A long time ago me and the majority of the people aged about 12 or more (now I'm about to complete 18 on October) I knewn who had Internet access (either Dial-up or broadband) used to use
IRC, the best communication protocol ever invented by a human being.
Back in time, 2001 was the year I like to consider as the beginning of the death of IRC for my dear friends and even loved enymies...
The reason (which I don't want to talk much by now) was about about power, some bad guys wanted it
not both to rule and to make money of it. What really happened, but the consequences of the means they used was that IRC has gone to an end and even can't reast in peace at all where it still fight not to die...
I can't believe it is gone forever, I'm sure one day I'll have the oportunity to talk with almost everyone I care using it. But by now, I can't believe it's possible. For me, there's still a lack of ethics and a lot of implicit interests around there which makes an IRC network in Brazil a quite complicated project.
Some time ago I've set up a project to make
a draft for free (as in freedom) IRC networks (by now this draft is in portuguese only, but if you find the idea interesting contact me and as soon as possible I'll translate it). The draft isn't about free in the strict concept... I mean, its purposes isn't about setting up a free IRC network only, but a free and open IRC network. Open in the context that any user could participate. In my humble opinion the term "free" as in freedom here doesn't extends to open, so I prefer to use both of them.
Well, I don't feel happy to say I didn't get the support I expected for this project, indeed some amazing enlighted people I known (most who used to use IRC before) told they were ready to help me when possible. The problem, as always, was about a lack of resources. What I'm not going to waste time crying anymore that this is the problem... Now, I'm going to work on it. At least I plan to contact some local entertainment companies by the end of my first semester at university.
Uh, but I was not supposed to talk about this... Even, why the heck am I writing on english if the subject is region-centric? The reason is that I hope to encourage others all around the world to use and promote opend and free based IRC networks. Well, be aware that I'm not talking about free software related IRC networks :)
Ok, then what does IRC have that I can't find anywhere else?
Channels and usability! That's it. Just "
stuff that matters"! I don't need anything else than this for chatting. But without this I really get crazy...
Imagine if I were supposed to add 200+ persons I known on my others IM accounts? It's crazy man, by now I've about 100 persons on my IM's on
Kopete (I use
Konversation for IRC) accounts. Of these I speak regularly with less than
10 7 and I'm not able to chat with more than one at the same time and to see what people talk with each other...
A friend of mine once told me that it was a way of having a high level of quality (of persons) with whom you talk. Come on! It's too nerdy... In "real life" do we talk with only one single person by time?
Maybe you do, but I'm not one of those... I usually speak with 4-8 persons at once and I'm open to receive someone who wants to join the group... How is this possible in a protocol other than IRC? No friend, it's not possible...
Well, it's somehow possible.
But you don't have the freedom to /whois <someone> <someone> :) What's the most powerful IRC command...
