I was an op when I was under 18, stopped using IRC 15+ years ago, and used it in total for probably 15-20 years. I'm 39 and started at .. Idk, probably 8-9. I think I was an op from 12-16 maybe 17.

A lot of ops were people who synced (peered) their stable and moderated servers on good connections with efnet. Like, OC1-3 connections. My friends and I were pretty much apprentice network engineers to a family member who ran a NOC so we had.. servers..

edit: LOL I just looked up oc1-3 speeds. That used to be so fast.

OC1 - 52 Mb OC3 - 156 Mb

Childhood me is envious of childhood you. I had heard about the internet, but didn't get any real access til around when you were already ircopping.

I didn't grow up in California but Virginia so it was pretty lonely. Everyone online was from CA in the 90s and my friends didn't start having family computers until probably the 2000s.

And my parents really weren't very helpful with me growing it into a career. I was always "playing on the computer."

There really wasn't an OC1 in use anywhere, OC3s were for sure.

Yeah I was thinking that when I saw the speed, I remember wanting OC1 at my house but I couldn't even afford shotgun dsl or whatever it was back then, maybe it was shotgun t1s.

HPB (high ping bitch in counterstrike 1.6) :(