RefugeIRC was more than just a server. It was a community — stood up in 2008 by [KonArtist] as its own independent corner of the IRC world, long before the big network migrations that would shake the IRC landscape.
Before RefugeIRC, [KonArtist] ran with the crowd on ICQ's IRC Network — back when ICQ was how the internet made friends. When ICQ eventually shut down their IRC service in favor of their own proprietary chat, many users scattered. Some landed on LibraIRC. Others went to the wind entirely.
But RefugeIRC was already its own thing by then — not a reaction, not a refugee camp. A real network with its own people, its own culture, and its own history.
The server is gone now, but a few of the old crowd still find each other on AlphaChat. If you were there — you know.
Before RefugeIRC, there was ICQ's IRC Network — where [KonArtist] and a community of regulars called home. Raw IRC culture at its most authentic, back when ICQ was the heartbeat of the early internet.
[KonArtist] stands up RefugeIRC as its own independent network — not a migration, not a reaction, just a place to build something real. A home on the IRC landscape carved out from scratch.
The network finds its people. Channels, bots, ops, and regulars who made the place worth logging into every night. The internet before it forgot how to be weird and good.
ICQ pulls the plug on their IRC service in favor of their own proprietary chat. The old crowd scatters — some to LibraIRC, many to the wind. RefugeIRC by this point is already a world unto itself.
Social media pulls people away one by one. The channels grow quieter. Most scatter to the wind — the same story IRC communities lived through everywhere. But some hold on.
All good things. The server closes. refugeirc.net goes quiet — but the people who were there remember it, and a few still find each other on AlphaChat to this day.
IRC never died. It just outlasted the hype. If you were part of the old crowd — come find us on AlphaChat. The protocol is still running pure.
Connect using any IRC client — HexChat, mIRC, WeeChat, irssi, Textual (macOS), or Revolution IRC (Android). Or just use the live webchat below — no install required.
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