DALnet

Our story begins many years ago on DALnet (irc.dal.net), one of the earliest and most popular IRC networks.

DALnet was founded on July 1994 by a dedicated group of enthusiasts: dalvenjah, Morpher, MirclMax, WatchMan, and lefler.

DALnet quickly grew into a global hub for online communities. Among its early adopters were a handful of Israeli users who regularly frequented channels like #startrek and #dragonrealm, beginning the journey that would eventually foster a vibrant Israeli presence on DALnet.

Key moments in the history of Israeli users on DALnet:

  • 1995: #israel was founded by Hatal, later handed over to mukshe.
  • April 16, 1996: mukshe re-registered #israel, and the channel flourished, growing from about 20 users to an impressive 800 users over the years.
  • August 7, 1996: oackly founded #עברית, creating a dedicated space for Hebrew speakers.
  • September 21, 1996: Adi, with kennysahr and other operators, created #israel20+, catering to a more mature audience after departing from #israel.
  • October 16, 1996: croy established #סקס-עברי, a channel reflecting the diverse interests of the Israeli community.
  • July 28, 1997: Lior_S founded #חוף, adding to the growing network of Israeli-themed channels.
  • 1998: The first Israeli server (israsrv.il.me.dal.net) was linked to DALnet by danny-g and Tranzic, marking a significant step in the community’s growth.
  • July 24, 1998: tembel founded #hebhelp (originally #helpdesk-il and #help.il), which soon became a recommended help channel on DALnet for Hebrew-speaking users.

However, the journey wasn’t without challenges. On June 16, 1999, a series of events involving DoS/DDoS attacks and open proxy abuse led to the controversial closure of #עברית by StudNo1, sparking what became known as the ‘war’ between Israeli users and DALnet. This conflict escalated, ultimately resulting in the delinking of webzone.ok.us.dal.net from the network.

Further tensions arose when, on September 10, 1999, DALnet admin LadyMorgaine issued a ban on all Israeli users (*!*@*.il) due to repeated abuse incidents. In response, IvritNet was formed on September 21, 1999, giving Israeli users an alternative network. Restrictions continued, and on September 6, 2000, Israeli users were required to enable identd due to an autokill on *!~*@*.il addresses—a challenging demand for non-technical users with home routers. In January 2001, Israeli news outlets reported the arrest of four hackers, including hell_15m, An0nImI, and KingPure, linked to attacks on U.S. systems, including DALnet.

DALnet faced numerous DoS/DDoS attacks throughout 2002-2003, though these were unrelated to the Israeli community. Eventually, in 2006, the autokill restriction on *!~*@*.il was lifted, but by then, much of the Israeli user base had moved on.

Yet, the legacy of Israeli involvement endured. On October 5, 2017, a new Israeli server (nonstop.ix.me.dal.net) was linked to DALnet, rekindling the spirit of the early days.

Throughout the years, several Israelis served as IRC Operators on DALnet: danny-g, Tranzic, samkat, ArielIL, Kobi_S, and shimi.