The Nowherenet IRC Network
Comments from the Founder
As I look at the worldwide landscape over the end-of-year Christmas and New Year holidays observed in much of the world, sometimes it feels like we are about to go full circle in our online experiences on this blue colored rock.
In the early 90s, the idea of being able to sit at a computer and interact with others both near and far away was getting a serious head of steam. Arthur C Clarke was right about what would happen. IRC networks sprang up, and with the advent of (mostly) easy to use chat clients, and Internet at home, things took off and evolved. Fun stuff like this was no longer the exculsive domain of the University IT depts. Eventually other mediums sprang up that were commercial in nature. ICQ, Yahoo and MSN chat, AOL chat rooms, etc. Sometimes it was hard to get online to connect with others due to shared or bad quality telephone lines, local government policies and the like.
Here we are now in the second decade of the 21st century and what a long, strange trip it's been. I like to quote Jerry Garcia occasionally. It would seem to many that we are much closer to 1984 than to 2022 and beyond, this writer included. The evolution of social media has been nothing short of explosive and now it is a huge money maker for a select few billionaires. Mining every attainable iota of the planet's population's personal data is the game now. In 1970, if you, law enforcement or a govt agency wanted to know what your soon to be ex was up to in minute detail, investigators and lots of time and money were usually required. Now its usually an easily readable trail of online breadcrumbs they inadvertently leave behind for all to see. Entities with nefarious intentions are like wolves inside the chicken coop with this easy to obtain data about everyone. You probably see it all around you every day.
Censorship. The same few corporations and people behind the scenes who own the social media networks have their own ideas about how we should think and behave. Say or do something contrary to their narrative and you get banned or worse. We're seeing these actions worldwide as independent thought and actions are being suppressed in formerly relatively free countries. This brings me back to the full circle I mentioned at the beginning. I can see a future where the only social media medium where freedom of expression is accessible and accepted would be on small to medium size IRC networks. They are easy to set up, hosting can be moved around as needed, etc. That is why this little network was put together. Back to the basics, like it used to be when the world was a bit more sane.
No "masks" needed here lol. For you Firefly fans, this quote from a certain techno-geek character probably sounds about right these days: Mr. Universe- "You Can't Stop The Signal." That is how IRC will be going forward. We are all protagonists in our own life stories and need outlets for uncensored expression.
-MM 27 Dec 2021 rev Apr 2022