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submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone to c/antiquememesroadshow@lemmy.world

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

all 43 comments
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[-] ramius345@sh.itjust.works 70 points 6 days ago

I put on my robe and wizard hat.

I specifically did not include that one because I predicted it would be the first comment :) I was pretty close!

[-] DocMcStuffin@lemmy.world 44 points 6 days ago

Quote: 304642; Rating: 1625;

<Jakosin> what is a .tar
<Rivicen> its used to patch .road files

[-] Davel23@fedia.io 33 points 6 days ago
[-] assembly@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago

You beat me to this comment. Still quite Robe and Wizard Hat.

[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 23 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

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)

[-] AllHailTheSheep@sh.itjust.works 23 points 6 days ago
[-] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 17 points 5 days ago
[-] AllHailTheSheep@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

lol I forgot about that one, thank you haha

[-] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Such a classic.

[-] eah@programming.dev 1 points 5 days ago

Some of these have to be fake. Nothing ever happens.

[-] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 25 points 6 days ago

Oh man, I miss those days.

The internet was simpler back then. Or we were; maybe both.

[-] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 15 points 5 days ago

the internet was better back then. sweeter, more innocent.

Before the Corponation attacked.

[-] binarytobis@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago

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 points 5 days ago

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 points 5 days ago

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 points 5 days ago

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 points 5 days ago

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.

[-] khannie@lemmy.world 15 points 5 days ago

hunter2

Awwww. Good old *******.

[-] bertlewirth@lemy.lol 7 points 5 days ago

All I see is hunter2

[-] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 15 points 6 days ago

LOL found one of mine, appreciate the archive link!

haha nice. Hope your back's feeling ok these days :)

[-] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 11 points 6 days ago

Back is OK!

The knee sucks though lol

[-] Edges@lemmy.zip 4 points 6 days ago
[-] autriyo@feddit.org 13 points 6 days ago

Thanks for the laughs.

I haven't been around for IRC, but I've definitely seen some of your picks quoted before.

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 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

STUPID

Why does this one pack such a punch?

[-] Eyekaytee@aussie.zone 8 points 6 days ago
[-] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago

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 points 5 days ago

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 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

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.

[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 5 days ago

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 points 5 days ago

WHO PUT THE COOKIE IN THE COOKIE JAR?

[-] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 days ago

I can't believe you didn't mention bloodninja?

[-] dangercake@feddit.uk 4 points 5 days ago

Right? I even put on my robe and wizard hat

[-] Taleya@aussie.zone 2 points 5 days ago

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

[-] raspberry_confetti@lemmy.ml 6 points 6 days ago

God that was a great time to be a kid. I miss the simplicity of those days.

[-] Kojichan@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

I'd love revisiting these occasionally for a boost of dopamine on long bus rides.

[-] Taleya@aussie.zone 3 points 5 days ago

Good ol' bash. Where the men are men, the women are men, and the kids are all FBI agents

[-] Geobloke@aussie.zone 5 points 6 days ago

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

[-] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 5 days ago

https://p.mr64.net/users/bash

A fedi bot that posts random quotes

this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2026
172 points (98.9% liked)

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