Most IRC networks are relatively small and/or are/were run by techies with no real incentive to log everything. Also, almost everything culturally about IRC relies on trusting the IRC operators to keep things running smoothly and moderate appropriately.
UnrealIRCd (a popular IRC server implementation) have actively refused to add features in to the code-base that allow IRC operators to snoop on private messages or covertly on channels, for example.
Slack, Facebook, Reddit, and whoever else we all use these days, keep every private message ever sent logged for all time and this is just accepted.
I don't think IRC ever had much of an expectation of privacy. Just because you didn't keep logs yourself does not mean the IRC server didn't. Using a bouncer does nothing for that.
> UnrealIRCd (a popular IRC server implementation) have actively refused
That's really moot because operators can certainly and easily snoop the traffic on the wire. Therefore I agree with the statement above that one should take IRC for what it is: lightweight, convenient, but don't assume any privacy - and it can be perfectly fine.
"IRC. Everyone who wants to make sure their messages land use IRC as a backchannel now."
No, damnit. IRC is logged, double logged, and then has all of the logs shipped offsite to be engraved in bedrock. IRC servers, because of their history in pirated content, are very heavily controlled by law enforcement. A huge number of raids have been carried out around the world based off what people have said on IRC.
IRC is very much not the solution to the widespread monitoring of facebook.
There's only IRC loggers that you can see, though - if you know (practically) everyone in a channel at a given point in time, you're reasonably safe - not 100%, but reasonably. Which is about good enough for most things.
Private conversations are completely irrelevant to this discussion, so not sure why you keep bringing them up.
And you did say IRC logged without bots, which it doesn't. You were wrong.
And a bot would stay connected to get every message, regardless of the year, and no a "good chunk" of IRCv3 efforts aren't around server logging, that's hilariously incorrect and just shows you're randomly saying shit to try and be right.
> UnrealIRCd (a popular IRC server implementation) have actively refused to add features in to the code-base that allow IRC operators to snoop on private messages or covertly on channels, for example.
Someone should have told Angrywolf. This module was on every "we used to be on BigNet but we split off because reasons" UnrealIRCd network for a while, haha
Oddly enough, I prefer the IRC channels I frequent to not be logged, just like the conversation I'm having at the corner coffee shop (probably) isn't logged beyond the ears of those who hear it.
To me it helps create more of a community feel. Often times you'll see active community members turn problems they deal with on IRC into blogs, articles or even books to spread that knowledge.
2. While IRC isn't private, you should be made aware if someone's logging it, and frankly I'm not really in favor of logging it in any case, as it detracts from the more informal nature of it.
In the modern age of surveillance some protocols could be actively worse. Sad times, but IRC has no real place in the world of someone hoping to preserve their privacy.
Out of curiosity, what causes you to be "comfortable" (or not) with a service keeping a record of your IRC activities? I assume you have private networks in some form?
I'm not judging, i simply ask because a lot of people are connecting to Freenode/Freenode-like locations where he majority of the channels are already logged 24/7 by you, countless others, and bots publishing the content to the web.
Almost every IRC channel I've ever joined had users who logged the chat 24/7. Sure, it wasn't centralized but at no point is there any tacit agreement that public chat channel isn't being logged. I don't really see a difference in this and Discord giving the entire history of the channel the user is joining.
> "... IRC has no real place in the world of someone hoping to preserve their privacy."
Why is that? IRC supports SSL, of course, and many IRC networks offer "cloaks" (to hide your IP address from other users) and/or permit connections via Tor.
IRC is inherently an extremely open and fragile protocol. It's effectively a social network, so it attracts all the drama such a network naturally generates, while doing very little to mitigate it. Low barriers to entry, easy pseudonymity, basic but pretty rigid social structures (you either got a flag or you don't)... it's just a volatile mix.
In the end, it's just people bitching on the internet, with only enough features to generate more drama and no extra features to distract you from it.
UnrealIRCd (a popular IRC server implementation) have actively refused to add features in to the code-base that allow IRC operators to snoop on private messages or covertly on channels, for example.
Slack, Facebook, Reddit, and whoever else we all use these days, keep every private message ever sent logged for all time and this is just accepted.
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