I like this idea. I am fine if it's a different channel: it's easy to sit on different channels on Gitter and get notified to switch between them. I'd IRC but I wouldn't even know a good client to use: I kind of think of it as antiquated and from a previous generation (with no ill will attached to that statement).
On Sunday, May 22, 2016 at 5:17:00 PM UTC-7, Lyndon White wrote: > > Hi all, > So it should be generally known that Julia has a IRC Channel: > http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=julia > and a Gitter https://gitter.im/JuliaLang/julia > > The Gitter is (AFAICT) moderately active, with a mix of new-comers and > experienced users. > The IRC is not. > > As of the last week or so I think I was the only person posting who had > used julia for more than a couple of months. > Almost all posts have been people saying "I just started julia, how do i > X", > and generally me responding with "By doing Y", or sometimes me saying > "idk, I've never Xed, try Stackoverflow" > > Anyway, I don't particularly mind answering questions. > But my enthusiasm for IRC goes up and down, sometimes I stop using it for > months. > > I suggest that we should connect the Gitter and the IRC into a single > instant-messaging/chat "Room". > > Via some form of IRC-Gitter bridge. > > On a quick look for how to do this: > > > - Sameroom > <https://sameroom.io/blog/how-to-bridge-existing-irc-channels-and-rooms-on-gitter/>: > > Commerical, but says "we're happy to provide chat interop to open source > communities." > - Gitter IRC-bridge <https://github.com/gitterHQ/irc-bridge>: Made by > the people who make Gitter (I think), doesn't bridge to existing channel > (AFAICT), but creates a new channel -- which we could use (and deprecate > Freenode), or we could hack a IRC-IRC brdige to connect freenode to it (or > maybe even do it properly with IRC's peering stuff, but I can't recall if > that is possible, particularly without intervention from a Freenode Oper) > - IRC2Gitter <https://github.com/shyim/Irc2Gitter>: This seems simple, > and open source. Looks like a chuck of node.js that you can just stick on > a computer and leave running and have it do the bridging. It seem like it > is in current development (or at least maintance) since it got a push last > week. > > There are other more complicated routes, like I bet you can bridge GItter > to Slack and I know you can bridge Slack to IRC. > There is also the simpler route of just terminating the IRC channel, and > telling people not to use it and to just use gitter. > > Having an inactive IRC does not make us look good. > > >
