IRC Vandweller Channel?

[pseudo_mccoy]

Does anyone know of an IRC channel for vandwellers? I couldn't find one. Seems to me IRC could be a good fit for the data frugal traveler.

I'll be hanging out at #vandweller on Efnet. Feel free to drop by and say hello.

 

[riffraff]

Sounds good.. I'll stop on in and say hi.

 

[LeeRevell]

"IRC"? "EFNET"? Never heard of them.

 

[akrvbob]

Me neither! So chances are pretty good I won't be there.
Bob

 

[pseudo_mccoy]

@riffraff - That was fun. Glad I'm not the only nerd here : D

@LeeRevell, Bob - IRC is an old chat protocol. It's very light on bandwidth, so I figured some of ya'll may be into it. Efnet is one of many IRC networks.

I still have a lot to learn about IRC but would be glad to help (as best I can) anyone get started.

 

[riffraff]

IRC stands for internet relay chat. It was one of the first hugely successful ways of gathering with other like-minded people on the internet in the 90's for chatting in real-time. It is also still used behind the scenes with some of the chat systems available today (battle.net, twitch.tv).

Many free ice clients exist today for Windows and other operating systems. The one I use is called ice chat (can be downloaded from cnet, I did so earlier today)

You'll want to add a server (select EFnet, then random EFnet server). Once connected to the server you can join the channel by typing /join #vandweller at the server's command line prompt. There is probably some way to use the graphical interface to do this but I like the old-school way of typing commands.

If done correctly you will be in the #vandweller channel on the EFnet network. Give it a shot!

 

[pseudo_mccoy]

I like the old-school way of typing commands.

It looks cooler. I use Irssi

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Ahh irc, i used to hang there a lot back in the day, i even programmed a few (humorous) bots to admin channels. I forgot most of it though. I used to use mIRC which was probably the biggest one people used....it did have a /join dialog you could use that usually popped up on connecting to a server. It was like a favorites type list i think.

Ive gone back once or twice for some group or another who got nostalgic but quickly realized people don't have the time or attention span to actually plop down in a dedicated chatroom and talk about stuff anymore. Ends up sitting in the background, channel full of awkward silences or 'Hello? ' messages as people wander in and try to figure out who isn't lurking while alt tabbed to facebook newsfeed or youtubes

irc used to be like the seedy underground of the internet, where you would go to download free music, pictures (read: porn) and videos

 

[LeeRevell]

I don't type fast enough to make chat practical. I always get too far behind and lost in the shuffle.

 

[riffraff]

IRC does lend itself well to lurking/idling while doing other stuff like Dazar mentioned. I pin it to my taskbar and it lights up if someone has said something. I then can decide if I want to check it out or continue reading email, watching YouTube etc.

I used to use mIRC but it switched from freeware to shareware a while back or something that annoyed me so I looked for an alternative.

 

[pseudo_mccoy]

i even programmed a few (humorous) bots to admin channels.

Nice. I'd like to learn how to do this someday. I have a shell account at sdf.org but my access level doesn't allow bots. Do you have any recommendations for a cheap place I can run an eggdrop or something? eggdrops.net has a one year plan for $25. Does this sound good, or should I get a VPS and do it myself? I'm a novice to IRC but somewhat experienced with linux. How steep is the learning curve for setting up irc bots?