To my dismay, I learned today that bash.org went down some time ago (2023). For those who don't know what bash.org is, or was I guess, it's a collection of chat snippets from IRC channels. Sort of a "best of" of the earlier days of IRC. Fortunately, a few archivists preserved the collection, and this is one of those archives. The best are pretty good, the worst are... pretty bad. Lots of racism. There are a lot of entries, some of which are still quoted around the internet today, and they represent a crowd-curated snapshot of what the internet was like around the turn of the century.
A selection of notable pieces in the collection (that is, I just went through and picked some I remember from the days of yore):
hunter2
types of people
lost machine
helping a newbie
inverted b
experiencing nature
neighborhood bonfire
advanced robotics
business acumen
essence of IRC
top minds of IRC
42 Comments
ramius345@sh.itjust.works · 70 pts · 3d
I put on my robe and wizard hat.
queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone · 25 pts · 3d
I specifically did not include that one because I predicted it would be the first comment :) I was pretty close!
DocMcStuffin@lemmy.world · 44 pts · 3d
Quote: 304642; Rating: 1625;
<Jakosin> what is a .tar
<Rivicen> its used to patch .road files
Davel23@fedia.io · 33 pts · 3d
Can't forget this classic.
assembly@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 3d
You beat me to this comment. Still quite Robe and Wizard Hat.
CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de · 25 pts · 3d
Oh man, I miss those days.
queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone · 21 pts · 3d
The internet was simpler back then. Or we were; maybe both.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 2d
the internet was better back then. sweeter, more innocent.
Before the Corponation attacked.
binarytobis@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2d
There’s lots of good new stuff since then.
But it’s all monetized, and my anger at that outweighs any joy I feel. I blame Reagan.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2d
Thats the great thing.
You can point your finger and blame Reagan for almost anything, and you'd be right a disturbing number of times!
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 2d
While it isn't the same as the good old days, I'm still on the irc. I have no plans to ever leave.
CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 2d
For me, I lost the community (they’ve been shut down) and I absolutely don’t have the time to lurk until conversation starts up at 3am like I did when I was a teen.
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 2d
I get that, totally. I found a new community about 15 years ago or so and am part of a few now. They tend to be active most of the time to some degree at least, but not so active I feel like its too crowded. I am sure in the bigger group its always 95% lurkers still and they just chime in sparsely.
AllHailTheSheep@sh.itjust.works · 23 pts · 2d
this one is a personal fave
NikkiDimes@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 2d
My personal fave: https://bash.rip/?5775
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2d
Such a classic.
AllHailTheSheep@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2d
lol I forgot about that one, thank you haha
AgentSeven@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 2d
eah@programming.dev · 1 pts · 2d
Some of these have to be fake. Nothing ever happens.
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 23 pts · 2d
Spartacus joins channel
Spartacus changed alias to RandomUser232
RomanSoldier joins the channel
RomanSoldier: Where is Spartacus?!
User1: I am Spartacus!
User2: I am Spartacus!
User2: No! I am Spartacus!
RomanSoldier: Man, fuck you guys.
RomanSoldier leaves channel
RandomUser232: Whew, that was close.
(paraphrased, but this was always one of my favorite entries on the site)
curbstickle@anarchist.nexus · 15 pts · 3d
LOL found one of mine, appreciate the archive link!
queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone · 14 pts · 2d
haha nice. Hope your back's feeling ok these days :)
curbstickle@anarchist.nexus · 11 pts · 2d
Back is OK!
The knee sucks though lol
Edges@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 2d
Which one?
khannie@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 2d
Awwww. Good old *******.
bertlewirth@lemy.lol · 7 pts · 2d
All I see is hunter2
autriyo@feddit.org · 13 pts · 3d
Thanks for the laughs.
I haven't been around for IRC, but I've definitely seen some of your picks quoted before.
queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 3d
It's a cultural touchstone for sure. Back in the day it was a significant part of internet culture. It's still around, it's just not as mainstream as more modern iterations of social media.
binarytobis@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 2d
Why does this one pack such a punch?
Eyekaytee@aussie.zone · 8 pts · 3d
I miss those days :(
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2d
I miss the internet being something you logged into, instead of this perpetual misery portal that you were not able to escape from without a wide scale power outage.
khannie@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2d
It seemed so cool at the time to magically have the internet in your pocket. Little did we know that it was a crack pipe in disguise.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2d
Man what I wouldnt give to go back to how the internet was in the mid 90s.
Logging into it with a screaming modem, simple websites, no corporate enshitification, barely corporation bullshit in general, IRC, AIM.
raspberry_confetti@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 3d
God that was a great time to be a kid. I miss the simplicity of those days.
Geobloke@aussie.zone · 5 pts · 3d
I remember back in the days when I went over the data cap and my internet was throttled, this was one of the few websites that still worked
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 2d
I can't believe you didn't mention bloodninja?
dangercake@feddit.uk · 4 pts · 2d
Right? I even put on my robe and wizard hat
Taleya@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 2d
I was formally requested in our house to stop saying "I put on my robe and lizard hat" when donning the lizalfos mask in botw
Kojichan@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2d
I'd love revisiting these occasionally for a boost of dopamine on long bus rides.
Taleya@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 2d
Good ol' bash. Where the men are men, the women are men, and the kids are all FBI agents
some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org · 3 pts · 2d
The first time I read bash.org I was laughing so hard I was crying and short of breath. I mean I was struggling to get air. Shit was hilarious. I'm happy to see this important archive preserving the content for future generations.
Taleya@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 2d
WHO PUT THE COOKIE IN THE COOKIE JAR?
SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 2d
https://p.mr64.net/users/bash
A fedi bot that posts random quotes