Difference between revisions of "Contemporary IRC in the 21st Century"
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===Does IRC still exist?=== | ===Does IRC still exist?=== | ||
| − | Yes | + | Yes. IRC provides a way of communicating in real time with people from all over the world. It consists of various separate networks (or "nets") of IRC servers, machines that allow users to connect to IRC. IRC is very similar to text messaging, but designed around communicating with large groups of users instead of one on one. |
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| + | Many of the original IRC networks are also still around. EFNet and Undernet are both still around just to name a couple examples. Read more about [[Internet Relay Chat]] on our Wiki. | ||
===Do people still use IRC?=== | ===Do people still use IRC?=== | ||
Revision as of 17:57, 5 March 2023
You can consider this Contemporary IRC in the 2nd Decade of the 21st Century page as a wordy name for a page that discusses if IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is still relevant and useful post 2020. This page was created in 2023. IRC is decades old. A lot of Generation X early Internet users are very familiar with IRC. Because it is old, slightly complicated, and currently obscure to millennials because anything with a CLI causes them to have a panic attack, you will discover IRC is populated by intelligent users and a place to trade files. Unlike P2P and web site file trading, IRC is seldomly attacked by the file sharing police since it is obscure enough that most people don't use it. Things like IRC and Newsgroups kind of exist in the back corner of the room and get ignored, which is the place to be if you want your activity to go mostly unnoticed. In its day, IRC was the number one place to meet people online, chat real time, find help with computer and software problems, or collaborate with groups and teams. Today it is widely ignored by younger Internet users and considered a hacker's medium. Today IRC exists and is very useful to the right people.
Contents
Does IRC still exist?
Yes. IRC provides a way of communicating in real time with people from all over the world. It consists of various separate networks (or "nets") of IRC servers, machines that allow users to connect to IRC. IRC is very similar to text messaging, but designed around communicating with large groups of users instead of one on one.
Many of the original IRC networks are also still around. EFNet and Undernet are both still around just to name a couple examples. Read more about Internet Relay Chat on our Wiki.
Do people still use IRC?
There are many communities that primarily use mailing lists (async communication) and IRC (real-time communication). These communities tend to be older. In contrast, younger communities are more likely to have Github/Gitlab issues, Discourse instances, and Gitter chats.
The benefits to IRC are in its group channels, with their own topics. Using “modern” social messaging platforms like Whatsapp you can get the same thing, but you have to set up the channels ad-hoc, and to invite people you already know, that sort of thing. IRC and similar services still shine. Slack and Discord, etc., are taking over, but they’re run by big corporations.
IRC is also an open standard, and therefore doesn’t belong to anyone. The protocol is defined as RFC 1459. That means anyone can read the specification and write a client or server program.
Does Undernet still exist?
Yes
Server DNS to connect to a random Undernet server:
irc.undernet.org
Port: 6667
Do people still trade files on IRC?
Yes
Yes
Recommend using Undernet and the Mp3 related channels such as #Mp3Passion
What IRC client do you recommend for Linux / Ubuntu / Mint?
A typical installation of Mint seems to include HexChat. If you launch HexChat the program will automatically connect to an IRC server and enter you into a Linux Mint support channel where you can ask questions and seek support for Linux Mint.
HexChat is an open-source IRC project created as a fork of Xchat. It features a wide range of built-in features and customization capabilities. For example, it features a theme-able interface and the ability to write custom scripts in Perl and Python, spellcheck, SASL, DCC, and proxies. You can also add additional features and customizations through add-ons. HexChat is open-source, cross-platform is released under the GPL version 2 license.
Important features
- It is fully open-source.
- Highly customizable and easy-to-use interface.
- Support for custom scripts with Python and Perl.
- It is actively developed with an active community.
- It is a multi-network with join and auto-connect functionalities.
- The project is multi-lingual.
- Support for proxies, SASL, DCC, Spellcheck, etc.
Install HexChat in Linux
# apt install hexchat [Debian/Ubuntu]
Polari is a minimalist IRC client and is in the official GNOME application stack. It features a straightforward user interface with bare minimum features for chat rooms. If you are looking for a beginner-friendly client that works, then Polari is for you.
Important features
- Easy to use and straightforward user interface.
- Support for file transfer.
- It is an open-source project under the GNU GPL license.
Install Polari
# apt install polari
