Sent from my mobile device, please forgive errors and brevity. On Dec 28, 2011 3:16 AM, "Dave Fisher" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:07 PM, Wolf Halton wrote: > > > Hi Y'all > > > > Would it be better or worse to have "working-group" level IRC channels? > > E.g. people translating documentation into Urdu will have specific > > questions that a smaller, more focused group would be good for. People > > working on developing the website code, etc.. > > There are already too many mailing lists to keep track of. IMO. I think > > it would be helpful to have focused IRC channels for when one is actually > > working on a piece of this. I have been helped by such groups in the past, > > and felt as if my measly contributions were useful in that setting. I have > > been finding it very hard to get my teeth into something on this project, > > in its birthing pains, as have a few others, so I have just read as much as > > I could and kept my lip zipped. > > As long as these are working groups. Just keep in mind that the list will need to be > informed of substantive decisions. > > So, excellent idea. Let's see if there are any objections.
IRC is not a good medium for decision making. It requires synchronous activity which is not realistic in a distributed project. Furthermore it does not provide an archive and this can leaf to confusion over why a given direction wad taken. It seems strange to say "there are too many mailing lists so let's create IRC channels instead" (paraphrase). I don't really see how that solves the problem, in fact it makes it worse. People need to be aware of yet another communication channel (one which, to use effectively needs are fair bit of technical know-how) in order to participate fully and thus the community becomes fractured. Fewer channels with good subjects (and tags) are generally better for inclusion. That being said, some projects do use IRC as a compliment to the mailing list. They are not official decision making channels. Proposals can be made and shared with the list. Lazy consensus can still be used and IRC can, in some communities, be a convenient way of getting some quick feedback, especially in a targeted group as is bring suggested here. However, IRC only works if there are enough people online at any one time, so the question is really "who would populate it?" Ross > > I have avoided doing this myself, but I can see how a group would reduce the chatter on ooo-dev. > > Reading the ooo-issues and ooo-commits MLs is how to watch what is really happening. (except for the MWiki and Forums.) > > Regards, > Dave > > > > > Wolf > > > > -- > > This Apt Has Super Cow Powers - http://sourcefreedom.com > > Advancing Libraries Together - http://LYRASIS.org >
