Very cool! It used to be the only option for text chat, and is still the backend for a lot of more modern chat stuff in games etc. There was DCC for sending files, phish for applying encryption, bouncers so you wouldn’t miss messages while offline, all kinds of stuff. Really useful protocol

This is a real question and I don’t mean to be rude, but… what did you think irc was for?

I remember people making this same argument but for social media, doesn’t make any more sense now than it did then. Corpos are the ones in control of that tool, using it helps them so much more than it does you. If you don’t want to support the ideology that developed it, you really need to just not engage.

Seconding gnucash, there’s modern stuff that’s slicker but nothing that works better imo

For me firearm ownership is about responsibility and independence. If you’re going to eat meat, you should participate in the process and understand what it means. If you don’t trust the state with a monopoly on violence, you should be a part of distributing that power as widely as possible. Guns are one of the most powerful tools in the modern world, and I value them for the same reasons I value my drill or computer: they expand my capabilities.