Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

IRC as a World-Changing Medium

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the tell-mom-you-are-changing-the-world dept.

khaladan writes "Wired has an interesting article titled Chat Room That Built the World that talks about the power of developers helping each other on IRC. The article covers the case of #winprog on EFnet, where people such Justin Frankel (creator of Winamp), John Johansen (DVD Jon), and Shawn Fanning (of Napster fame) have come to chat, hang out, and get help. Many from Microsoft visit the channel as well. Ben Knauss calls it 'innovation in its purest form, without ego, money or fame as its goal.'"

10 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Just imagine! by meringuoid · · Score: 2, Funny
    Imagine what John Johansen (and the others) could have done if they weren't "wasting time" chatting all day long!

    Yes. If not for IRC all three of them would have become good consu^H^H^H^Hitizens and contributed to society, rather than encouraging theft on a massive scale. Clearly these channels should be shut down to protect us from this kind of online terrorism.

    -- Concerned Parents' League, not affiliated in any way to RIAA, honest.

    --
    Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  2. This all well and good... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...but how do I get ops?

  3. Woah by fussili · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can see it now:

    <SFanning> Hey.. I'm having a little trouble with these APIs.. Any of you guys willing to lend a hand?
    <wind00d33> slaps <napster> across the face with a large trout
    <haxxorman> slaps <napster> across the face with a large trout
    <carlie79> Heh.. Guys.. I'm so high right now...
    <Mj> So about my penis...
    <-- SFanning has quit (screw this...)

    1. Re:Woah by Tim+Browse · · Score: 1, Funny

      <SFanning> afk - lawsuit

  4. I read the title wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    M0r3 leik a werd ch4ng1ng meidum!

  5. Re:Without ego? by TubeSteak · · Score: 1, Funny
    More and more jerks! People are so arrogant and far from being without ego. ... Newbies be warned: you'll just be flamed on IRC if you ask for help.
    You must be new here

    And I can say that with a straight face.

    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!
  6. Re:Maybe it used to be that way... by Tim+Browse · · Score: 1, Funny
    I still remember the first time I used IRC (I've used it twice, I think). It was when Unreal came out, and I got stuck in a bit that was really annoying me. The game was new so there were no walkthroughs/hints on the web, so I found an IRC channel for Unreal. Conversation went something like this:
    +++ Tim has arrived
    <OtherDude> hi
    <Tim> hi
    <OtherDude> do you have unreal?
    <Tim> yes
    <OtherDude> do you have a cd burner?
    +++ Tim has left
    True story.
  7. and it was a great place to score chicks by solfood · · Score: 3, Funny

    I "met" my wife on irc in 1993. It wasn't totally nerdy though because we were both on #drugs.

  8. Re:Just imagine! by thej1nx · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just imagine...

    First time an IRC room got slashdotted ...just now :)

  9. Re:well, I doubt it will be like that anymore by Neph · · Score: 4, Funny
    What could possibly be more appropriate to illustrate this point than a bash quote from that very channel?

    http://bash.org/?2121

    *** atnnn (atnnn@hv-hs-37-38.aei.ca) has joined #winprog
    <atnnn> hi
    <atnnn> what is the code for "+" on WM_KEYDOWN
    <Wy4tt> VK_RTM
    <atnnn> and minus?
    <Wy4tt> VK_RTFM
    <atnnn> i can't find it