Which IRC servers do you use regularly?

whoareu@lemmy.ca to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 31 points –

I personally use libera.chat because it's the most active IRC server out there. is there any other active servers? I found this website to search for different IRC servers https://netsplit.de/networks/

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I don’t use much lately because I’m usually on mobile and I don’t like using IRC with an intermittent connection.

But libera.chat is the one I log on to when I do. I would be curious about servers and channels that offer something different: most are about technology.

Please consider taking a look at the lounge. It's a self hosted solution that you access thru the web. It's solved that problem for me since it is always running on the server. If you have a Raspberry Pi you can use that or a VPS.

I’d also be interested in learning about IRC servers that were more social and less technology driven.

have a look at quassel for persistent IRC connectivity and quasseldroid for mobile client access back to your quassel instance.

Hi, what's an IRC?

IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. It's basically like discord where you can talk to people online but it's very old. check out https://libera.chat if you haven't experienced IRC before it would be a good starting point :D

you can read more about it on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC

Discord also retains chat history. When you join a channel on IRC, you don't see any of the previous chat history.

The great thing about IRC is that it's not owned by a corporation. If you're interested in a modern open standard that has the same features as Discord, check out Matrix

Think of IRC as a spiritual parent to discord. The big advantage for discord comes from media - embedding images easily on the server, reaction, voice chat and screen sharing.

It does make one wonder what would have happened if IRC had implemented some of that functionality back in say the 90s/00s.

I always used to hang out on WorldIRC... but Undernet was the biggest one back in the day

I used to be active on IRC a decade or so ago, I was QuakeNet and Chat4All for the most part.

I never used IRC. I tried to get into it once but never figured out how to make it work.

well it's really easy.

  • just go to https://libera.chat
  • then press connect
  • now press webchat
  • bam you are connected to server and now can chat about your favourite topic :D

What about signing up? Is there no such thing as an account there?

Also what about mobile?

you can make an account there however you can also use it without an account.

Here are 5 android client: AndroIRC: This is a popular IRC client for Android with a clean and user-friendly interface. It supports multiple servers, SSL connections, and various customization options.

Revolution IRC Client: Revolution IRC is another feature-rich IRC client for Android. It offers support for multiple servers, customizable themes, and various features like notifications and chat logging.

Yaaic (Yet Another Android IRC Client): Yaaic is a free, open-source IRC client for Android. It provides a clean and intuitive interface and supports features like multiple servers, SSL connections, and customizable themes.

HoloIRC: HoloIRC is known for its sleek and modern interface. It supports multiple servers, SSL connections, and features like notifications and chat logging.

AndChat: AndChat is a popular IRC client with a wide range of features, including multiple server connections, SSL support, customizable themes, and more.

I like thelounge as a client since I can access it anywhere in the world and it stays connected when I'm not on it so I don't miss any messages or have to log in each time.

IRC is open. If you aren't around, someone can join the server using your nickname, so IRC services were created to help combat this. Some networks use other services, but mainly there's NickServ which you setup an account with to register your nick. If anyone tries to impersonate you, NickServ will do bad things to the imposter

How do I register with one of these nickservs? I tried with an android client but I couldn't figure it out.

Usually /msg NickServ help can get you pointed in the right direction

Keep in mind that libera chat is just one server. If you hop on some other server you will get different channels (rooms) and people. I'm on a few including libera chat, sdf.org, and AfterNET.

IRC is an open standard. No one owns it, so anyone can make a client. Discord, is locked down and proprietary. One of the benefits of this is that they can onboard users with a refined experience. IRC requires newcomers to do a bit of homework to choose an IRC client and choose a network/server.