| On IRC since 1997 - even still in the first channel I joined! Writing an IRC client is really a fun and rewarding exercise. I also more or less started my career as a software engineer by maintaining a mildly popular Linux one, at the time. Some things I learned ... - A lot about shipping to real users and their pain points, since the devs are naturally accessible by IRC and you get to meet directly - A whole lot about what makes a successful technology - Equally much about tech warts, as IRC suffers from a fair number misguided early decisions and many years without functioning governance - How incredibly rewarding it is to work on products that users directly "live their lives" in and that can help facilitate anything they do - it taught me to look out for jobs that have similar substrate-like qualities Good luck with your project, I'm glad to see the cycle of renewal continue. |