The golden days of IRC were the best. Every day I use the current internet, I miss the way of the old internet. Back when everything was just run by a bunch of nerds doing whatever they wanted, as opposed to everyone being shut out by the big names now, looking to control everything and maximise profit.

when I was young (but still way past the prime time of IRC, 2000’s), I was invited to a few IRC servers for raids and etc. I didnt realize other kids werent doing the same…

Depends on which old format you mean. The late 90s php-bbs is rare, but you can still find some of them around, I think the forums for the Commander X16 (a new retro computer) uses that style, or something closer to 2004-ish.