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Mon Oct 18 10:06:36 AM EDT 2021
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I'm almost embarrassed to say it took more than a day to get
two IRC daemons to talk to each other and stay in sync. I
mean, it wasn't writing custom software, solving a major
problem, doing complex data analysis, or anything of the
sort. It was just installing and configuring software on two
different machines, and these services are meant to talk to
one another! What's the problem?

If I was a client, or if I was a manager waiting on a junior
admin to check-in, I'd have been pissed -- or at least
suspicious. IRC's about the oldest, most mature, simple chat
system there is. It's all text -- no voice or video, no
crazy protocols, no complex network requirements, nothing --
just text. How hard can it be?

IRC has been on the decline -- has been forever. Kind of
like HF for radio transmissions, Morse code for
communications, COBOL or FORTRAN for programing, ... There'd
be plenty of folks who would declare each of them "dead,"
but each of them persists, and there is always a following
who appreciate them for their low-complexity, minimal
requirements, and throw-back, retro feel.

That said, if you are standing up IRC services these days,
you're probably in that later category. You're likely just
setting up a single service for a couple of like-minded
friends -- probably not family :-p  And in that case, figure
just about every regular linux or similar distribution
includes some IRC server package and a collection of clients
in the repository. You can be up and running with the basics
in minutes.

If you're bitten by curiosity, though, and you visit any of
the larger IRC networks, you'll see they're on another
level: There are active channels everywhere, descriptions
and rules for those channels, registered users, different
levels of IRC "operators," different modes on channels and
users, bots and services, ... and lots and lots of users,
and those users are connected to different servers around
the world, and you're seeing each of their posts from
wherever you are as they happen.

And if that's interesting to you, you're next steps are
probably (1) to install IRC services such as altheme or
anope, and then (2) to create a second server to connect
with the first. From there, you have the basics to explore
what the larger systems do.

That case for the curious? That's atypical these days. Your
package installers aren't necessarily going to set you up
for that. I mean, the software is likely capable, but the
installation is targeted for the ordinary. It's up to you to
take the next steps.

That's where things become interesting with these "retro"
technologies: The experts already know and the new explorers
are not asking. What does that mean? If you're googling for
answers, it's likely you're not going to find them. You'll
find yourself beyond the bounds of what anyone's talking
about in the last 20-30 years of indexing.

So, my IRC weekend? More details in the next post :-)