Now you may be thinking; “That chat program is still around?” or “What the heck is a eye-arr-see?”
Well let me tell you my friend. It stands for Internet Relay Chat and it’s been around for 34 years. It’s pretty much perfected at this point and quite easy to use if you have even the slightest technical knowledge.
So IRC servers are separate from one another with each server having it’s own admins. Each server you connect to has it’s own bots ran by individuals to messages and ask for things.
IRC servers work by sending slash commands much like discord does. To message another user you might type /msg coolboot2000 hello world! Piracy on IRC works by sending a bot a pm with the pack number you want.
“Where do I find servers and bots and pack numbers?” It’s as easy as using a xdcc search engine. http://sunxdcc.com/ has both a search and a list of networks. (DCC is Direct Client to Client meaning no files pass thru the server and XDCC is a version of DCC that allows large files to be transferred.)
“How do I connect?” You use an IRC client with SSL support. ~mIRC~ AdiIRC for windows and Hexchat with a patch for Linux. Once installed you can use the slash command /connect or use the clients GUI buttons to make a connection to the server.
“How do I make my own IRC client?” Follow the specifications here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_Relay_Chat_commands There are a ton of pre-made IRC libraries for pretty much every programming language.
Best luck friends!
edit: updated 11-6-23
My experience with IRC is that just like Reddit was, it is filled with entrenched mods and admins that act like petty kings and treat the channels/servers as their personal fiefdom. Some of these people have been mods and admins for like 15+ years. Incredibly cliquish and off putting, hostile to new users.
I think IRC could work but only if you create your own server and invite like minded people, and maybe rotate mods/admins regularly, lest the same thing happen to your server.
Takes about 10 mins to set up your own IRC server
so you can talk to yourself?
Think I replied to the wrong comment:/
But obviously no. It’s so you can create your own community with your own rules etc .
I am not important enough to have my own community following but I assume someone will have a use for it
Do you also rotate yourself out, then? Perhaps just symbolically with a hand picked temporary replacement?
Just buy a rotating chair.