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> where many hobbists come in and have questions on this software/hardware project I'm rather baffled by the use of chat for this kind of problem. (and I never

> where many hobbists come in and have questions on this software/hardware project I'm rather baffled by the use of chat for this kind of problem. (and I never clicked with IRC either) So - I've got a problem and I come to a chat channel. It's probably been asked before. If I'm lucky I'll find my answer in a searchable chat archive and I won't need to visit at all. Otherwise I face two options: 1. Scroll back and try and find any previous mentions. Nearly impossible in my experience. 2. Ask my question and hope that people aren't sick of hearing it. If I'm lucky enough that a) someone is present who knows the answer and b) they respond in a timely manner then I still face the problem that - assuming it's busy enough for a and b to be likely - then my conversation is interspersed with several unrelated discussions. Also - the person helping me is likely to go quiet for long periods or disappear altogether because most probably they are doing other stuff. Note that the final flaw (the interleaving of discussions) is a problem in all cases. Now - can someone explain to me how this is better than a forum or Stack Overflow style site?

Cthulhu_ 8y ago
Re: searching, I like Gitter for that - they have their chat history out in public, indexed by Google.
bovermyer 8y ago
I think forums are a better solution for this kind of problem. However, forums suffer from two crippling problems: 1. It's really hard to find active forums (discoverability), and 2. Forums are often overwhelmed with spam and security problems (integrity). If those two problems could be solved, or at least mitigated better, then forums might make a comeback.
tjoff 8y ago
I occasionally I find them very usable. Before you ask on IRC (on a channel you haven't visited before) you will google it extensively. If the question is either a quick question that anyone in the know can answer directly with a yes/no like answer then IRC can be a good option. But I especially find that IRC is better for very niche questions that won't benefit anyone else (and won't have been asked before) that also requires some back-and-forth debug style to get to the bottom of it. Similar to problems where email doesn't work and you need make a call instead. A ten minute call can sometimes save you a week of emails if they are not quick enough to answer (common with large timezone differences). Also much quicker, you either get the answer or you don't, either way both are good to know (so that you know to try something else).
lmm 8y ago
1. Those interleaved discussions are what makes it a worthwhile hangout for experienced users. 2. Conversely, they also mean that maybe you'll help someone else out while you're waiting. 3. It's easier to diagnose a problem in an informal back-and-forth than in the writing-for-posterity style that SO and fora encourage.
- stedaniels 8y ago
  Chat might be ok for facilitating diagnosis, but when I'm searching for help I want an SO style answer. Bear in mind I've been doing IRC for a couple of decades, so it's not lack of experience.
  - lmm 8y ago
    Many people looking for help aren't up to asking an SO style question.
barbs 8y ago
On a semi-related note - I've been browsing HN for years, and a few times I've tried to recall an article/discussion about a topic, but can't recall the right keywords to type into the search box at the bottom. What would be great is some sort of IRC or Slack for HN where I could ask if someone recalls the article I'm thinking about, as well as general chit-chat for the community. I searched for this as well, and I think someone had tried to start up an IRC channel or even a slack, but it wasn't well populated. Maybe there's a Discord I'm not aware of?

Cthulhu_ 8y ago

Re: searching, I like Gitter for that - they have their chat history out in public, indexed by Google.

bovermyer 8y ago

I think forums are a better solution for this kind of problem. However, forums suffer from two crippling problems: 1. It's really hard to find active forums (discoverability), and 2. Forums are often overwhelmed with spam and security problems (integrity). If those two problems could be solved, or at least mitigated better, then forums might make a comeback.

tjoff 8y ago

I occasionally I find them very usable. Before you ask on IRC (on a channel you haven't visited before) you will google it extensively. If the question is either a quick question that anyone in the know can answer directly with a yes/no like answer then IRC can be a good option. But I especially find that IRC is better for very niche questions that won't benefit anyone else (and won't have been asked before) that also requires some back-and-forth debug style to get to the bottom of it. Similar to problems where email doesn't work and you need make a call instead. A ten minute call can sometimes save you a week of emails if they are not quick enough to answer (common with large timezone differences). Also much quicker, you either get the answer or you don't, either way both are good to know (so that you know to try something else).

lmm 8y ago

1. Those interleaved discussions are what makes it a worthwhile hangout for experienced users. 2. Conversely, they also mean that maybe you'll help someone else out while you're waiting. 3. It's easier to diagnose a problem in an informal back-and-forth than in the writing-for-posterity style that SO and fora encourage.

stedaniels 8y ago
Chat might be ok for facilitating diagnosis, but when I'm searching for help I want an SO style answer. Bear in mind I've been doing IRC for a couple of decades, so it's not lack of experience.
- lmm 8y ago
  Many people looking for help aren't up to asking an SO style question.

barbs 8y ago

On a semi-related note - I've been browsing HN for years, and a few times I've tried to recall an article/discussion about a topic, but can't recall the right keywords to type into the search box at the bottom. What would be great is some sort of IRC or Slack for HN where I could ask if someone recalls the article I'm thinking about, as well as general chit-chat for the community. I searched for this as well, and I think someone had tried to start up an IRC channel or even a slack, but it wasn't well populated. Maybe there's a Discord I'm not aware of?