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IRC is dead, long live IRC

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Re: IRC is dead, long live IRC

#91

Post by Hawkee »

d0m wrote: post #70

Everything I know about computers and software is largely due to IRC. This is where I started to love hacking. So many great memories.. mIRC (A popular IRC client on windows) really got me started on programming. I learned "ifs", "for", "functions", "widget dialogs", "@window animations (and a base for game creation!)", "sockets". I remember once I had built a IRC-server running in my mIRC, with all the robots (regis…

I've been running an mIRC script site for 16 years. I wonder if you ever posted. You'd recognize my username if you did.

Re: IRC is dead, long live IRC

#92

Post by jlgreco »

laumars wrote: post #73
lucian1900 wrote: post #9

It's such a terrible protocol and a pain in the ass all the time. Sadly, there is no other wide-spread protocol with good multi-user chat clients. XMPP might be the best replacement, but there are almost no dedicated multi-user chat clients and irc networks (like freenode) would have to join the two protocols during the transition.

Having written an IRC client and several bots, I actually like the simplicity of the protocol.

Yeah, the simplicity is a godsend. Lets you pump out a minimally viable client/bot in minutes with whatever language you like, without having to mess around with an existing framework or library.

Re: IRC is dead, long live IRC

#93

Post by zaphar »

contingencies wrote: post #45
sandGorgon wrote: post #33

here's a question - if I want to setup a company wide IRC server, which (super easy to install) server should I go for ? Do note that I will be hosting this on EC2, so some semblance of authentication/security would be welcome.

First, consider XMPP instead.

Or do yourself a favor and don't. For casual group chat IRC blows xmpp out of the water. Every experience I've had with xmpp group chat has been subpar and frustrating.

Re: IRC is dead, long live IRC

#94

Post by jlgreco »

Filligree wrote: post #80
luketongs wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it wasn't for one irc channel, I don't think I would have made it through the first 2 years of programming. Didn't bother them to much (i hope), but just to understand pointers and that at the start, with C, and other things, really helped. 12 years on and wouldn't wanna do anything else.

##C on freenode?

##c is perhaps the most infamously caustic active channel on any IRC network today. Fun, if that's what you are into.

Re: IRC is dead, long live IRC

#95

Post by sigil »

jlgreco wrote: post #92
laumars wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having written an IRC client and several bots, I actually like the simplicity of the protocol.

Yeah, the simplicity is a godsend. Lets you pump out a minimally viable client/bot in minutes with whatever language you like, without having to mess around with an existing framework or library.

I'll second that. For example, here's a bot that logs every channel you invite it to...in 50 lines of shell. How big would the equivalent XMPP bot be (libraries included)?

https://github.com/acg/logbot/blob/master/bin/logbot.sh

Re: IRC is dead, long live IRC

#96

Post by jlgreco »

hnriot wrote: post #72
chipsy wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've determined independently that a IRC server fills a sweet spot in the collaborative toolset. A basic IM system isn't good enough because it doesn't have channels, it doesn't give you a shared history. Email is heavy and induces people to spend too much time per message. Sometimes it's good to have a light/noisy feed, and IRC is just fine for that job.

I don't agree that email is heavy at all. I see nothing here that couldn't be accomplished with email and/or a wiki. Sharing links over irc makes little sense, links belong on a wiki so they can be searched for and edited etc etc.

You would be hard pressed to find anybody using IRC who doesn't also use email and wikis. Once you add IRC to your toolbelt, those things, as if by magic, stop appearing to be the best tool for every job. Actually, it works that way with most tools I find.

Re: IRC is dead, long live IRC

#97

Post by jbrichter »

hosay123 wrote: post #90
Filligree wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

##C on freenode?

For sharpening your axe ##C is amazing, but beginners are regularly mocked and burned at the stake there. > "How do I allocate a string?" > "But what is a string?" > "You know that thing with letters in it. Seriously how do I allocate a string?" > "Sorry we don't know what a string is, you'll need to define it for us first" > "OK it's a contiguous chunk of bytes in RAM" > "Sorry C has no concept of bytes or RAM." Tha…

In C, there is no stack.

Re: IRC is dead, long live IRC

#98

Post by jlgreco »

sigil wrote: post #95
jlgreco wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the simplicity is a godsend. Lets you pump out a minimally viable client/bot in minutes with whatever language you like, without having to mess around with an existing framework or library.

I'll second that. For example, here's a bot that logs every channel you invite it to...in 50 lines of shell. How big would the equivalent XMPP bot be (libraries included)? https://github.com/acg/logbot/blob/master/bin/logbot.sh

50 lines of clean comprehensible shell code even! Written with the traditional code-golfed style of shell scripting I bet you could half that without even trying. ;)

Re: IRC is dead, long live IRC

#99

Post by ghc »

Hawkee wrote: post #86

I started an mIRC script site back in 1997. Young developers would email their scripts to me and I would write a very critical review of them. I did this for many months and the site quickly became one of the top IRC sites online. This momentum has carried the site all the way to 2013. While mIRC script traffic has steadily declined over the years there is still a strong community. We still have members posting mIRC…

Your site is barely recognizable now, but thanks to the Wayback machine I remember it now. You're definitely on to something with regards to young developers. I started with IRC when I was about 12, and I still remember how magical it felt. In real life I was just a kid, but on IRC and Usenet I could discuss MTG deckbuilding strategy or C++ programming with adults and they wouldn't know how young I was.

And I think that's the draw...when you're young, bright, and ostracized by your peers for wanting to discuss "serious" topics like professional gaming strategy or programming, IRC is a panacea. You can chat with people who don't care about your age and will take you seriously as long as you're capable of intelligent discourse on the topics that interest you.

As I've grown older and formed a network of my peers, I've gradually stopped using IRC, but it will always hold a dear place in my heart because it gave me an outlet for my creativity and passion at a time in my childhood when there were no such outlets in the "real world".

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