There must be some kind of way out of here.
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by Kato @ 2:39 PM
While we're on the topic of missing things, I miss /me. Sounds sorta conceited unless you've ever spent any time on IRC. I gained my first real exposure to the Internet around '96 when I entered college. "Chat rooms" were really popular at the time and unless your ISP abstracted you away from the inner workings of the technology (i.e. AOL and their built in rooms), you generally had to download an IRC client and connect manually by finding the name posted on a website, newsgroup, etc. I used pIRCh and mIRC, for those that remember such things.

When you chatted in such environments your text normally followed your name, sometimes in varying colors (depending on client and settings) such as:
<Kato_the_Stud> roflmao wtf bbq! a/s/l?

There was a command, "/me", that you could enter that would alter the output slightly so that your nickname wasn't highlighted or set apart from the rest of the text. This made it look like an action instead of someone talking, such as:
Kato slaps you with a large fish.

Here's a more complete example to show it in context:
* Kato_the_Stud joined
<MadonnaFan80> hi kato
<Kato_the_Stud> Aww yea, Kato in da house! Where all the ladies at?
Kato_the_Stud flexes his impressive muscles.
<RainingMen> uhh... check the room name
<Kato_the_Stud> Crap.
* Kato_the_Stud has left #Gay_Chat

After using it so frequently it became a hard habit to break and even now, some ten (!) years later, I find myself accidentally typing it occasionally when I'm using an instant messaging client. It tends to baffle people who aren't familiar with it when they see:
Kato: /me shrugs.

Am I alone in wishing /me was still around and worked everywhere?
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3 comments
Paulius said...
Rejoice Kato, for /me is still in use!

Yep, the Second Life chat engine uses it.

Huzzah!
Kato (post author) said...
Brilliant!
MC Etcher said...
I miss online chatting too, despite all the morons. The good folk you would meet made it worth it.

© 2009 Kato Katonian
"I'm glad to be with you, here at the end of all things."
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