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Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

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Re: Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

#81

Post by marinintim »

bshipp wrote: post #75

I have a question regarding IRC. I haven't really used it much since 2001-2002 but is there a self-hosted option where i can leave a client running on my server and then access it with my phone and/or browser on a desktop pc when I want to check in? This would be especially helpful with less active channels where it's nice to have a client constantly online to catch chats.

You can run weechat on server and connect via ssh (https://aaronparecki.com/2015/08/29/8/why-i-live-in-irc describes this setup)

Re: Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

#82

Post by s3krit »

bshipp wrote: post #75

I have a question regarding IRC. I haven't really used it much since 2001-2002 but is there a self-hosted option where i can leave a client running on my server and then access it with my phone and/or browser on a desktop pc when I want to check in? This would be especially helpful with less active channels where it's nice to have a client constantly online to catch chats.

I use JuiceSSH to connect to a tmux session running irssi. I understand this isn't necessarily for everyone, but it works great.

Re: Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

#83

Post by fleg »

bshipp wrote: post #75

I have a question regarding IRC. I haven't really used it much since 2001-2002 but is there a self-hosted option where i can leave a client running on my server and then access it with my phone and/or browser on a desktop pc when I want to check in? This would be especially helpful with less active channels where it's nice to have a client constantly online to catch chats.

Quassel works like that - you've got a core, and few clients - the default, Qt-based one, Android one, web-based one, even an Irssi plugin to connect to it.

There's also The Lounge, which looks pretty nice, but I haven't tried: https://thelounge.chat/

Re: Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

#84

Post by rusk »

bshipp wrote: post #75

I have a question regarding IRC. I haven't really used it much since 2001-2002 but is there a self-hosted option where i can leave a client running on my server and then access it with my phone and/or browser on a desktop pc when I want to check in? This would be especially helpful with less active channels where it's nice to have a client constantly online to catch chats.

I think what you are looking for is called a "bouncer" in the IRC world.

https://www.reddit.com/r/irc/comments/35vcth/eli5_what_is_an...

Re: Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

#85

Post by shantly »

SamWhited wrote: post #63

I still use IRC, or sometimes even a handful of XMPP (Jabber, for grep-ability) rooms (although for the most part it's better for 1:1 chat with friends, and text messages through a bridge) partially for ideological reasons but also partially because I can't use the more "modern" alternatives. My particular reasons don't matter, but a few I've seen in the past include (focusing on Slack as an example, but most of thes…

IRC and XMPP are relatively easy to set up servers for, too. I looked at Matrix a little while ago and it's a serious PITA by comparison, so far as going from zero to achieving client-talking-to-server. Of course the company behind it appears to make their money selling hosting, so....

Re: Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

#86

Post by bshipp »

detaro wrote: post #79
bshipp wrote: post #75

I have a question regarding IRC. I haven't really used it much since 2001-2002 but is there a self-hosted option where i can leave a client running on my server and then access it with my phone and/or browser on a desktop pc when I want to check in? This would be especially helpful with less active channels where it's nice to have a client constantly online to catch chats.

https://github.com/thelounge/thelounge https://quassel-irc.org/ has a server component you connect to with clients (for desktop and Android, not sure about state of things on iOS), and https://github.com/magne4000/quassel-webserver if you need a web interface.

Thanks so much, that's exactly what I was looking for.

I'm far more mobile these days than I was 20 years ago which limits the usefulness of most local IRC clients so this looks perfect for having a 'homebase' website/app I can quickly pull up to browse and get caught up when I have a few minutes.

EDIT: Oh, even better, there's a docker version I can add to my existing server stack. I'm already writing my compose file for it: https://github.com/thelounge/thelounge-docker

Re: Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

#87

Post by bshipp »

rusk wrote: post #84
bshipp wrote: post #75

I have a question regarding IRC. I haven't really used it much since 2001-2002 but is there a self-hosted option where i can leave a client running on my server and then access it with my phone and/or browser on a desktop pc when I want to check in? This would be especially helpful with less active channels where it's nice to have a client constantly online to catch chats.

I think what you are looking for is called a "bouncer" in the IRC world. https://www.reddit.com/r/irc/comments/35vcth/eli5_what_is_an...

That's a term I haven't heard in a very very long time, but you're right, that's exactly what I'm looking for!

Re: Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

#88

Post by coldpie »

Yup. We use it for chat internally at work, with a gateway to our internal Matrix server, which about half of our folks use. It's also used for most programming communities. I work on Wine, where we use IRC, and have gotten help from systemd, KDE, Gnome/mutter, etc channels. It's very much alive in techy circles. I kind of prefer this, it keeps the low-content GIF/emoticon posters segregated out of the areas I do real work. Kind of like how HN being plaintext-only keeps discussion relevant and high quality.

I also have a small group of online-only friends (there are literally four of us) who I have been chatting with on IRC every single day for more than 10 years.

IRC isn't perfect. It isn't even good. Its major failing is its lack of offline persistence, and I don't see that being solved within the protocol. But I refuse to switch to proprietary communications platforms, so it's still the best. Matrix seems like the best option for a modern chat experience, but non-web-browser support isn't there yet.

Re: Ask HN: Curious to know if people still use IRC?

#90

Post by haolez »

dijit wrote: post #36
throwaway8291 wrote: post #34

We use IRC at work and it's just as useful and fun as ever, there are IRC clients that consume a few megabytes (hello Slack). SET autolog ON, then keep all your chat history grep-able in your home folder (again, only consuming megabytes - oh hello Slack, again).

wee_slack.py (if you can create application tokens) works wonderfully for the same purpose. Since everyone is really pushing slack it makes my life easier to have it natively in my favourite IRC client.

How does it manage Slack threads?
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