Hey /g/, I've used IRC clients enough, but I don't understand the inner workings of IRC, or why anyone would opt to use it.
I don't get the appeal. Isn't it insecure as fuck? And having to host a server/chatbot is a pain in the ass, no?
Anyway, give me your saucy responses.
>Isn't it insecure as fuck?
no.
>And having to host a server/chatbot is a pain in the ass, no?
you don't have to host a server, just use one of the many existing networks already set up. irc is a very developed ecosystem. modern irc is all about choice, in client and server.
>>51850084
so traffic over IRC is encrypted then?
>>51850641
yes, when you decide to connect via SSL.
if all of your peers also connect via SSL to the same server, none of your conversation ever leaves that server unencrypted.
it's common because it's extremely simple to implement, both servers and clients
>>51850641
the IRC protocol itself isn't encrypted, but you can run it over an encrypted tunnel/channel
made for losers by losers
>what do you opt to use IRC for?
circlejerk about 90s internet that you would think is shit if you actually used it but pretend to pine for
idle for 15 fucking years
set shitty out of context quotes as topic
take any random chunk of IRC text from 1995 and it would be the same irrelevant garbage from 2005 and 2015, it's like that wannabe hacker I remember who was like "please use my PGP key if you want to communicate with me, e-mail is insecure" and posted it... please girlfriend, as if anyone wants to "contact" you.
>>51850942
that's the vibe I get from most of the rooms I've been in, but surely there are some great channels out there.
Anyone got a list?
>>51850004
its good for d/ling books and getting unb& from private trackers, and those are the only uses I've found for it.
>>51850004
>inner workings of IRC
its a plaintext new line based protocol. messages look like "PRIVMSG #test: this is a message"
you can use irc over telnet / netcat and you will basically know all of it. just do a google for that.
>i dont get the appeal.
as i mentioned above, its newline based and plaintext, that makes it SUUUPER easy to program for, so to make bots and clients its a breeze.
>isnt it insecure as fuck?
no, not really. its a plaintext protocol, but so is html. IRC supports ssl just like http does. the insecurity is based on the servers, and exploiting race conditions in netsplits, but most of that is obsolete now, so yeah. its secure.
IRC also has DCC (client to client direct messaging) which will bypass the server completely, and many irc clients have support for crpytography, both asymetric and shared secret key based)
>having to host a server / chatbot [is] a pain in the ass
NOPE! literally download unreal ircd, modify a config, then start it. but you dont even need to do that. theres tons of irc servers you can just hop on and make a channel on. freenode, effnet, rizon, undernet, and more.
you dont host your client (chatbot as you said). you run it on your computer or phone. if you want to stay connected when your computer isnt powered on, you can host a bouncer, which emulates both an irc server and client (it connects to the "real" irc server, and logs messages). then you connect to your bouncer, it looks like an irc server, so there no weird steps... and it will echo back what you missed.
a bouncer isnt needed, its more of a power user thing that ops tend to use. still easy to set up.
What else would you use if you want to have a chat available for a community?
Using something like FB is annoying for people that don't want to make an account.
>>51851405
>>51850004
I never got this joke
>>51850741
You realize how retarded that is right?
I love irc as much as the next guy but all it takes is one guy connecting on 6667 for the entire convo/users to be compromised. The only way to have a secure irc session is to only connect to servers that only do ssl and don't accept 6667 connections
>>51851659
no, the only way to have a secure irc session is to not trust the server at all and encrypt all your output with a pre-shared key
>>51851659
Couldn't one cop connect to said irc server with ssl and the whole thing still be compromised?
>>51851738
/mode #channel +k penis
(use a channel key)
>>51851738
no. he would have to be in the channel.
if you are talking about illegal shit on irc, with out using gpg, your fucking up.
to a lesser extent, you can have private channels with +k mode
>>51851069
>its good for d/ling books
irc is great for getting ebooks
I use to chat with friends that like group chatting, theres no better service for group chats, they are all lackluster as fuck or just annoying.
>>51851308
its a plaintext new line based protocol. messages look like "PRIVMSG #test: this is a message"
you can use irc over telnet / netcat and you will basically know all of it. just do a google for that.
Thank you based anon, this is the kind of mild spoonfeeding I was looking for.
>>51852281
no problem. its not really fun. you will get PING 1hdf7sj (or some junk) which you have to reply back to "PONG 1hdf7sj". its cool to see how it works. i have a c++ irc header if you want to see it. wouldnt recommend it unless you really know c++, since its all winsock2 calls
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1459
it's old, but RFC1459 will walk you through the basics of the IRC protocol.
>>51850641
>so traffic over IRC is encrypted then?
>>51851738
>Couldn't one cop connect to said irc server with ssl and the whole thing still be compromised?
is this a CP thread
>>51852394
It wasn't until you got in here fucking pedo
>>51852393
>https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1459
Ok excellent! Thanks, I'll check this out.
While we're here, is there a successor to IRC that ever caught on?
>>51852579 ICQ? AIM? Skype?
https://discord.gg/0d0IzXbFmxo5AjOI
>>51852579
>making a forum-style post on /g/
>>>/sqt/
https://www.quakenet.org/articles/99-trust-is-not-transitive-or-why-irc-over-ssl-is-pointless
IRC is a fine protocol to have around when you want real-time chat and only got a toaster with a NIC jammed in it. I've gotten on a server with an 8 MHz PC XT and a single floppy holding MS-DOS, packet driver, and IRC client.
Hackers use IRC
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2rGTXHvPCQ
I have not used irc since the 90s, but always wondered if the servers talk to eachother or if you only can talk to other people and only visit channels on the server you connect to initially.
>been using IRC for years
>hangs out on 3 different servers in a lot of chatrooms
>made a bunch of friends in several chatrooms
>OP in several chatrooms
>even created a chatroom
>coded a bot
Feels good man.
