You want to see one of the most fascinating uses of IRC in a focused, dedicated community let me introduce you to the player group known as the "Fuel Rats" of Elite:Dangerous[1]. They use IRC for far more than just a hub to congregate and socialize, 100% of their actual dispatch operations are planned, coordinated and excuted on IRC.
If you run out of "fuel" in game, and you need a Fuel Rat to come rescue you, you do it in IRC. Dispatch talks to you in their IRC channel, other dispatchers are communicating in NOTAM[2] like notation with pilots out 'rescuing' other players.
You did say up to 2013. I know a lot of games that were heavily IRC based in coordination, but move on to either Slack or Discord around 2015. Though the link suggests it's still IRC main.
Put me into the "they should move to Discord" crowd.
The hardest part of using their (really good) services was having to use IRC. If they'd used Discord, I'd hop into a server effortlessly. Instead, I had to navigate the byzantine vagaries of terrible UX while running out of oxygen. D:
I think another good example of IRC usage was the channel for kimchi and its associated tools. It's a GUI for libvirtd but the interesting part is that they used to hold daily standups in IRC.
Just like we do today in Webex Teams for example.
I personally never liked the transition to web based chat because IRC was a lot more information dense than any web chat can be.
Being able to paste inline code doesn't sell it for me since there are pastebins you can host on prem easily.
I love going on Freenode, simply because the people that lurk on any given project's room have always been incredibly helpful to me, and really nice too. I am in the #clojure room semi-often (asking silly questions), and occasionally the Haskell room if I'm up for learning a bit more about theory.
I like how simple IRC is, but I get why so many people have an aversion towards it. In the age of Slack, telling people to install Weechat and connect to a server manually is kind of scary. I largely embrace the transition to something new, but I do have an issue with the open-source world moving to a proprietary platform.
I wish XMPP were more popular, since I think a federated chat system with an open protocol is pretty neat, but sadly I fear that the Slack hype-train might be a bit too far-gone.
I like it for the same reason. It's super nice when your doing some oss development, and have to ask something.
If you head into the xorg channel, you will find yourself talking to all the people who were also attending conferences about xorg 5-10 years ago. Those are exactly the people I want to talk to, when I have questions about xorg.
Funny this is the worst possible IRC network to use - so many channels are overly restrictive which leads to a crappy user experience. The usual claim is to "combat spam" but most other networks (OFTC) don't implement these policies and have little to no trouble with spam.
> I think a federated chat system with an open protocol is pretty neat
Have you looked into Matrix? It still has a few kinks to work out, but it seems to fit the bill, and the idea of bridging to other protocols (namely IRC and Slack) is an interesting idea for reducing friction.
Long answer: My colleagues don't want to so I use it mostly for forums. Some programming languages have chat channels and I have heard that for open source dev it is still somewhat common but I suspect it is declining. It's a pity because I think Slack is stupid. Slack does not have the transparency of IRC and frankly the fact that you can share files and use fonts and indents are not selling points for me.
EDIT: Slack is stupid for me. To each their own I guess?
EDIT2: Just to make it clear, judging from other answers a lot of programmers use IRC every day. But not all of my colleagues are programmers. Some fall in the chasm between "data science" and programming and for such people IRC is unfortunately unfamiliar.
Yes I use it all the time especially when I'm learning a new thing or researching a strange behaviour of a program. I prefer much better the freedom to ask/discuss anything and the fast ask/reply/clarify cycle of IRC than fe stackoverflow with its strict rules.
Freenode has channels with people that are very helpful and friendly. Some channels I am frequent and would recommend: #django, #elixir-lang, #kotlin, #android-dev. I also visit (and get help) #mysql and #postgresql.
Actually I wanted to write a blog post to urge people to learn about and visit IRC, but I hope that this HN thread will suffice...
I will try these. Some of the ones that interest me seem to have a ton of people but such little chatter. IRC still reminds me of the days of AIM where people congregated online. People are always "online" with their phones these days so it's nice to use IRC to get that "online community" feel.
Absolutely. Freenode is still running strong, and is probably the best place for live support for a ton of open source projects and Linux distros.
I've tried various other popular chat options (like Discord and Telegram) and have been really frustrated by some of their limitations -- particularly in regards to logging, where afaik there's no way to get the logs off their servers and on to my own machine for archiving, offline browsing/searching, advanced regex searches, etc. There's also no way to get the logs if you're not logged in, or if you ever lose access to the servers for some reason.
Discoverability on these alternate chat platforms is also really poor. At least on IRC I could always try typing in a channel like #gentoo or #linux or #debian or #ocaml or #scheme or #lisp or #emacs or #vim, etc, and have a pretty good chance of these subject-related channels existing. On Discord and Telegram, I have to find a link to the channel somehow or get invited. Which is great for private channels, but for channels that you want anyone with an interest in the subject to join, it's simply awful.
That said, they do have some advantages, like integrated images, video, and audio.. and if you need those features, then vanilla IRC certainly isn't good enough. But for me, who does 99.9% of my chatting in plain text, those other features are very rarely necessary and IRC suits my needs just fine. Also, with IRC one could at least always post links to external image/video/audio hosting sites, if you wanted to share that sort of media... which, again, is good enough for me most of the time. In fact, things like videos and images poping up all over the place on chat platforms like Telegram and Discord are just annoying most of the time anyway.
Just to note this here as it seems this hasn't been mentioned yet, the Twitch chat is based on IRC. They run their own servers and you have to log in with your Twitch credentials but you can user your usual IRC client to connect to the Twitch IRC.
In addition, special Twitch IRC clients have spawned, like TC [1] or Chatty [2] that include support for Twitch-specifics like Emotes, notifications and direct linking to the associated video streams.
Every day. I have a long running tmux session running irssi on a community Linux host that's been humming along in some forgotten corner of a vast data center for the past 11.71 years[0]. My ~/.irssi/config has me on a number of channels on a handful of different servers. Some on networks like chat.freenode.net and irc.mibbit.net, and some on single servers hosted by different groups of friends.
Freenode has been really helpful for me. I've had great conversations on ##aws, #lfs, #tmux, and #hammerspoon in recent weeks.
##security and ##ibmthinkpad are my personal favorites. They don't take themselves too seriously (as in, you're allowed to get off-topic), but can be super helpful when needed. The wealth of knowledge combined with the general lightheartedness is refreshing.
Waait a minute. I know we used to love sharing uptime on IRC back in the 90s but these days it's just irresponsible to leave a server running for 11 years without reboots.
Because when has it ever been patched? You know vulnerabilities in IRC clients do exist. That's why we were always told to not irc with root back in the days of BitchX.
Freenode is still pretty active. I self-host an instance of The Lounge[0], which basically acts like an IRC bouncer + an account system to easily get friends/coworkers to use IRC.
I primarily use it for giving/getting help on technologies and open-source projects that I'm using.
While Freenode may not compete with Facebook, it's still pretty huge :)
There are 99 users and 84066 invisible on 32 servers
36 IRC Operators online
16 unknown connection(s)
53438 channels formed
I have 5185 clients and 1 servers
5185 5972 Current local users 5185, max 5972
84165 94773 Current global users 84165, max 94773
Highest connection count: 5973 (5972 clients) (476397 connections received)
I still use it as my primary form of communication. Only one job in my professional career have I NOT gotten from IRC. I use it mainly for conversational chats these days, though I still do get/give support on Freenode occasionally.
I know Slack is the new darling for these things, but their WebUI is so inefficient compared my IRC muscle memory. Wee-slack is great for the Slacks I can use it on (but nearly none of the community Slacks have open API slots for it.)
Yep, I use IRC all day, every day. I keep in touch with many of my friends on IRC, hang out in social and technical channels, organize developers on my projects, provide support channels on IRC, ask questions and reach out to projects I'm collaborating with... I'm in hundreds of channels on a dozen networks. I run a dozen IRC bots. IRC is still king. Nothing beats plaintext communication on a well-established protocol with hundreds of implementations. Least of all a proprietary walled garden like Slack, Discord, etc
If you think you don't like Slack, just wait until your company forces you to use Microsoft Teams ... Slack is really focused, performant, and an absolute joy to use in comparison.
IRC is still the backup communication network at large tech firms - I can personally attest to its use at Amazon and Facebook. Typically there are other, more advanced chat platforms in use for day-to-day (Amazon Chime and WorkChat, respectively), but when shit hits the fan those have deep dependency chains, whereas IRC basically just needs a single box with a network connection...
I used to be on Efnet and DALnet and ETG servers a lot in the 90s and 00s for anime. Now I’m on Freenode all the time for #python, #django, #ubuntu, #debian, etc. It’s a good place to ask quick questions. But even more importantly, I use it for rubberducking (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging), especially when I’m digging deep into an issue in a particular piece of software and I don’t expect my colleagues in the office to (immediately) understand what I’m talking about.
I’m even in ##latin to learn, you guessed it, the Latin language.
Been using IRC pretty much daily for over 25 years, and I'm not stopping. That's where my friends are, most of whom are old-ish farts like me.
Also I like the barrier to entry IRC has, it keeps the worst of the worst out because you need some technical skill to even get in. That's why most programming language / distro channels on IRC are of better quality than random slacks or discord servers.
Technically, the barrier to entry is as low these days as any other messaging service: you can sign up on IRCCloud and instantly have a friendly browser-based experience without worrying about setting up a persistent client, logging etc. by yourself, and mobile and desktop clients are available.
These days the network effects just favour old farts and engineers.
Yes! I am one of the IRC operators for the IRC network Tilde Chat[0]. It is the main source of communication for the Tildeverse[1] community which is a group of Linux/BSD servers that offer free shell accounts to whoever wants one. It's a niche little community, but if you like unix and chatting on IRC then you'll feel right at home.
I use irccloud and I go on the DarkScience[0] IRCd. I even went as far as paying for the 1 year, I like just having it all in 1 client that never drops. I know I can setup a bouncer, but oh well. I prefer smaller communities. When I need programming or OS help I go on freenode where plenty of language communities are. Edit: Found out irccloud now supports connection bouncing, so you can use any irc client with them too[1].
I love IRC, particularly #freenode. I really detest having to first search out then go through the whole process of signing up for yet another Slack group.
Tech support, guidance on opening bug reports, etc. There are some projects where there's not an open forum to post questions, but opening an issue or filing a bug report will immediately get your head bitten off by an angry dev unless you've read X number of docs, combed through closed issues to make sure it hasn't been asked previously, reproduced the issue, provided a GDB stacktrace of the issue occurring, etc.
IRC support channels can provide some immediate front-line support and allow you to ask basic questions without being told to go die in a fire.
Freenode traffic on certain channels has gone way, way down, like dead, no action, long-term lurk only. I suspect many 20-somethings (or younger) have never heard of Freenode, and why would they, it does not work on a smart-phone. Meanwhile, rich content services that do work on phones, seem to be very, very popular and growing constantly. Personally, I do not trust all communications to a corporate entity. It would be a better world if distributed FOSS systems, perhaps Freenode? get better somehow
If it's not game like then 20-somethings and younger--especially younger--won't bother. But these youngins are not what you want when you're trying to learn something. Especially professionally and the professionals are more likely to be on IRC without any green behind their ears.
[+] [-] dvtrn|6 years ago|reply
If you run out of "fuel" in game, and you need a Fuel Rat to come rescue you, you do it in IRC. Dispatch talks to you in their IRC channel, other dispatchers are communicating in NOTAM[2] like notation with pilots out 'rescuing' other players.
It's amazing to behold.
[1] https://confluence.fuelrats.com/display/FRKB/Rescue+Standard...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOTAM
Disclosure: Fuel Rat 2010-2013, Retired.
[+] [-] greyskull|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] muzani|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] r1nkgrl|6 years ago|reply
When was the origin of Fuel Rats in the franchise?
Have they existed since the first game was first released in 1984? Or only after IRC came around a few years later?
Very curious about the history of Fuel Rats in the game series, as well the history of technology these used to communicate.
[+] [-] shrimp_emoji|6 years ago|reply
The hardest part of using their (really good) services was having to use IRC. If they'd used Discord, I'd hop into a server effortlessly. Instead, I had to navigate the byzantine vagaries of terrible UX while running out of oxygen. D:
[+] [-] INTPenis|6 years ago|reply
Just like we do today in Webex Teams for example.
I personally never liked the transition to web based chat because IRC was a lot more information dense than any web chat can be.
Being able to paste inline code doesn't sell it for me since there are pastebins you can host on prem easily.
[+] [-] urda|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nvusuvu|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] haecceity|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tombert|6 years ago|reply
I like how simple IRC is, but I get why so many people have an aversion towards it. In the age of Slack, telling people to install Weechat and connect to a server manually is kind of scary. I largely embrace the transition to something new, but I do have an issue with the open-source world moving to a proprietary platform.
I wish XMPP were more popular, since I think a federated chat system with an open protocol is pretty neat, but sadly I fear that the Slack hype-train might be a bit too far-gone.
[+] [-] delusional|6 years ago|reply
If you head into the xorg channel, you will find yourself talking to all the people who were also attending conferences about xorg 5-10 years ago. Those are exactly the people I want to talk to, when I have questions about xorg.
[+] [-] commandersaki|6 years ago|reply
Funny this is the worst possible IRC network to use - so many channels are overly restrictive which leads to a crappy user experience. The usual claim is to "combat spam" but most other networks (OFTC) don't implement these policies and have little to no trouble with spam.
[+] [-] h4t|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] larkeith|6 years ago|reply
Have you looked into Matrix? It still has a few kinks to work out, but it seems to fit the bill, and the idea of bridging to other protocols (namely IRC and Slack) is an interesting idea for reducing friction.
[+] [-] Arbalest|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] WilliamEdward|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mikorym|6 years ago|reply
Long answer: My colleagues don't want to so I use it mostly for forums. Some programming languages have chat channels and I have heard that for open source dev it is still somewhat common but I suspect it is declining. It's a pity because I think Slack is stupid. Slack does not have the transparency of IRC and frankly the fact that you can share files and use fonts and indents are not selling points for me.
EDIT: Slack is stupid for me. To each their own I guess?
EDIT2: Just to make it clear, judging from other answers a lot of programmers use IRC every day. But not all of my colleagues are programmers. Some fall in the chasm between "data science" and programming and for such people IRC is unfortunately unfamiliar.
[+] [-] mavhc|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] paulcarroty|6 years ago|reply
- you should register for every channel
- switching the channels is slow & non-intuitive
- tons of sub-channels and collaborations between are painful
[+] [-] unknown|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] spapas82|6 years ago|reply
Freenode has channels with people that are very helpful and friendly. Some channels I am frequent and would recommend: #django, #elixir-lang, #kotlin, #android-dev. I also visit (and get help) #mysql and #postgresql.
Actually I wanted to write a blog post to urge people to learn about and visit IRC, but I hope that this HN thread will suffice...
Try IRC and you won't regret it!
[+] [-] ImprovedSilence|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ryeguy_24|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scaryclam|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vehementi|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pmoriarty|6 years ago|reply
I've tried various other popular chat options (like Discord and Telegram) and have been really frustrated by some of their limitations -- particularly in regards to logging, where afaik there's no way to get the logs off their servers and on to my own machine for archiving, offline browsing/searching, advanced regex searches, etc. There's also no way to get the logs if you're not logged in, or if you ever lose access to the servers for some reason.
Discoverability on these alternate chat platforms is also really poor. At least on IRC I could always try typing in a channel like #gentoo or #linux or #debian or #ocaml or #scheme or #lisp or #emacs or #vim, etc, and have a pretty good chance of these subject-related channels existing. On Discord and Telegram, I have to find a link to the channel somehow or get invited. Which is great for private channels, but for channels that you want anyone with an interest in the subject to join, it's simply awful.
That said, they do have some advantages, like integrated images, video, and audio.. and if you need those features, then vanilla IRC certainly isn't good enough. But for me, who does 99.9% of my chatting in plain text, those other features are very rarely necessary and IRC suits my needs just fine. Also, with IRC one could at least always post links to external image/video/audio hosting sites, if you wanted to share that sort of media... which, again, is good enough for me most of the time. In fact, things like videos and images poping up all over the place on chat platforms like Telegram and Discord are just annoying most of the time anyway.
[+] [-] xDest|6 years ago|reply
In addition, special Twitch IRC clients have spawned, like TC [1] or Chatty [2] that include support for Twitch-specifics like Emotes, notifications and direct linking to the associated video streams.
[1] https://gettc.xyz/
[2] http://chatty.github.io/
[+] [-] gempir|6 years ago|reply
Anyone interested in C++ and Twitch should checkout a project of good friends of mine https://github.com/Chatterino/chatterino2
A crossplatform chat client for Twitch in QT so no electron BS.
Personally I have also really enjoyed developing chat bots for fun tasks or logging. So IRC is definetely a big part why I love programming so much.
[+] [-] spudlyo|6 years ago|reply
Freenode has been really helpful for me. I've had great conversations on ##aws, #lfs, #tmux, and #hammerspoon in recent weeks.
[0]:
[+] [-] lawfulcactus|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] INTPenis|6 years ago|reply
Because when has it ever been patched? You know vulnerabilities in IRC clients do exist. That's why we were always told to not irc with root back in the days of BitchX.
[+] [-] prophesi|6 years ago|reply
I primarily use it for giving/getting help on technologies and open-source projects that I'm using.
[0] https://github.com/thelounge/thelounge
[+] [-] _wmd|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] leetbulb|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] death_syn|6 years ago|reply
I know Slack is the new darling for these things, but their WebUI is so inefficient compared my IRC muscle memory. Wee-slack is great for the Slacks I can use it on (but nearly none of the community Slacks have open API slots for it.)
[+] [-] Sir_Cmpwn|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] macandcheese|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] swiftcoder|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] k_sze|6 years ago|reply
I’m even in ##latin to learn, you guessed it, the Latin language.
[+] [-] theshrike79|6 years ago|reply
Also I like the barrier to entry IRC has, it keeps the worst of the worst out because you need some technical skill to even get in. That's why most programming language / distro channels on IRC are of better quality than random slacks or discord servers.
[+] [-] Lorkki|6 years ago|reply
These days the network effects just favour old farts and engineers.
[+] [-] aewens|6 years ago|reply
[0] https://tilde.chat
[1] https://tildeverse.org
[+] [-] giancarlostoro|6 years ago|reply
[0]: https://www.darkscience.net/
[1]: https://blog.irccloud.com/bouncer/
[+] [-] johnmaguire2013|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dangayle|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] xxpor|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] AdmiralAsshat|6 years ago|reply
IRC support channels can provide some immediate front-line support and allow you to ask basic questions without being told to go die in a fire.
[+] [-] mistrial9|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sureaboutthis|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kevin_thibedeau|6 years ago|reply