4 ms·

This seems to be similar to the argument of "don't use Github or Bitbucket, use your own hosted Gitlab". Some of the complaints are a bit petty (really, an ext

This seems to be similar to the argument of "don't use Github or Bitbucket, use your own hosted Gitlab". Some of the complaints are a bit petty (really, an extra browser tab per project is a burden?) IRC is better for occasional participants that wish to remain anonymous and/or use less screen real estate, but Slack is generally a better experience for regulars and way less hassle than hosting your own server/bots. Ymmv

Sir_Cmpwn 11y ago
>really, an extra browser tab per project is a burden? It is, actually. I contribute to dozens of open source projects, and I am joined to hundreds of IRC channels.
- parasubvert 11y ago
  Fair. My point is that you have a fairly unique set of requirements, such that there is a tradeoff in tooling to cater to part-time/open contributors vs. a core/extended team doing active engineering. You bring up some reasonable points, even though I disagree with asking teams to not use Slack (as I vastly prefer it to IRC these days, but I am focused on open source collaboration with active engineering teams). I think a compromise would be for teams that want open contribution or a chat support channel to turn on Slack's IRC gateway.
dsr_ 11y ago
This is more like "don't use BitKeeper, use git".
- ebiester 11y ago
  No, it's more like "don't use BitKeeper, use CVS." My first experience with IRC was 1994, I believe. I get IRC. However, slack has been a better experience. The biggest advantage has been persistent history and search for any member of a slack team. A new employee should have access to a conversation from a year ago.
davexunit 11y ago
>really, an extra browser tab per project is a burden? Spoken like someone who has never been a serious IRC user.
- harryh 11y ago
  "someone who has never been a serious IRC user" ~= "almost everyone"
- parasubvert 11y ago
  I used IRC every day for 15 years from high school through work. This is akin to saying having a different tab for each IRC SERVER (not channel) is a burden. I personally prefer having separate tabs for each project, but ymmv.
- cwyers 11y ago
  I mean, you're not limited to one browser window. Having one browser window for just Slack is like having a mIRC window for all the IRC channels you're in.

Sir_Cmpwn 11y ago

>really, an extra browser tab per project is a burden? It is, actually. I contribute to dozens of open source projects, and I am joined to hundreds of IRC channels.

parasubvert 11y ago
Fair. My point is that you have a fairly unique set of requirements, such that there is a tradeoff in tooling to cater to part-time/open contributors vs. a core/extended team doing active engineering. You bring up some reasonable points, even though I disagree with asking teams to not use Slack (as I vastly prefer it to IRC these days, but I am focused on open source collaboration with active engineering teams). I think a compromise would be for teams that want open contribution or a chat support channel to turn on Slack's IRC gateway.

dsr_ 11y ago

This is more like "don't use BitKeeper, use git".

ebiester 11y ago
No, it's more like "don't use BitKeeper, use CVS." My first experience with IRC was 1994, I believe. I get IRC. However, slack has been a better experience. The biggest advantage has been persistent history and search for any member of a slack team. A new employee should have access to a conversation from a year ago.

davexunit 11y ago

>really, an extra browser tab per project is a burden? Spoken like someone who has never been a serious IRC user.

harryh 11y ago
"someone who has never been a serious IRC user" ~= "almost everyone"
parasubvert 11y ago
I used IRC every day for 15 years from high school through work. This is akin to saying having a different tab for each IRC SERVER (not channel) is a burden. I personally prefer having separate tabs for each project, but ymmv.
cwyers 11y ago
I mean, you're not limited to one browser window. Having one browser window for just Slack is like having a mIRC window for all the IRC channels you're in.