In the beginning, around early 1993, WHIZZARD (one of the Undernet founders) proposed a specific channel for the "IRC Operators" to gather at to discuss technical matters and enjoy eachother's company. The name of the channel, as you might have guessed, was #wasteland. Although this author is unsure of the original intent of this name, one can only guess it was for the relatively scarce number of users on this new frontier. The Undernet averaged only a few dozen users at that time, most of whom were the operators of the network, and most of whom made #wasteland their home while on the network.

#wasteland was always a technical channel where one would go to talk about ircd or the IRC protocol (rfc1459), or to chat with others who shared an interest in computing and networking. While it was never officially designated as a help channel, many people came to #wasteland to find an IRC OP or get general IRC help while the network was new.

As the network grew, specific help channels were formed but #wasteland was still the best place to go for technical help specifically related to IRC. For several years the regulars of #wasteland were mostly the founders of the original Undernet. As time went by, the population of #wasteland grew and this gave way to quite a bit of abuse which disguested alot of the regulars. Many of our best and most knowledgeable friends left the channel to avoid the conflicts and either joined other channels, formed new ones, or left the network altogether.

Fortunately over the past months the few original regulars left on the channel have made a great effort to restore the channel to what it was intended to me. There has been a large "clean up" effort and many of the problem people have either been forcefully removed or have left because of their inability to receive channel op status.

Unfortunately, while we are making big strides in restoring the channel, many of our long time and trusted friends may never return, and we will never really have the channel back to the way it was at it's prime. Some of the old timers have returned, and many of the new inhabitants are making efforts to maintain the history of the channel and to provide a good solid base for it's future.

Today, the Undernet averages over 20,000 simultaneous users at a time, with over 11,000 channels formed. #wasteland remains the oldest channel on the network, and is still the best place to go for technical help relating to IRC and even other computing subjects. Most of the regulars enjoy technical and non-technical chats at all hours of the day and night.

#wasteland is no longer the best place to find an IRC Operator, as most of the regulars do not participate in Undernet administration any more. We are, however, a great place to find people who really know the insides of the ircd server and some of the last remaining people who remember the Undernet before it became what it is today.