irc channels

Once I had a nice irc client and the confidence I was using using it properly I started to look for more channels. I'm still happy with the on (and off) topic discussions in #Bay12Games but there are only about 60 people idle in the channel at any moment and maybe 10% chat with any regularity. I wanted more intelligent discussion and interesting links.

While looking for examples of irssi configuration files, I found a few examples containing servers and channels but these were always for official open source software: #debian, ##linux, #vim, and #irssi. Other configuration files were modified to obscure the channel list. I don't know if this was because they were embarrassed, they wanted to hide illegal channels, or because they just didn't want a bunch of random yahoos crashing their digital pubs. Lurking in an official OSS channel is ok but the conversations tend to be focused and formal. I was looking for shenanigans.

Poking around I found a few irc search engines. These were useful for rating servers according to the number of channels they contained and channels according to the number of users but I wasn't much closer to finding the good ones.

I also wasn't sure how to frame my interests.

Technology? Programming? Comics? Weird sexual fetishes? Linux gaming? Dwarf fortress? Outdoor adventures? Weird fiction? Robots? Pirates?

Really I just wanted a channel where smart and funny people are discussing the stuff I like, a trousermonkey channel. But until I find that group I thought I'd share what I tried, what I found, and where I settled.

• #news on anonops is just a ticker tape stream of current news stories. I'm guess it's run by bots but I wasn't sure. There wasn't anything here I wasn't already getting through my RSS feeds and it was a bit boring. There are other, more illegal looking channels on this server but I didn't want to join without going through a proxy.
• The people on #chat on xxxchatters (an adult chat server) interact like horny teenagers. I suspect, from the number of times they mention children and grandchildren the people there range in age from 30-60 years old. I'm happy they've found this place but it was too inane to stay:

09:26  *      Kristen26 army crawls
09:26  *            p3z sneaks up behind Kristen26 and shoots
09:26 <       Kristen26 > hmph
09:27 <       Kristen26 > "direct hit"
09:27  *            p3z laughs and runs away
09:27 <Role_Play_Master > Lobotomy
09:27 <snowycanadian{SM >  lollllol
09:27 <Role_Play_Master > Annual thing
09:27 <           Fread > you too?
09:27 <     biscoman123 > hello everyone
09:27 <snowycanadian{SM >  biscoman123,  hello =)
09:27  *      Kristen26 breathes hard
09:27 <Role_Play_Master > Oh look sado doctor left
09:27 <     biscoman123 > snowycanadian{SM}, hey snowy :)
09:27 <Role_Play_Master > Ironic
09:27 <           Fread > dang
09:28 <snowycanadian{SM >  sado dont like me hehhehe
09:28 <           Fread > I really need one of those
09:28 <           Fread > my normal doc isn't painful enough
09:28  *            p3z hides behind a tree and shoots Kristen26 from afar
09:28 <snowycanadian{SM >  gues syou need a new on fread lol
09:28 <snowycanadian{SM >  one
09:28 <Role_Play_Master > Grabs yellow pages
09:29 <snowycanadian{SM >  how ya doing biscoman123, ?
09:29  *      Kristen26 falls out
09:29  *      Kristen26 shoots p3z  from the floor
09:29 <         TXH{DG} > Lol
09:29 <     biscoman123 > snowycanadian{SM}, doing well thanks for askin. how you doing?
09:29 <           Frost > Greetings!
09:29 <             p3z > *zap zap pew pew*
09:29  *            p3z gets hit
09:29 <snowycanadian{SM >  doing great, could be better but doing great
09:29 <       Kristen26 > lol
09:29 <Role_Play_Master >  Hey Frost
09:29 <           Frost > Role_Play_Master!
09:30 <snowycanadian{SM >  Frost!!!!!!!!!!!!
09:30 <         TXH{DG} > How ya doing throbbing8inches lol
09:30 <           Frost > snowycanadian{SM}!
09:30 <     biscoman123 > snowycanadian{SM}, always can be better. great is pretty good though :)
09:30 <snowycanadian{SM >  hugggggggggggsssssssss hun Frost
09:30 <       Kristen26 > okay p3z you win
09:30 <             p3z > lol
09:30 <           Frost > <hugs>
09:30 <             p3z > good game, Kristen26
09:30  *            p3z hugs

• Another channel found on xxxchatters was #pornjackers. This is where a bunch of men gather and share pornographic links. I only stayed for a minute but there was no chit-chat, only people posting links and the creepy suspicion that everyone here was masturbating.
• #bondage on irc.bondage.com was the polar opposite of #chat. bondage.com is touted as the largest adult chat server online and the #bondage channel is their general chat room. In contrast to #chat most of the nicknames were masculine and the mood was sullen.

14:46 <ballgaggedforsky > Hi all
14:46 <  bluefeathersub > hi all female domme male sub looking to be trained
14:46 <         peaches > Huh???
14:46 <         MsHarsh > hi peaches
14:46 <     pseudonym84 > yeah that one lost me too peaches
14:47 <         peaches > Hi MsHarsh how are you??
14:47 <Bindher_shoeless > Hi peaches
14:47 <         MsHarsh > i am fine
14:47 <         peaches > Hi Bindher
14:48 <         peaches > Yeah it's rough MsHarsh, even having some experience in the field is rough now
14:50 <         [mrs]FW >            hi
14:50 < MILord_of_Manor > Hi mrs
14:51 <         [mrs]FW >  hi MOM

There are other channels on this server I dropped into out of curiosity. #gangfuck, #roleplayofallkinds, and #sluts-craving-humiliation. I only spent a few minutes in each. Most consisted of people greeting each other.

15:06 <  cuddle`me`girl > hi DDC
15:06 <  cuddle`me`girl > hello SadistMaster
15:06 <             DDC+> Hello, cuddle' me girl
15:06 <    Dungeon_Lord+> Mister? lol now I do feel old
15:06 <     MeanAssFuck+> hi cuddle`me`girl
15:06 <        Master57+> hi A/all
15:07 <     diaper_girl > hello
15:07 <  cuddle`me`girl > hello Mister MeanAssFuck
15:09  *   Dungeon_Lord watches the door spin
15:09 <            RSVP+> playing: Gin Blossoms - Hey Jealousy (http://rendezvousradio.ca/)
15:10  *   Dungeon_Lord waves to the new arrivals
15:13 <            RSVP+> playing: Fall Out Boy - Thanks For The Memories (http://rendezvousradio.ca/)
15:16 <   Nighthawk3569+> Greetings  A/all
15:17 <            RSVP+> playing: The Nylons - Love Potion No. 9 / Spooky (http://rendezvousradio.ca/)
15:20 <            RSVP+> playing: Willie Nile - Occupy (http://rendezvousradio.ca/)
15:22 <        Azergoth+> Hello all.

I think there's an unwritten rule you have to get permission from someone before setting up a private chat with that person. Saying 'hi' signifies that you're online and available and is an invitation(?) for others to ask for a private chat.

• #sex on snoonet (you can see where this is going) was more mature than the #xxxchatters and less creepy than the #bondage heavy breathers. It seemed to be populated by nurses and a few people dropped in with questions about venereal diseases. Otherwise it was slow and not what I was looking for.
• #linux-gamers.net on quakenet had only 8 people and didn't seem worth it.
• #kspofficial on espernet is the official channel for the Kerbal Space Program game. This channel was good with lots of smart people and some off-topic chat but it just didn't hold my attention.

07:51 <    VanDisaster > the issue at high alt would be taking enough air in...
07:51 <    VanDisaster > just making a bigger scoop would do it, the "compressor" is the plane's movement anyway
07:51 <         sd1001 > You just need to fly really fast
07:52 <          Truga > that's how scramjets work
07:52 <          Truga > more or less anyway
07:52 <    VanDisaster > well
07:52 <    VanDisaster > any ram-air intake
07:53 <          Truga > yeah
07:53 <          Truga > that
07:55 <          Tiron > lol...my SAS can turn the rover with the brakes on...
07:56 <    VanDisaster > heh
07:56 <         sd1001 > Which planet/moon?
07:56 <          Tiron > Kerbin.
07:56 <    VanDisaster > my minmus rovers have giant reaction wheels, makes for fun stunts
07:56 <          Tiron > next to the runway.
07:57 <          Tiron > I'd say my supposition about these wheels needing more grip was an accurate one.  :p
07:57 <            DYJ@> what wheels need more grip?....
07:58 <          Tiron > Rollkage.
07:58 <    VanDisaster > the stock ones either have too much or too little...
07:58 <            DYJ@> all stock ones have way too much

• #comic-scans on rizon was interesting but I'm not interested in the comic scanning scene or downloading from people over irc. I was hoping there would be some good discussions about current comics, artists, and writers but there wasn't much activity and I left after lurking less than an hour. Maybe I should give it a second chance.
• #boardgames on freenode was another channel that failed to keep my interest for long.
• #irssi was pretty good and I lurked for more than a week. It's surprising how useful it is to hang out in a channel dedicated to a complex application. You can learn all sorts of things by just lurking.

The channels I kept:

• #Bay12Games on newnet is small but pretty active and the discussions range all over the board. I like it.
• #xkcd on foonetic. This channel is the king of idle chat and is filled with interesting and intelligent people. It has ~400 people logged in at any time and constantly interesting discussion.

The xkcd channel is also home to the Bucket chat bot. The bash.org-alike archive of best xkcd quotes contains a lot of Bucket snark.

• #steamlug This is the best linux gaming channel I found. It's not perfect, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a better one but #steamlug typically has ~150 people logged in and the discussion ranges over a lot of linux gaming.
• ##electronics Though I could imagine a place that handled the discussion of personal projects better, it's nice to drop in occasionally and see what people are talking about.
• ##security Home for the paranoid.
• I've also kept #dwarffortress on freenode because I have a problem and sometimes the #Bay12Games guys go a little too off topic.

The channels I'm still looking for:

• I'd like to find a channel concerned with the practice of writing prose, preferably with 100+ members who drift off-topic often. I looked so hard for something like this. I know writers aren't the most technologically savvy but who would be better at a chat program that a bunch of procrastinating writers?
• A metafilter channel. Maybe this is pointless because metafilter is already a kind of public community channel but I'd like to hang out with these guys in real time.
• A non-creepy, non-clinical, playful, off-topic, non-violent adult channel. Kind of like 4chan but definitely not 4chan.

Please drop me an email if you can suggest an interesting channel.

posted by na on October 22, 2013 07:33