7 ms·

I wouldn't say shouldn't, but I would say that a slightly higher barrier to entry serves as a good first-pass filter for technically-oriented communities.

davidw 17y ago
That's what I thought when mirc came out;-) People who didn't know how to use ircII were generally not as cool. You need something better, though. After all, it should be noted that discussion here is via a web based interface, and yet the conversation isn't that bad.
- ankhmoop 17y ago
  You need something better, though. After all, it should be noted that discussion here is via a web based interface, and yet the conversation isn't that bad. I agree, but IRC is different and arguably antiquated technology. It doesn't require registration, operates in real-time, has no concept of reputation or community moderation. It's difficult to manage, and services that accidentally facilitate abuse make it more so.
  - abstractbill 17y ago
    It doesn't require registration More accurately, the protocol doesn't say anything about registration. It's dead simple to implement some form of registration outside of the IRC protocol, and then only allow registered users to connect.
    - ankhmoop 17y ago
      Yes, which is not something that many communities on freenode are particularly interested in doing.
      - axod 17y ago
        Channels were free to block mibbit, or require that users be identified to join the channel. In any event, this was never about Mibbit being used for abuse. It's about Freenodes own agenda.
        ankhmoop 17y ago
        We (as a channel) initially tried to avoid banning Mibbit wholesale, but that strategy failed. I imagine Freenode had similar issues at a larger scale. I can't say that any developers I associate with are unhappy that Mibbit was blocked. Specifically, on a technical channel: <me> Looks like Mibbit was blocked <user1> so sick of mibbit luzers <user2> nice! <user3> mothafuckers who can't be bothered to use an IRC client probably don't need to be on IRC <user1> had some random moron join #scheme and then start /msging me to ask where I was from It's difficult to find places to engage in community discussions with other high-quality developers without eventually being inundated with low-quality participants. The quoted response may be overtly rude, but the fact is, Mibbit brought exactly the type of users that we're on IRC (and freenode, specifically) to avoid.
        axod 17y ago
        >> "We (as a channel) initially tried to avoid banning Mibbit wholesale, but that strategy failed." Why did it fail? You can just ban mibbit if you like on the channel :/ I've used Mibbit as my primary client for a year. I take offense at your blanket statements about the "type of users that use mibbit".
        ankhmoop 17y ago
        Why did it fail? You can just ban mibbit if you like on the channel :/ We didn't want to ban an entire service! Unfortunately, it wound up being the easiest way -- hence, our attempt to avoid doing so failed. I've used Mibbit as my primary client for a year. I take offense at your blanket statements about the "type of users that use mibbit". You are an outlier. The "type of users that use mibbit" were consistently abusive, difficult to deal with, and ultimately detrimental to our communities.
pygy 17y ago
Just remove Freenode from the drop down menu and have people to connect manually using the /server and /newserver commands. You'll get rid of all uneducated trolls. The educated ones may be the worst kind, but that's another matter.

davidw 17y ago

That's what I thought when mirc came out;-) People who didn't know how to use ircII were generally not as cool. You need something better, though. After all, it should be noted that discussion here is via a web based interface, and yet the conversation isn't that bad.

ankhmoop 17y ago
You need something better, though. After all, it should be noted that discussion here is via a web based interface, and yet the conversation isn't that bad. I agree, but IRC is different and arguably antiquated technology. It doesn't require registration, operates in real-time, has no concept of reputation or community moderation. It's difficult to manage, and services that accidentally facilitate abuse make it more so.
- abstractbill 17y ago
  It doesn't require registration More accurately, the protocol doesn't say anything about registration. It's dead simple to implement some form of registration outside of the IRC protocol, and then only allow registered users to connect.
  - ankhmoop 17y ago
    Yes, which is not something that many communities on freenode are particularly interested in doing.
    - axod 17y ago
      Channels were free to block mibbit, or require that users be identified to join the channel. In any event, this was never about Mibbit being used for abuse. It's about Freenodes own agenda.
      - ankhmoop 17y ago
        We (as a channel) initially tried to avoid banning Mibbit wholesale, but that strategy failed. I imagine Freenode had similar issues at a larger scale. I can't say that any developers I associate with are unhappy that Mibbit was blocked. Specifically, on a technical channel: <me> Looks like Mibbit was blocked <user1> so sick of mibbit luzers <user2> nice! <user3> mothafuckers who can't be bothered to use an IRC client probably don't need to be on IRC <user1> had some random moron join #scheme and then start /msging me to ask where I was from It's difficult to find places to engage in community discussions with other high-quality developers without eventually being inundated with low-quality participants. The quoted response may be overtly rude, but the fact is, Mibbit brought exactly the type of users that we're on IRC (and freenode, specifically) to avoid.
        axod 17y ago
        >> "We (as a channel) initially tried to avoid banning Mibbit wholesale, but that strategy failed." Why did it fail? You can just ban mibbit if you like on the channel :/ I've used Mibbit as my primary client for a year. I take offense at your blanket statements about the "type of users that use mibbit".
        ankhmoop 17y ago
        Why did it fail? You can just ban mibbit if you like on the channel :/ We didn't want to ban an entire service! Unfortunately, it wound up being the easiest way -- hence, our attempt to avoid doing so failed. I've used Mibbit as my primary client for a year. I take offense at your blanket statements about the "type of users that use mibbit". You are an outlier. The "type of users that use mibbit" were consistently abusive, difficult to deal with, and ultimately detrimental to our communities.

pygy 17y ago

Just remove Freenode from the drop down menu and have people to connect manually using the /server and /newserver commands. You'll get rid of all uneducated trolls. The educated ones may be the worst kind, but that's another matter.