This was the 3rd edition of "The Pulse," and the most controversial. The web board was filled with comments about this one. Some negative and some good comments. Regardless, MIRC is a part of Hazleton's rich culture. Before my friends and I had cars, we could only hang out at the mall till 9 and the Ground Round would just kick us out, so we needed a way to talk to all our friends at once, while being in the comfort of our own homes. This way we would be able to make plans, find girls (never worked), and just talk about the meaning of life (we also never found that out). The answer: MIRC. MIRC was and still is great. Eventually though, MIRC grew a dark-side, it became addicting; some of us would be on from 10 am till 3 am straight! Nicknames soon had to end in BBL or BRB just so people would know we were around. Fights would break out between my friends in our channel, #theprison. If someone came in and didn't get "oped," this was taken as a diss and a fight would break out, and sometimes would last for days and days of not talking in school. If you were mad at someone and you had "ops," when that person would come into our channel you would ban them, showing obvious angry. You can always tell what kind of day someone was having by MIRC. Also if you wanted to know what was up with anyone, you just had to check out the all-important "quit message." This message would say perhaps who you love 4ever (at that time), how much you hate your "ex", or a quote from one of you favorite bands. Your quit message told everyone what kind of person you really are. Plenty of couples have met using the magic of MIRC. MIRC is still great, and a good way to keep in touch with people here in Hazleton. Some bring it to extremes while others use it just to chat. So, from "NUKES" to "OPS," MIRC has become a part of Hazleton culture, maybe one day it will find its place next to Farmer’s Iced Tea. Below is a list of links to help make your MIRC experience more enjoyable.