The great Assembler chatting petition!

Why would you expect a lot of us to use IRC already? I used to, back when it was used. It's pretty much a ghost ship now.

IRC came out in 1998, before a lot of chat programmes. Netmeeting came out in 1997. Then Yahoo! Chat and Pager (now Messenger) came along in 1998 and offered all sorts of features that IRC didn't. Like eventually, voice chat and video chat. MSN Messenger came out the following year. And then, with the popularization of PHP based sites especially, websites got their own chat boxes.

IRC used to be used by gamers to talk before or during matches. All the gamers I know use Vent nowadays for that, as they can voice chat.

IRC used to be used to host pirated software, music etc. on bots and people's computers. This was before file sharing such as torrents, and most file hosting sites. Not that it should be used for illicit purposes, but you now get lots of free storage with the likes of Hotmail, Dropbox, Gmail etc.

IRC requires the installation of a client, and to get the best out of it, a lot of farting around with customization (adding servers, writing custom scripts, tweaking settings, setting up your firewall/router etc.), plus joining a channel. The chat box is just there.

I cannot agree in any way that IRC is better than the chat box. IRC has services - oh wow. I have to register my nickname and login EVERY time I connect - or write a script to login for me. The chat box is just there when I'm logged into the site (which I always am) and knows my nickname. IRC has PMs - so does the website. IRC is customizable - why would I want that? IRC can have file servers - why would I want that? The main reason for using either the chat box or IRC is TO CHAT. That's it. The whole point of chatting on either is idle banter, really. If I want to talk about something useful or important (maybe coding for SNES), then I'll do it on the site, where everyone will see it and it'll be of use to others.

And, as you said, there's really no point downloading the client just to use to talk to people on this site. mIRC is the best IRC client, and it costs $20. Why on Earth would I want to PAY to talk to people?! I'd rather donate to the site fundraiser so it benefits US.

As for Java-based chat boxes - please, no!

We don't tolerate racism here. Joke or not, that's neither funny nor acceptable. People are pointing out that you keep moaning about the same thing all over the place, taking threads off topic. Don't do that. If you want to moan, take it to the unmoderated thread. For what it's worth, you did come off a bit strong when we interacted in chat and, whilst I took it as light-hearted, not everyone would. Act like an adult and be a bit more respectful to people, and you'll find you'll be welcomed in the community. If you just want to slag people off, I'd suggest you go to the NG forums.

 

:applause:

 

Yes.

 

IRC is extremely populated.

I've been on it for 15+ years. It's convenient for me to use since It's alwyas running in the background, and has always been a great source for information, for ME.

Obviously it's not for everyone.

 

IRC is still useful and used by large numbers of people who have been using it for the past 15 years, but as has already been said, why not just post a thread about whatever you want to talk about, so that others who aren't online at that given time are given a chance to read and respond?

 

And you can honestly say that every single channel you frequented for the past 15 years has the same amount of people as it did 10 years ago, say? I very much doubt it.

I used to use IRC channels for specific websites, but many users just disappeared. They're still using the website forums, though. Arcade repair, music production, gaming - all sorts of topics. In fact, I had friends who ran private networks, and I don't believe they're even operational now.

Enterthegame certainly seems to be a shadow of its former self.

 

No, I'm not at all saying channels are the same as they were 10 years ago, with every new console starts a new scene and many come and go. Huge channels for specific games/consoles/other non related game projects still exist and probably will for a long time.

I'm not arguing which is better, I don't hate forums, I just prefer IRC for chatting.

 

Pick a server with services at minimum. Nothing less fun than having to find an oper on EFNet when someone takes over your channel.

Having some sort of java IRC client would allow those who are less inclined to wish to run an IRC client at all get into it and perhaps even become a full time IRC user. I've been using IRC since 1998 or so IIRC and have been an op in various channels longer than some of us have been parents. Name it on IRC and I've seen it and dealt with it.

Granted when someone is determined to spam your channel or be an absolute wanker it is hard to stop them without disrupting life for everyone involved but there are plenty of ways to have fun with such stupidity while minimizing its impact.

 

Uh, did you mean to say 1989, not 1998? IRC has been around for a loooong time.

 

Irc is useful and lightweight. no need to install anything retro; just use

mibbit

 

NO THANKS! No Java. Yuck. If you install a Java service on the site, it won't be getting my permission to run. EVER.

No, I meant to say 1988 - typo.

No thanks. You have to sign up to that. And I don't want a chat window running in another tab - I'd rather have a proper client that's properly customizable than something running in AJAX. And it's ad supported unless you pay.

Like I said, IRC is over-complicating things. If you want to chat, we have a useful chat box. If you want to see conversation history, press the space bar in the search bar. YOU CANNOT SEE ARCHIVES ON IRC. And, like I said, if it's anything more than idle banter, why the hell aren't you starting a topic about it? Would you really rather discuss it with 5 people than thousands?

 

bo beed to register at all with mibbit. if you do register is your businnes i use it all the time and never registered.

in any case you seem to completely miss the point of irc chat so i guess it's useless to debate.

 

On the contrary. YOU seem to miss the point of having a chat box on the site.

The point is.... wait for it... this might surprise you.....

TO CHAT!

Do I need fancy colours to do that? no
Do I need emoticons to do that? no
Do I need a PM service to do that? no - but this website is a FORUM and so I can easily PM someone
Do I need file transfers to do that? no
Do I need to choose a network, choose a user name, sign in to the network, auth myself, join the channel? NO! The chat box is there, live and signs me in with my user name - simple.

Now...

Does IRC let me take a look at the conversation that's been happening whilst my computer was switched off? NO
Does the chat box let me? YES

And as I've said, this website is and always has been a forum. If you want to discuss something important, CREATE A THREAD. No point talking on an IRC channel with only 5 people in it who are probably idling anyway, when you could have posted on a forum and had thousands of people read your post.

So, the point of the chat box, as I said, is to chat AND NOTHING ELSE. There's absolutely zero reason to require any funky gadget feature of IRC to talk. The one thing that would be nice, the archive, ISN'T A FEATURE OF IRC!!!

And it means logging in (count connecting to servers as logging in) - something I don't have to do with the chat box.

So - what's your point? What the hell IS the point of having IRC to chat? Why is the chat box worse than IRC?

The answer, of course, is that IT ISN'T. It works, it's simple, it's just there.

 

You have to log in to use/view the chatbox on here...

 

IRC would be even more dead for a channel FOR THIS SITE. Your point is invalid.

 

IRC has been pretty dead for this website the few times I've been in them.

 

Personally I use IRC all the time. But that's for connecting to channels like #Ubuntu, #Selenium, #Java, or some major area where you can get immediate feedback generally fast. The system we have here is really more of a shout box. You don't know who's reading unless they post, and even then, you have no idea if they are still actively looking at chat.

 

I have IRC running at all times and I;m in multiple channels but I don't actively talk. In some I just wait to be highlighted (it makes a noise and alerts me that someone wants me) and in others I do actively talk.