The NYT has run a goofy Red-scare piece on Internet Relay Chat, with hysterical, alarmist bushwah like "It is still possible – though sometimes a bit difficult – to find mature technical discussions among the tens of thousands of I.R.C. chat rooms" — I mean, how "difficult" is it to type "/join #unix"?
When I.R.C. started in the 1980's, it was best known as a way for
serious computer professionals worldwide to communicate in real
time. It is still possible – though sometimes a bit difficult –
to find mature technical discussions among the tens of thousands
of I.R.C. chat rooms, known as channels, operating at any one
time. There are also respectable I.R.C. systems and channels –
some operated by universities or Internet service providers – for
gamers seeking opponents or those who want to talk about sports
or hobbies.Still, I.R.C. perhaps most closely resembles the cantina scene in
"Star Wars": a louche hangout of digital smugglers, pirates,
curiosity seekers and the people who love them (or hunt them).
There seem to be I.R.C. channels dedicated to every sexual
fetish, and I.R.C. users speculate that terrorists also use the
networks to communicate in relative obscurity. Yet I.R.C. has its
advocates, who point to its legitimate uses.