Forums Feature Suggestions IPv6 should be enabled by default

Why do all major browsers out there have IPv6 enabled by default then, if it "breaks by default" for all those users? Because it doesn't actually break anything. Enabled by default means that the browser resolves the hostname given, and uses the IP addresses returned without caring whether they are IPv4 or IPv6.

You are confused about 6to4 vs 6in4. I use 6in4 in my home for research and experimentation, and making sure that my network is IPv6-ready.

6to4 is enabled by default in modern Windows and maps your public IPv4 address to IPv6 in the 2002::/16 range, allowing IPv4 hosts to access IPv6-only servers. It is *NOT* used for servers with both a public facing IPv4 and IPv6 address as obviously the IPv4 address should be preferred then. 6to4 is a transition mechanism and the OS only uses it as a last resort when connecting to servers that don't have a public facing IPv4 address. It is not meant to be relied on as a solution to the IPv4/IPv6 problem.

6in4 is used for tunnels provided by organizations such as SixXS or Hurricane Electric managed by an user explicitly by their own choice.

getaddrinfo(), an API to resolve hosts, will return an ordered list of IP addresses prioritized by how you are connected to the Internet. The application should just call it and use the addresses provided, the OS is responsible for address family issues.

irc.example.net might resolve to 2001:db8:f5d::6667 and 192.0.2.3. If your computer has a 6to4 address and an IPv4 address, it will prioritize IPv4 over IPv6. If you have an IPv6 address (not in the 2002::/16 range) it will prioritize IPv6 over IPv4. If you don't have any IPv6 connectivity, it may not return any IPv6 addresses at all.

Not enabling IPv6 by default and hiding it behind scary options is not being helpful. mIRC disabling it means that it will not talk any IPv6, ever, until you enable it. Other apps, including all major web browsers as I mentioned, *do* have it enabled by defualt and will take advantage of it if the underlying platform supports IPv6 too. The user does not have to enable anything.

"Simply" using -6 to connect which you refer to is STILL having to care about IPv6 explicitly, which no regular user will do.

My "simple contradiction" is perhaps just a bad choice of words. What I meant, and which I think you actually know I meant, is that "no one" implied people who don't know what IPv4/IPv6 is. I don't think most mIRC users know what IPv4 is if you would ask them.

IPv6 is already present and supported on the Internet, in that it's supported by the DNS root, and the RIRs - the organizations that manage the Internet's resources. Even though IPv6 is not widely deployed yet to end users, two different ISPs/users with IPv6 connectivity can now use IPv6 completely from end to end.

Several ISPs already provide IPv6 connectivity to their users. Comcast has recently started a trial (comcast6.net), as has the Dutch ISP xs4all and the French free.fr. Canadian TekSavvy can also be included among consumer ISPs who provide IPv6. The Dutch business oriented ISP BIT supports IPv6 completely.