DALnet

DALnet is an IRC network, like any other. It has about 45k users currently, making it one of the larger networks. As with all IRC networks, there are decent operators and admins, and complete morons. Right now, the morons seem to outnumber the decent, but it changes frequently. The primary thing that makes DALnet attractive are its services (NickServ, ChanServ, and MemoServ). You may "own" nicks and channels. While this may seem fascist and alien to those who have idled on EFnet for the past 10 years (and you know who you are. Yes, you. The one with the heinous butt rash), it works pretty well. All in all, DALnet isn't that bad. But as with all things IRC, a few people end up ruining it for everyone.

Dalnet's theme song, on the melody of 'Miami' by Will Smith.

Here I am in the place where I come to chat..
DAL, the net where even the bots are all that..
Everyday like a mardi gras, everybody party all day
No work - all play, okay??
So /msg all your friends, or just come to chill..
IRCers over in Europe runnin up a high bill
Countless guys have fell, for our AOP Michelle``
And everytime the ladies /join, they be like "Hi L!"
Can y'all feel me, all ages and races
Real sweet faces
Every different nation, Spanish, Hatian, Indian, Jamaican
Black, White, Cuban, and Asian
I only came for 10 minutes of playin'..
But everytime I come I always wind up stayin'..
This is the type of net I could spend a whole day in..
DALNet, the network that keeps the roof blazin


Chorus:
Party in the network where the heat is on
All night, keep chattin till the break of dawn
Welcome to DALNet
Buenvenidos a DALNet
Bouncin from a shell where the heat is on
All night, keep chattin till the break of dawn
I'm goin to DALNet
Welcome to DALNet


Yo I heard the netsplits ain't nothin to mess with
But since I got on I aint seen a split, it's a trip
Ladies in the chan sayin how much they missed you..
And they be screamin out, "Jeff we loved the last issue!"
So I'm thinkin I'mma DCC chat me somethin hot
In this world-wide cyberchat melting pot
Hottest chatting on the net, plenty of warez to leech
The ladies, ha, get to ya, it's about to reach
Five-hundred degrees
On DALNet IRC, with the hot mommies
Screamin "Aii poppy"
Everytime I log on, they be spottin me
/Notify list, #ircnews.com, LMNOP ..
So, irc.dal.net we go
We flow, and all the ladies know, yo:
Pound for pound anywhere you go ..
.. ain't no chat net in the world like this
An if you ask how I know I gots ta plead the fifth


Chorus

Don't get me wrong, EFNet got it goin on
An Under is the net that we know don't sleep
An we all know that Galaxy and Chatnet stay jiggy
But on the sneak, DALNet bringin heat for real
Y'all don't understand
I never seen so many nekkid women on their webcams..
Ladies, this is the plan
Talk on IRC for a few minutes, see if we click..
Gimmie your pic??
Damn, you look sexy
Maybe we should meet? In the West Keys
Ride my jetskis, loungin in the palm trees
Cause you gotta have cheese for the summerhouse piece on southbeach
mIRC and Ircle, registered copies cause you bought em.
Kickass IRC scripts, everybody got em
Ain't no surprise in the chan to see Joe .. Blow.
DALNet, my second home


Chorus to fade


(Written by LMNOP)

It should be noted that DALnet is, at the time of writing, effectively dead. Sadly, they have been the victims of massive DDoS attacks over the last 6 months, forcing countless servers to delink themselves from the network, and causing the remaining servers to crash under the load of the attacks.

More information can be found at the DALnet web site www.dal.net.
Usage statistics showing the massive decline in DALnet users can be found at http://irc.netsplit.de/networks/DALnet/history.var

As an ex-DALnet user myself, it is very sad to see the death throes of a network I have enjoyed so much. However, I, and most other DALnet users have been forced to move to other networks such as EFnet, Undernet or Quakenet (amongst others), due to the unusable nature of the DALnet network. At the time of writing, user numbers are at 20% of their previous figures, with little hope of recovery, and the consensus among most users is that the network is dead for the forseeable future.

Quite simply, I can only hope this isn't the future of the internet, with massive DDoS attacks run by script kiddies off the machines of people who cannot be bothered to run a simple firewall or anti-virus.

Update: DALnet are planning a resurrection, however it has announced a shift in policy, banning channels dedicated to file sharing. Since that was (at least from my exposure) DALnet's primary use, its size is not likely to come even close to its previous levels, though only time will tell.