discord they do this deliberately in order to be able to share as much code as possible between their web portal, their desktop and their mobile apps. It's all...

        I know at least in the case of Discord they do this deliberately in order to be able to share as much code as possible between their web portal, their desktop and their mobile apps. It's all written in React and React-Native so they don't have to maintain multiple source codes simultaneously.

        2 votes
  2. [3]
    teaearlgraycold
    Link
    Damn, they should have done this at my university. IRC has been an invaluable resource for learning CS/SE. I imagine many people get a degree using only stackoverflow and documentation (not that...

    Freshmen will have a compulsory IRC training during autumn semester.

    Damn, they should have done this at my university. IRC has been an invaluable resource for learning CS/SE. I imagine many people get a degree using only stackoverflow and documentation (not that those are bad resources). Getting advice or help from people that contribute to the core of your language in real time can be a nice alternative.

    5 votes
    1. Fin
      Link Parent
      slaps you around a bit with a large trout

      slaps you around a bit with a large trout

      14 votes
    2. Akronymus
      Link Parent
      A IRC client is basically my second program that I write in any language I learn, after "hello world". It is pretty easy to implement.

      A IRC client is basically my second program that I write in any language I learn, after "hello world".

      It is pretty easy to implement.

  3. [3]
    Fin
    Link
    I remember discovering irc back (or still is?) mIRC was the main thing people used. Various scripts and such changed the ui and it was highly modifiable. You could go into the actual code it used...

    I remember discovering irc back (or still is?) mIRC was the main thing people used. Various scripts and such changed the ui and it was highly modifiable. You could go into the actual code it used and tweak things. That was my first foray into coding.

    4 votes
    1. [2]
      teaearlgraycold
      Link Parent
      I think today the most popular clients are HexChat, irssi, weechat, and irccloud. Oh, and that weird irc alternative that has irc bridging functionality.

      I think today the most popular clients are HexChat, irssi, weechat, and irccloud. Oh, and that weird irc alternative that has irc bridging functionality.

      4 votes
      1. MacDolanFarms
        Link Parent
        That'd be Matrix (Riot is the most common client). Riot is a bit slow but Matrix in general serves as a nice "IRC client" with a built-in bouncer.

        That'd be Matrix (Riot is the most common client). Riot is a bit slow but Matrix in general serves as a nice "IRC client" with a built-in bouncer.

        5 votes
  4. sxo
    Link
    Still the best way to chat online. Also how I grabbed my tildes invite, since there wasn't a #tildes @ FreeNode...

    Still the best way to chat online. Also how I grabbed my tildes invite, since there wasn't a #tildes @ FreeNode...

    1 vote