cogogo 2 days ago

The first startup I worked at used IRC - well before slack etc. I hadn’t touched it since I was a teenager and think I managed to violate just about every internal channel guideline. Took me a minute to understand what “echan” meant.

  • NackerHughes 2 days ago

    For the rest of us, what does “echan” mean? Searching online for “irc echan” wasn’t much good.

    edit: some wider-range searching suggests it might be Spanish for “kicked”.

    • noahjk 2 days ago

      "Echan" = "empty channel" - IRC slang for joining a channel, seeing no recent activity, and immediately leaving.

      It's considered bad etiquette because IRC channels are often quiet but still active - you're supposed to stick around and just ask your question directly rather than bailing when you don't see instant chatter.