I suggest making a small list of definite kick-banners. That way it would be easier for ops to make a decision (or rather, not having to make any). The rest is left to the discretion of the op and the context of the conversation.
I am not suggesting any zero-tolerance-esque strategy here. But we need at least some action. Ali B. / dmondark http://awhitebox.com On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 7:40 PM, Chris Meller <[email protected]>wrote: > 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
