Doom related Internet Relay Chat

Doom players have a long history of using Internet Relay Chat (IRC) to congregate together, find games, and just generally hang out. If you would like to find some other Doom people, in a real time chat environment, you could give IRC a try.

IRC Log Archive:

EFnet #deathmatch log archive, Fall 1996 - Fall 1997


EFnet #doom2 log segments that include Croatian 'Mihha', May 28 1997 - July 7 1997

IRC of today:

I'm not going to write an entire IRC primer here, but will take the time to say some things about it before suggesting you jump on blindly.
 

An IRC network is a group of chat servers that allow people to create virtual rooms, each room having a unique name, and groups of people can enter and hang out in the rooms (channels). Channel names start with a #, like #doom2. The people who created and "run" the rooms are called "operators" (ops for short) and they have complete control over who is allowed to stay in the room. They do have the power to kick you out of the room and prevent you from reentering. They are the people who are listed in the rooms with an @ sign next to their nickname (like @_BahdKo_) :). Ops have complete control and are under no obligation to conduct themselves in a way that you feel is "fair". They literally own their channels, and if you get on their nerves, you may find yourself booted out.

IRC channels take on an identity and a kind of social structure that is seperate from the channel's "name". Not everyone on IRC is friendly, mature, intelligent, nor wants to help everyone who comes along asking newbie-like questions. When you go into a channel, even a channel with a doom related name, make no assumptions that the people who are there like Doom for the same reasons you do. For your first times on IRC, the best thing to do is sit back and watch how things work, not really participating in the chat.

One of the fastest ways to lose popularity with the channel Ops is to ask to be made an Op. Consider yourself warned.

Also, when you use IRC, the people in the channel with you can see what Internet Service Provider (ISP) you are using, and will tend to stereotype you based on how others from your ISP have behaved in the past. If you happen to be an AOL user, you need to seriously hang out and watch for a while before trying to participate in the chat. Be aware that the channel ops are accustomed to AOL users behaving like loud, annoying idiots, and may not have as much patience with you as an IRC newbie as you would hope. Some channels even have the channel more or less programmed to boot AOL users on sight because of their almost guarenteed annoying behavior.
 

If you want to try IRC, you're welcome to download and use my IRC client of choice, DCipher. Here are some popular IRC networks, and some IRC channels which are known to have doom-related people in them.
 

Network            Server list                             Doom related channels

Freenode           Click for server list                 #doom
                                                                   #zdaemon

Quakenet          Click for server list               #nightmare
                     

EFnet               Click for server list                 #doom2
                                                                   #deathmatch
                                                                   #doom

OFTC                    irc.oftc.net                          #zdoom