We had an IM on Linux Internationals,later moved to Google video and played cards there for years. Ah,such fun.

I was never an active ICQ-user, since it has its' roots in the Israeli army.
IRC gave me some lifelong friends, some of them even IRL. I think all those hours are not wasted on it. A lot of the nowadays features of IM, file sends for instance, was well used by us. I have learned quite some things about webdesign by meeting hardcore coders in some channels, got my first experiences with Linux, learned about different cultures and walks of life, my first online radiostation (in 1998, mind you) was made thanks to IRC and so much more! To summarize: IRC taught me the possibilities of the internet, way beyond browsing and mailing. And in good IRC-fashion, I'll close this reaction with an action:

/me Wipes a tear of joy and good memories from his face and enters Post Comment.