If Dalnet does end up history then it will be a sign of the times to come. If the continued attacks do lead to the downfall of Dalnet then the attacks will simply be diverted elsewhere and then elsewhere again and again and again. I note something Necroman said about default servers. He's right in a sense - the biggest network is going to be the next target and there is not a thing that can legally be done about it because the source of the uploads to the websites that distribute the warbots is likely to be untraceable.
Alot of people, including myself, have in the past made the occasional joke about it all but it's a sad reflection on human nature that people exist who wish to undermine the efforts of those who serve the internet community without expecting remuneration for it. ISP's donate bandwidth and hundreds of people donate time to manage servers and give normal users the chance to communicate on-line with others.
To GamerDrag: I am sure that Dalnet will hangon for a while yet. If they do disappear there's other networks to try.
To the war kiddies: A big GET {EXPLETIVE CENSORED} goes out to you. Get a haircut and get a job. The only thing you are satisfying is your flaccid acorns.
Summary: My personal opinion (and it's been discussed a few times by people around me) is that IRC in it's current form has little future. Down the track the dominant servers will be those run directly by ISP's and Web portals such as 9MSN, Yahoo, the ISP run Austnet servers and indeed the network I chat on just to name some. If the attacks on Dalnet are to spread elsewhere then I cannot see ISP's continuing to allow their pipes to be choked by useless data sent by the drones. In a sense the normal users can take some of the blame on board - everyone is constantly advised not to visit websites that are advertised - yet they continue to do so and it's making life hard for everyone in the end.
