SOMETHING HAD TO BE FIRST
It's been nearly forty years since like Athena it sprang,
From the active mind of a Finnish techno geek,
And in these two score years its high praises many sang,
But now we see it's gone over its peak.

Internet Relay Chat! Witness to many a thing,
To Desert Storm and the rapid Soviet coup;
The earth quaking, the satellites and dial-ups ring,
With times of tension, peace and comfort too.

Yet oft-forgotten glory days like these are now behind,
As protocols for dominance do vie,
With history, encryption, and other features refined,
Which IRC can't hope even to tie.

In such a case, the temptation to many doth naturally arise,
To disparage all that IRC has done;
To call its boasts exaggerations, all its high praises lies,
Deny its great advancements so hard-won.

Than this, as we shall see, there can be no greater mistake.
For the Internet is humanity's greatest burst,
And we cannot forget the errors those before us did make,
Or the great idea - SOMETHING HAD TO BE FIRST.