Setting Up the Physics Forums IRC Channel

[nazgjunk]

It seems to me PF is well-attended enough to get its own IRC channel. Not that that is much work, of course, but still.

Maybe this is a rather nice idea, since some threads start looking like a chat already.. Of course, I can't start an official PF Irc channel on my own, since I am rather new here.

I am currently busy setting up the chanserve for this, to make sure no one steals it ;)

It is located at #physicsforums (a shorter name would be welcome) on irc.freenode.net.

Regards,

>Nazgjunk

 

[cronxeh]

If you want there is also #physicsforums on DalNet - just as a backup. I'm usually sitting alone staring at the wallpapers in #x.25 on Dalnet

 

[Astronuc]

It seems to me PF is well-attended enough to get its own IRC channel. Not that that is much work, of course, but still.
Maybe this is a rather nice idea, since some threads start looking like a chat already.. Of course, I can't start an official PF Irc channel on my own, since I am rather new here.
I am currently busy setting up the chanserve for this, to make sure no one steals it ;)
It is located at #physicsforums (a shorter name would be welcome) on irc.freenode.net.
Regards,
>Nazgjunk

One can be a contributor.

 

[nazgjunk]

Of course i can, but sadly i am only 17 years old. Hmm. And btw, what has it got to do with this thread?

 

[Jelfish]

I think that's a great idea. The only problem I see is moderation. Chat rooms can often spiral into flame wars or other bad things so there would always have to be a moderator from PF to maintain its integrity. Of course, there's nothing wrong with an "unofficial" chat room.

 

[Astronuc]

And btw, what has it got to do with this thread?

Bandwidth and its cost.

On Dalnet -

The equipment and bandwidth used to power each server is all donated as a service to the Internet community.

Besides, people can chat using ICQ, Dalnet, or other venues.

 

[Evo]

We had an official IRC chat room set up, but no one used it, so it was shut down.

 

[Jelfish]

Was it just advertised as a forum name and server? I think a lot of people might not know how to use IRC programs. Of course, there are java programs that can log into IRC chat rooms too.

 

[enigma]

We had a specific link right above the 'General Discussion' tab to go to PF Chat. It was a ghosttown except for the first day we instituted it.

 

[graphic7]

I wouldn't mind setting up an IRC server, as I have the necessary resources (stable connection and server), given there's enough community support. On the other hand, having a #physicsforums channel on Freenode is certainly acceptable, as well. Freenode is one of the more "reputable" IRC networks.

For those of you unfamiliar with IRC, it's an excellent venue for instaneous conversation between parties -- much more similar to instant messaging than communicating over a forum.

 

[nazgjunk]

Bandwidth and its cost.
On Dalnet -
Besides, people can chat using ICQ, Dalnet, or other venues.

I hadn't even thought of a PF server. All I had in mind was one or more PF channels on freenode. But maybe people are right... And if it has already been tried before, I guess there is hardly a chance this is going to work.

Well, I will keep trying though, and whenever I am at home, I will be in the chat. At least, for now.

 

[Astronuc]

I believe every website is on a server somewhere, and obviously ISPs have different bandwidths. I am not familiar with PF's architecture, so I don't know the cost of resources. I do know that PF has thousands of members.

On the other hand, PF has had a chat feature in the past. Then it was underutilized, but perhaps now, there is more interest. Sometimes technology is a matter of timing, just like real estate is a matter of location, location, location.

There certainly seems to be the interest.

 

[nazgjunk]

I am trying to set up a channel on server irc.freenode.net, the only bandwidth affacted is that of the people attending the chat.

#physicsforums on irc.freenode.net port 6667/6668

 

[Evo]

I think one of the reasons it failed is that it took you away from the forums and the posts here, which is the reason for coming here, right?

I personally don't like chat rooms, if you get a large group the text goes by too fast, even if you make most people invisible.

A typical conversation is:

person 1: Why didn't you answer me?

person 2: I didn't see anything.

person 1: Why are you ignoring me?

person 2: Did you type something?

person 1: I asked you three times.

person 2: Asked what?

person 1: You keep ignoring me!

Sorry, that just doesn't appeal to me.

 

[Astronuc]

I think one of the reasons it failed is that it took you away from the forums and the posts here, which is the reason for coming here, right?
I personally don't like chat rooms, if you get a large group the text goes by too fast, even if you make most people invisible.

Evo raises two good points. The idea of the forum is to preserve the information, particularly the valuable technical information, and if that happened in a chat, it would most likely be lost. In fact, I occasionally get a few PMs regarding homework, which I don't mind, but then the details are lost to others.

The other issue is more than three can get pretty difficult in terms of following a conversation. Often, the chat ends up a series of dialogs with the others observing.

As I indicate earlier, there are always ICQ and other chat venues.

 

[nazgjunk]

Evo, I think you are wrong. I attend quite a lot of chatrooms, and such things hardly happen.

Still, I think this idea is rather dead-born (is that an actual english expression?). As far as I know, the highest userload was three, and that's including me and chanserv.

Well, I'm glad I gave it a try at least.