IRCd service

10.6.2024

Ok. We have IRC at example.fi

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a form of real-time text communication developed by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988. Initially created to replace a local BBS system at the University of Oulu in Finland, IRC quickly gained global popularity, becoming a foundational technology for online chat communities and influencing the development of modern instant messaging and social media platforms. Its significance lies in its pioneering role in connecting people across the internet, fostering early online communities, and setting the stage for contemporary digital communication.

To commemorate this pivotal technology, example.fi provides a simple and limited IRC server. This server is uniquely written in AWK, a scripting language traditionally used for text processing, highlighting the adaptability and enduring legacy of IRC. This creative implementation serves as both an educational tool and a tribute to the foundational role of IRC in the evolution of online communication.

In the following picture you see Irssi in the background and Hexchat on top of it:

Note: if you plan to connect to example.fi, make sure you do not use any fancy features. In irssi, use -nocap option. In Windows, use for example hexchat. As this is written in gawk, most IRC protocol features are not implemented. This includes, for example, channel and user listings, topics, the concept of "operator" etc. Technical fun fact: Total code count is around 60 lines of awk and a few lines of bash.

$ telnet example.fi ircd
Trying 65.108.91.190...
Connected to example.fi.
Escape character is '^]'.
USER foo
NICK bar
:example.fi 001 bar :Welcome to Internet Relay Network bar!~foo@65.108.91.190
:example.fi 375 test :- example.fi Message of the day -
:example.fi 372 test :- Current time is @787.188.beats
:example.fi 376 test :End of MOTD command.
Connection closed by foreign host.

Don't worry, we'll publish the code when it's "ready" :)

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