Back to the Roots with Internet Relay Chat

I initially wanted to write about how IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is my new old social media platform, but I'm not sure if that's even correct given the definition of social media on Wikipedia:

"Social media are new media technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing and aggregation of content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongst virtual communities and networks. Common features include:

• Online platforms enable users to create and share content and participate in social networking.
• User-generated content—such as text posts or comments, digital photos or videos, and data generated through online interactions.
• Service-specific profiles that are designed and maintained by the social media organization.
• Social media helps the development of online social networks by connecting a user's profile with those of other individuals or groups."

Assuming that everyone has come into contact with social media at some point, or avoids it because they know what it is, I should perhaps first explain what IRC is.

Internet Relay Chat

The Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a text-based chat system that has been around since 1988. It operates on a client-server networking model, where users connect to an IRC server using a client. This client can be a web application or a standalone desktop program with a graphical user interface like mIRC and MERK or a text mode interface lile Irssi.

After connecting to an IRC server with their client, users have the option of joining one or more chat rooms (channels). There, they can communicate with other people in real time or have one-on-one conversations with users from the same network. Channels often have a specific topic, such as "Linux", "Music", or "Ham Radio", but they can also exist for general conversations about anything and everything.

Comparison with modern Social Media

Most of the points in the definition of social media cited above also apply to IRC: sharing thoughts, interests, etc. within a virtual community. Images and videos can also be shared via minor detours. However, all of this takes place synchronously and not with a time delay. So you really talk to people and get direct feedback. This means you can immediately tell whether there is any interest at all, so you don't end up posting content into a vacuum over long periods of time and making a fool of yourself. This results in rapid self-correction, which is very conducive to communication within this particular group.

The best thing, however, is that there are no mechanisms that encourage addictive behavior. Specifically, I mean that you don't have followers or friends, or rather that these are not quantified and this number is then linked to a user's profile (which does not exist in IRC). Fortunately, there are also no likes that encourage you to only write or post things that are particularly well received by others - on a permanent mission to accumulate likes and followers.

How am I supposed to know who I'm dealing with before I talk to someone? How do I know what interests them? What has this person written in the past? How do I know if I even want to talk to someone?

Well... IRC is like real life: hopefully, you approach others without prejudice, without being influenced by a profile photo or bio. User profiles gradually form in your mind, meaning that each user probably has a different user profile for each other user. The number of friends is unknown, and that's a good thing because it's irrelevant.

Another difference is that IRC is part of the internet and not necessarily part of the WWW. Your own presence/identity is therefore not constantly scraped, fed to AIs and search engines or advertising partners, but remains where it belongs: within a smaller circle of friends. How private your own intellectual outpourings remain naturally also depends on the size of the IRC network and channels, but it is absolutely not comparable to the popular social networks.

Unlike social media as we know it, IRC has a decentralized structure. Since it is an open protocol, there are a wide variety of clients and servers, most of which are open source. This means you are not locked into silos and are free to choose how and where you want to connect. Furthermore, there are no algorithms that dictate what you have to consume and in what order.

In summary, it is striking that I see the limitations of Internet Relay Chat as strengths and advantages. No doom scrolling, real communication, no algorithms, more imagination, more genuine friendships, less surveillance, no commercialization of content.

Okay, old man, you've got my attention. Now what?

I would suggest that you simply connect to one or more IRC networks. There are many different networks, some of which are very large and have been online for decades. However, there are also many smaller networks that I find particularly appealing.

If you're looking for help with open source projects, Libera.chat is probably the best choice. Here you'll find a separate channel for pretty much every project where you can ask for help. Of course, there are also channels for general chats, but I would recommend smaller networks for this.

While there are a few more established smaller IRC networks such as tilde.chat or SDF IRC, for chats of general (nerdy) nature I can recommend the MansionNET which is a new project with a small but growing great community. On the main page inthemansion.com, you will find information about the public services of this self-hosting community. One of these services is the MansionNET IRC Network. The easiest and fastest way to join is to use the web chat based on The Lounge. Simply choose a username, connect, and chat with MansionNET users in the #lobby channel.