• disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    It’s all about polish. That’s how AOL chat rooms lured the masses from BBS, and AIM replaced IRC as the mainstream messaging service back in the late 90s.

    • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      Meh, you can only polish a turd so much. I would like to point out that AIM no longer exists but IRC does.

      I think what you really mean is marketing. Also, I think you rely on a false equivalency that popular = better.

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Yes, but the majority of people that left AIM went to Friendster or MySpace.

        You and I obviously have the same preference or we’d be having this conversation on Reddit. I was really just referring to mass appeal versus quality.

        • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          IRC might still be around but it is not popular by any means. I just think it is funny it endures. I remember being on Prodigy and AOL forums and chatrooms and then discovering IRC.

          IRC is still amazing compared to how simple it really is. I remember making bots and scripts to take over operator and all kinds of shenanigans. Never experienced anything like that on a corporate platform.

          I think you are touching on something that could not be summarized by polish and perhaps why I was slightly annoyed when I read it.

          I am all for decentralized non-commercial platforms. It is the only future for people like us.