About 15 to 17 years ago, I can be found on mIRC almost everyday. I was fat and ugly and the only way to start conversation with anyone (especially the opposite sex) was through chat rooms and private chats. There are rooms that I hung out and than I started having regular chatters which became online friends. Some even started chats over the phone. And when this list of friends grow, I had to start writing down their nicknames, real name, mobile number, when we chatted online, age, sex, occupation, school and what other details that’ll help me remind which online friend he/she was.
The beauty of it all, is that none of us ever get to meet in person nor have seen how each other looks like. (Even if photos had been exchanged online, that doesn’t mean the photo is the real deal!)
But now, although still fat and ugly, am still spending every waking hours online. But instead of mIRC, we’re now on facebook, twitter and many other networks. But isn’t things still more or less the same?
Instead of chat rooms with faceless nicknames, there’s millions of users in facebook and there are so many groups and pages you can be part of. If that’s not enough, check out your friend’s and their friends’ friends. See a name or face that you want to network with, send them a message. Once you’re connected, there’s the wall for you to show your public affection (similar to main chat rooms in mIRC isn’t it?) or you can send a private message to share your secrets (private chats). And now, there’s no need to write down how you all met, there’s the friends list that you can create on facebook and you can add friend’s details to be reminded of how you got acquainted. Hasn’t this make your life so much simpler?
How many of you 10-20 years ago, you’ll hang out at the club (e.g. Zouk) and than later that night return home, login to mIRC #zouk to see if anyone you saw or met is in there too? Nooo! Don’t lie! I know you’ve surely done this kind of things before right?! Don’t need to be shy, its part of growing up!
So now with forums and communities online, these things happen more effectively and people get to make more new friends. Taking facebook as an example, you go clubbing, return home, wanting to see if that cute guy or gal has a facebook account, you login to facebook, search for Zouk group or page and scan through the thousands of people in the member/ fan list. And there you found her! Add her as friend with a personalised message, or drop her a message first to see if she’s keen to be friend. (Wah lau eh! Why you so chicken one? Just go up to her on the spot at zouk lah! Go facebook for fack?) Well… Mr, not everyone is as buay pai seh as you, and facebook (and friendster) is the other alternative mah.
*This thought just came to mind and I thought it’ll be something interesting to share. If you’ve got similar ideas or think otherwise, do share. Don’t shy! We all very steady one lah!
On another thought… how many of you are still using mIRC?? Seriously!
Nice sharing. I was very active on IRC during those days too.
I still use IRC on a somewhat weekly basis these days, mainly to follow the discussion on open source softwares (OSS) and to seek help myself. I’ve learned a great deal from asking around in IRC. Of course I’ve also done my share in giving back by helping others. IRC was and still is a very important component in OSS.
I don’t have that program any more but if I do want to go onto IRC, I use Opera or a Firefox plugin. But I don’t use it any more these days.
KahWee’s last blog post..How fast can 24 Samsung SSDs in RAID perform?
I owned 1 channel and had access of 499 to not less than 10 channels WAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Crappy…
The good thing about facebook is, you can now leave messages on their pages even when that particular user is offline. Skin becomes thicker because you can find more topics to start a conversation with that somebody you have a crush on because of the various applications and photos they uploaded by leaving comments.
Wa Ha Ha
Miss Wa Ha Ha’s last blog post..It’s good to be a Dog.
Wow. I used to log on to #FannWong every evening when I was back from school! Similar to plurk where I meet them at events and gatherings! :P
Victor Tan’s last blog post..What’s the hype with plurk?
15 to 17 years ago? Are you serious? MIRC got so old?
What makes you think you have changed abit from fat and ugly mIRC days?
i started IRCing when i was 19. then had gotten bored by the time i was 22, i think.
but these online friendships can be quite…startling, i guess.
a year ago, i searched for a IRC friend (havent contacted each other for almost 10 years) on Facebook and to both our surprise, we’d both recognise each other’s IRC’s handles. :)
oh and i remembered why i had gotten bored of IRCing. if you had like a girly nick, you’d always be bombarded by private chats….and the erm, introduction part was the one i hated the most.
“Intro pls. Age/sex/single?”
LOL. But now with Facebook, you can take photos are start tagging ppl like crazy. LOL
I guess nothing much ever changes, in the days of mIRC, you want to be seen with the in crowd (normally the Moderators/IRCops), now also the same, want to be seen in the same area with the in-crowd as well
Michael Yip’s last blog post..Britney Spears Wardrobe Malfunction
i miss still miss the anonymity in IRC.
mavis’s last blog post..Smile
wah MIRC… long time ago la.. Does it still exist? hehe Facebook for me babe!
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mIRC is 14 years old (February 28 1995)
~6,000,000 people use IRC regularly every day.
Haha Irc is still alive with alot of chatters… but just not the same crowd as b4…
I found my first girlfriend on IRC when I was 16, we were chatting for half a year, very intensively (sometimes even till sunrise), exchanged few photos, connected via dialup. I see it really romantic now. Then we met and walked together for one year and a month…it was 8 years ago. Where are those times =D
I said the same thing when Facebook was introduced.