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All of the IRC channels I used to visit had very high signal to noise ratios, but I ultimately abandoned the platform for two reasons:

1) Penetration testers relentlessly scanned my IP address every time I connected.

2) Endless PMs pleaded for help recovering accounts with "forgotten" passwords on various servers.

I never fell victim, but got tired of feeling like a target.

>1) Penetration testers relentlessly scanned my IP address every time I connected.

You probably mean the very boring automated open proxy scan that every IRC network runs.

Thanks for the clarification. I wasn't aware of this defensive mechanism and only noticed the suspicious probes.

Most IRC networks actually advertise this on every login, so it seems like you failed to read that…