Ask HN: Does anyone still use IRC?

imho great deal of IRC's greatness comes from irssi, an awesome client for it. It has a learning curve though, especially if you are not familiar with screen (or tmux). While you can run it locally, it really shines when you run it in a server inside a screen session, connected via ssh.

Each phone I have had in the past 5 years has had a ssh client available, so I could just attach to my session and have the exactly same client available wherever I go.

I use irc mainly to keep in touch with old friends. I'm also running a small non-profit, and we use irc extensively in internal communications. And occasionally I go to a projects channel on freenode if I happen to have a question or something, the people tend to be quite useful (as long as you ask smart questions and be polite). Lurked some time at ##c++, from which I feel that I learned a lot from.

I have run my own irc server and been connected for over 10 years essentially in one way or another.

Most of my online friends gather there and idle / jump into chat when it's going on.

It's been one of the most pleasant constants in my digital life. An unmatched technology for keeping in touch with geographically challenged friends.

Presently I'm in 12 channels on 7 servers. IRC fills a need for "semi-synchronous" communication in group form for me. part crowdsourcing, part water cooler gossip, it's entertaining and educational. It's real-time enough to satisfy the feeling that, as a teleworker, someone else is there, but not so real-time that I must devote my full attention (like a phone or video chat).

The big benefit to IRC for me is its ease of setup (apt-get install ircd-hybrid), end-to-end ownership of the communication protocol and infrastructure (ability to ensure privacy and anonymity, if necessary or expected), ease of extension and long-term stability. Or, put another way, "my server, my client, our channel, my friends, our bots." good times.

Disclaimer: I'm one of the (former?) long-time ircd-hybrid developers. I started a PhD thesis on education through IRC studying its social dynamics, but am considering dropping the effort.

I'm in #slicehost on Freenode most of the day. If you want smart people + plenty of humor, come on over.

I spend most of my time idling in #riak on irc.freenode.net

I use an IRC bouncer too.