this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2023
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Anyone uses IRC? Why? (programming.dev)
submitted 10 months ago by actual_patience@programming.dev to c/learn_programming@programming.dev
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I was exploring an obscure Linux distro when I noticed they're contact page had an IRC client. You can connect to the IRC via Matrix, but the people there prefer pure IRC.

My question is do other programmers use IRC? Also why?

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[–] friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 24 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

It's a simple protocol that you can easily write software for.

It is usually not hosted by a corporation that has its shareholders to answer to.

It is an open protocol.

Since it is an open protocol, you can use whatever client you want, which means you don't have to deal with pop-up ads and begging for money whenever you sign in, and can use it from a terminal instead of needing a GUI app that is probably written in JavaScript and forces new, unwanted features and UIs on you.

It is once again obscure enough that the Eternal September is abated a little bit.

Software development has long been discussed over IRC, so it is part of a certain subculture of folks who are involved.

[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 18 points 10 months ago (2 children)

why not.

many people just want some text. i know its hard to beleive, but not all systems can be EEE when the users dont give 2 shits about your bells and whistles. fuck discord.

irc is simple, incredibly flexible and not reliant on big giant server products. so i would push back.. why not irc?

[–] actual_patience@programming.dev 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'll throw in an argument:

Any company owned alternative can be seen as a bad idea. But what about open source alternatives?

Unless you're using a "bells and whistles" irc client, you probably don't have chat logging. Replying to older messages isn't really an implemented feature either. People just say the name of the person they're responding to, but unless you have the chat history, you will be out of the loop.

Compare that to Matrix which has all of this functionality. They're close to Discord in design, but open source. A lot more features are built-in the software, server side. All the while not carrying the proprietary baggage of Discord.

These features are not "necessary" for communication, but I find them pretty darn useful. So I'm just stunned that other people are okay not having these features.

[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 4 points 10 months ago

there are a bajillion irc implementations. pretending only the big players have those features is really kinda silly.

i get it, youre a matrix fan.

you do you, but those devs you asked about are perfectly happy with whatever irc client/server they are using.

[–] ericjmorey@programming.dev 10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Mostly momentum.

It works.

Knowledgeable people are using it.

[–] WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

IRC is great but I think discord recreates a lot of the functionality with a "web 2.0" or whatever feel that newer internet users are used to and more comfortable with. I like IRC but it was the dominant chat protocol when I was growing up. I like bulletin board style forums too. Things move on and not always for the better.

[–] vonbaronhans@midwest.social 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Man I grew up in the age of forums, and I never got the hang of em. Just felt like the design goals were wasted negative space and the purposeful inability to know who is responding to whom.

There's a lot of forum fans, so there must be some appeal, but fuck me if I can ascertain what that might be.

I never did any IRC, though I wonder if I'd known it at the time if I might've gotten into it.

[–] ericjmorey@programming.dev 1 points 10 months ago

Discourse seems to have addressed a lot of that. But it seems wasted.space is valued with the bubble chat style interfaces I'm seeing a lot of.

[–] burgersc12@sh.itjust.works 2 points 10 months ago

I use IRC occasionally for XDCC piracy :)

[–] GammaGames@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago

Last I checked Twitch supported IRC for its chat system, which makes integrating into games and stuff easier.

[–] CabbageRelish@midwest.social 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I’ve still got a fancy IRC setup with a bouncer and whatnot.

These days discord has pretty much taken over its niche though, and it’s what I’m on 99% of the time outside of chatting with the community for a half-dead 20 year old game. But, not long ago in my lifetime IRC was 100% the way to go for this sort of text chat, and a lot of that still exists. And well, it’s absolutely dead simple and resilient as a protocol.

[–] z3rOR0ne@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 months ago

IRC is nice, but recently started chatting on XMPP, and I'm enjoying it just as much.

[–] YerbaYerba@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago

At this point, familiarity and nostalgia. In the heyday of IRC it was a good way to get help (or flamed) for questions that couldn't be found anywhere else online. As a former IRC user I've never used matrix and have only heard of it on social media like lemmy.

As a programmer I like IRC because it has a simple protocol. Writing a basic irc bot is pretty easy if your standard library supports sockets and string manipulation. I was doing this sort of thing in the late '00s but things have changed a lot in 15 years.

[–] onlinepersona@programming.dev -3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I don't and pretty much refuse to unless it goes through matrix. It's archaic, has cryptic commands, and serves only the purpose of stroking ego + gatekeeping.

Same as mailinglists. It might take another 10 years for both to finally die.

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