COM 125 Week 2: History of the Internet – Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

With the proliferation of the Internet, communication has been made so much easier and convenient. Constant breakthroughs and advancement in technology have given rise to a new form of communication in 1988, otherwise known as the Internet Relay Chat (IRC). (Wikipedia, 2007)

IRC was created by Jarkko Oikarinen in late August in 1988, but it only gained prominence in the year 1991, when it was used during the media blackout to report on the Soviet coup attempt. It was meant as a form of real time chat via the internet, allowing group-to-group conversations via forums such as Channels, or one-to-one conversation via private messages. (Wikipedia,2007) It is a virtual meeting place where people from all over the world and from all walk of life can come together to talk, and eventually be exposed to different cultures, human interests and experiences. (mirc.com)

In the realm of IRC, there is almost absolute freedom, where people could voice their thoughts on any and every single issue, or they simply use is as a channel to vent out their frustrations by whining and ranting. All these are done at the advantage of not disclosing their true identity, and without burning a hole in their pockets.

“You can't see people when you are computer-chatting with them; you can't even ascertain their true identities, and you are unlikely ever to run into them on the material plane or recognize them if you do.” (Rheingolds, 1993)

As with most computer-mediated communication (CMC), people have the option of whether they want to disclose their identity or not. In IRC, the users usually assumes a new identity, or even take on a new persona, by having nicknames to represent themselves, and some even speak in a different manner than they normally do. I guess this really allows those who are introverts or are usually shy from the public to speak up.

You can choose your nickname

One really interesting fact about IRC is that it allows room for creativity. This could largely be due to the fact that there is little or no restriction on what a user wants to talk about, and how he wants to talk. Who would have thought that symbols such as }, - , and @ could be used to represent items such as flowers, or even the way the user feels? (Note: IRC is a virtual world, no one can see the user while he is typing away and sending his messages.) For example, @}--- will represent a flower, ^_^ will represent a happy face, T.T or :~~ will mean crying. That simply is not all; over the years, as people continue to engage in IRC, a new lingo is formed, otherwise known as the IRC-language. This language does not require the chatter to speak at all. Instead, words are usually shortened, to aid in faster typing. For instance, words like “also” has been shortened to “oso”, “through” to “thru”, “think” to “tink”, “don’t” to “dun”, and “with” to “wif”. The list goes on. Of course, such language is not recognize everywhere, but if one were to chat regularly over IRC, he would surely pick up one of two such words unknowingly.

You can even choose the colors you want for your screens and texts

Today, chatting on IRC is as simple as logging on to any of the servers, filling in your desired nickname, joining any of the listed channels, and you are able to mingle and connect freely with all other users. The interface and tools are made user-friendly, so it means that even people who are not tech-savvy are able to use IRC without much trouble.

The advantages of IRC are pretty clear thus far – freedom of expression, room for creativity, an easier and faster way to expand social networks. However, the disadvantages are pretty much obvious as well, and definitely not to be overlooked.

While giving people the room for creativity, IRC is has also fallen prey to abusive users such as the hackers, extremists, or even porn-site advertisers. IRC are also prone to attacks such as the IRC-takeover (which is the acquisition of the channel other than the owner(s)), and “nuking” (which is to disconnect users continuously to annoy them).

As a prevention method, IRC networks will k-line (temporary ban) or g-line (permanent ban) anyone who is suspected to do potential harm. (Wikipedia, 2007)

Apart from all these technical disadvantages, IRC also tends to have some insidious effect on people. The way we communicate via Emails and SMSes is one such apparent example. Like I have mentioned above, people who use IRC often enough will tend to pick up some IRC language. As such, when we are so used to the language, we tend to apply it on our everyday lives as well. This may not be a healthy sign, as we this language is definitely inapplicable to formal communication. (E.g. business letters, resumes, newspaper articles, etc.)

Addiction to IRC poses another social problem as well – addiction to IRC. Just like computer games and television programs, IRC can get people addicted to it too. Addicted users tend to spend most of his time chatting, and this will eventually be detrimental as they neglect their health, family and work. Here's a figure to illustrate the statistics of IRC users. The blue line indicates the rising number of IRC users.

In sum, IRC is certainly one of the most successful medium in which people communicate today. Unlike emails and letters, IRC allows real time chatting, to save time. Direct communication has created greater chances for them to gain more instant exposure to the whole diversity of human interests, ideas, and issues. Freedom of expression and the ability to hide one’s identity has also opened a new door for those who are usually shy and afraid to speak up. Advantageous as it sounds, there are also bad influences for those who are using it. Addiction to IRC and the widespread use of the IRC language can pose big social problems in the long run.

References

1. Internet Relay Chat (January 24, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved January 24, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat

2. Forms of abuse (January 24, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved January 24, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat#Forms_of_abuse

3. Rheingold, H. (1993). Visionaries and Convergences: The Accidental History of the Net, Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/3.html

4. "What is IRC?" (2006), Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.mirc.com/

5. IRC statistics (November 22, 2006). Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://hinner.com/ircstat/

A very pleasant Sunday for me..

Ok, this is rather crazy... It's almost 2am now, but I'm still typing away in front of my desktop, with some butter crackers and a cup of water for company. Everyone at home are deep in their slumber already, and I'm just as tempted to drift off to slumberland myself. But given my goldfish memory, it's wiser that I blog what I want to blog about now, before everything gets erased from my limited brain space. hahaha... so here goes..Hehz..

With special thanks to my cousin, I was given a free ticket to watch Rain's Concert just last Sunday live at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and I thought it would make a rather interesting post since we're doing a module on the mass media. Well, since it's something Free, I could only get a seat somewhere pretty far from the stage. But even then the ticket value was already a pricey S$288. Whew~!

Rain

My Ticket to the concert..FOC.

Very Expensive... To me at least..

Well, I was pretty surprised when I saw the number of people who actually turned up for the concert.. I mean, apart from the costly tickets, most Singaporeans don't really know Korean. So why would people bother spending large sums of money to watch a Korean celebrity perform? Honestly speaking, I haven't heard of him until my sister came home one fine day and started ranting about how cute this guy in this particular drama was. Yea, those who are ga-ga over Rain should know which drama I am referring to - Fullhouse.

Nevertheless, my cousins and I were still quite excited about the concert, since much publicity was given, and we were actually looking forward to this Rain effect that was supposed to happen during one of his songs. The crowd was surprisingly tamed, no pushing or shoving, and everyone just moved into the stadium in an orderly manner. Security was tight, with bag checks and etc. Before long, I was already nicely seated and waiting for the concert to begin.

Short digression : I actually charged my digi-cam specially for this event.. but I left home without the camera! So in the end I was only stuck to my very lousy camera from my SE750i. (see what I mean by goldfish memory now?) You won't believe how lousy until you see the quality of the pics/vids taken...

Crowds still moving in and getting seated. Notice Rain's big logo?

The concert began with Rain bursting out of a submarine model and tonnes of crazy fans screaming and waving their lightsticks frantically.

The visual effects of this concert was truly amazing, and the surround sound system was really awesome. If I hadn't calculate wrongly, there were as many as 12 screens on the stage, either zooming in on the performers, or displaying very interesting visual images whilst Rain was singing/dancing. Pyrotechnics were used for almost every of his song performance. Dancers, including Rain himself were superb. The most impressive and never-seen-before effect was the "Rain" that poured down on Rain himself when he was singing one of his sentimental songs. Just imagine the entire audience gasp in silence. Very Very amazing.

During the concert(that was the best I could do with my 750i)

Another short taken during his performance..
Two hours went past in the blink of an eye, leaving the audience shouting for encore performance. ^^

The purpose of this entry is just to show you that the function of the media is no longer just a tool to disseminate information; It is also a tool for us to bring about great entertainment into our lives. (i.e. the print media, the audio, the visuals, etc)

I've actually tried to record some of his songs during the concert.. and tried to take some videos.. but in order to save your eardrums from bursting, I've decided to upload any of them here. hahaha.. Don't be disappointed though, cos' you can still see bits and pieces of his performance here, here, here , here and here !!

Hehez.. Just randomly picked a few... enjoy. :)

P/S: One thing really commendable about this concert is that part of the proceeds will go to World Vision to help children with HIV or AIDS. I personally feel that Rain was really sincere in this performance, and he was actually performing with an injured arm. Go Rain!

A bit about me..

Allo! Allo!

Here's my very first blog entry for coms 125!

My name is WanTing, but you can call me Ting if you want. I will be turning 22years old in another few months' time, but somehow I don't quite look my age. Having a kiddy look can be both a blessing as well as a pain in da ass... hehz..

I'm a pretty simple girl, and I am usually shy with strangers. Things get a little different though, once I open up to you; I become an irritating monkey. Muahahhaa... I'm very blur as well, with an ultra poor sense of direction. Oh, I can be as lazy as a cat too.. No worries, though.. I work when I have to. See? I'm blogging now.. *work* =Pp

I'm as lazy as this kitty..But I will work when I have to..

I guess I haven't really got any special talent ( or at least I haven't discovered them), other than the fact that I smile alot, I daydream alot and I talk/think alot of nonsense. My buddy, Hema, can vouch for it; she gets so irritated with me at times that she wanna throw me off the school building. lolz..

Being the monkey me (with a short attention span), I don't usually enjoy activities that require me to just sit down and do nothing. I like cycling, catching prawns, drinking, window shopping, car spins, cooking, watching cartoons, and learning whatever new things that have caught my interest. The only times when I could sit down quietly without coming up with any monkey biz is when

• I'm busy scribbling notes in class
• I'm watching my cartoons (esp Disney cartoons)
• I'm dead tired

Some of the prawns that I caught (but frozen already)

haha.. so as you can see... I am hardly tamed. But I will be good in class, I promise. wahahhahhaha.

As compared to most of my peers, I should be considered a techie-idiot who knows little about gadgets and stuffs. Hence, I am pretty excited about Coms 125, and I do hope I will be more tech savvy by the time I complete this module.

Okiez, I guess that's all I have for now!

Cheerios!

me!