The conversations often overlap, so I don't think having a second channel would really help. Invariably one would end up being unused. I also don't think off-topic conversation actually gets in the way of Habari-related conversations on a regular basis, so it's really just the issue of content - not the fact that the content exists.
On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 12:21 PM, John Edmondson <[email protected]> wrote: > > mabey have a #funhabari channel ? > > On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 5:13 PM, Chris Meller <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Branching off this conversation into its own thread so we don't clutter an >> unrelated issue. >> >> On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 9:33 AM, Owen Winkler <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> The IRC channel is of late typically not very respectful of visitors. >>> Mibbit has the ability to display some backlog, and there's no telling >>> what talk or links will appear in there even if people are civil when >>> obvious new Mibbit users show up. >> >> >> I think "not respectful" is perhaps not the best choice of words. The >> content may not be appropriate for all visitors, but it's not as if anyone >> has been rude to a visitor (at least not that I've seen, and I'm generally >> around a good part of the day). >> >> >> >>> <snip> >>> >>> This brings up the tangential issue of IRC conduct lately. >>> >>> I have absolutely no problem using the IRC channel as a social gathering >>> place, but regulars there need to keep in mind that users are told to >>> come to that channel for help. I simply can't imagine the image that >>> we're portraying to church website builders, serious business people, >>> and parents of web-savvy children who come to IRC for help on our >>> recommendation to do so. Some of the stuff going on there is outright >>> shameful. >> >> >> Particularly in the last couple of days we have had a rise in the number >> of links to pictures and similar content that I personally would not take an >> interest in or share, especially with strangers. Toning those down would be >> fine with me. >> >> On the other hand, I think it's important to recognize that obviously not >> everyone agrees with my definition of "appropriate" content (otherwise they >> wouldn't be sharing these links either), so we need to respect the opinions >> of others. >> >> >> >>> It's harrowing that people who supposedly have the authority to keep the >>> channel in check are often the ones responsible for the noise. >> >> >> Again, I think this comes down to the meritocracy concept and the idea >> that other people have differing views. Unless you're being verbally abusive >> or spamming, no one feels comfortable taking an authoritarian role and >> telling anyone something's unacceptable. >> >> >> Lately, the channel has become a festering link dump. I'm personally >>> sick of seeing tons of unsolicited links to whatever latest found >>> YouTube video looks "cool". At least one out of every three of the >>> recent round of "unexplained photos" links seemed inappropriate for the >>> channel. While I admit to appreciating some of these links for their >>> simple humor, I don't believe that they're always appropriate for the >>> kind of environment that would encourage tentative users to return. >> >> >> Agreed. While I don't think we should expect the channel to be 100% >> business, I think we may have passed that fine line lately. Encouraging >> everyone to filter themselves ever so slightly more than they have been in >> the past week or two would probably be a good thing. >> >> >> >>> One might say that the links don't hurt anyone; that nobody complains. >>> I have been off IRC lately for the past couple of days, specifically >>> because the signal/noise ratio has dropped below my willingness to >>> filter it. But more importantly, when I did return last night, I >>> received more than one complaint via private message about the >>> appropriateness of some of the content in the channel. >> >> >> No one has complained in the channel. I would encourage anyone who does >> have a problem to speak up rather than bottle it up or funnel it to you. >> Like I said, it's meritocracy. There is no final authority and no one should >> expect you to take on that role. If there's a problem, speak up. I seriously >> doubt anyone would be anything but receptive, particularly about this kind >> of thing. >> >> At the same time it's not necessarily the channel's fault if you no longer >> find it valuable enough to hang around. We'd love to have you around again, >> but if that means killing off the community atmosphere by requiring that >> only Habari ever be discussed I don't think it's a good trade. >> >> >> >>> I would like to see some steps taken to correct this. I think that IRC >>> has been a great resource for the project and a great way for >>> participants to communicate both about it and informally to build online >>> friendships within our project, and I would like to continue to use it >>> that way. It might be useful to write out a loose code of conduct so >>> that there are some boundaries for what is acceptable. We have a bunch >>> of new channel ops -- It should be easier for them to point at some >>> "rules" when someone is being abusive or puerile. >> >> >> As usual, I don't think rules or policies are what we need. With the >> number of differing opinions and viewpoints we have I don't think we could >> ever reasonably expect to come up with any substantial list we could all >> agree on. We're all adults, we should be able to tell for ourselves what's >> over the top for our relaxed IRC environment. At the same time I think it's >> the responsibility of everyone else to help point out things that they don't >> deem as appropriate. >> >> IRC should be fun. I don't think we've ever seriously gotten in the way of >> shop talk, but that doesn't mean we don't need to tone down some of the more >> risque content that's been increasingly popular lately. >> >> >> >> > > > -- > ==========About============ > Website can be found at www.mumbles-uk.com or www.john.edmondosn-uk.com > Msn is [email protected] > irc://irc.borknet.org/#alt-f4 (if you use IRC) > skype is john.j.edmondson > ======================== > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/habari-dev -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
