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Best pop-in culture to my mind comes through simple old fashioned IRC with a few utility bots. The pop-in paradigm seems principally a matter of synchronisatio
by nonrandomstring 4y ago
Best pop-in culture to my mind comes through simple old fashioned IRC
with a few utility bots.
The pop-in paradigm seems principally a matter of
synchronisation/rendezvous.
Someone is "available" because they are "holding you in mind" but
still receptive to engage or not engage without consequence. Fancy
high-bandwidth tools, including smartphones and web-video don't solve
it because they create a commitment of presence. In response/defence
people erect barriers, away messages, out-of-office notes etc, working
hours get out of sync and asynchronous exchanges fall apart.
IRC seems to find the best balance that approximates between a digital
water-cooler where you can turn up and see who is up for a chat, and a
notice board where you can leave a message "I called in, chat with me
when you have time".
- ryukafalz 4y agoIRC may do this better than some other platforms depending on how you use it but I don’t think it’s ideal. In particular, most times when I’ve used IRC the social norm is to use a bouncer to stay connected persistently. Even in the absence of that, the fact that you can be joined to multiple channels simultaneously means you have some of the same issues as Slack of having to keep up with the goings-on in several channels. I think the Discord setup mentioned in the OP feels like a “place” because when you’re joined to one room, you’re crucially not in any of the others. You can do this with IRC but it’s not very natural. Honestly, I think the place where that interaction style would feel most natural is in a MUD.