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/
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
