West Seattle IRC Channel! (Was: Censorship drama)

[adamk]

Delphi was my first home connection to the internet as well. Though they didn’t offer IP connectivity to your computer, they had text-based services you accessed through their proprietary interface.

And yeah, IRC is still alive and well. There are fewer people using it I’d guess, but all the major networks are still alive. EFNet is still the wild west, with no chanserv or nickserv. Channel takeovers and DoS attacks are still the norm there, apparently.

Freenode is a newer, smaller network that tends to be pleasant.

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[JanS]

perhaps I could have put it another way. Wouldn’t it have been easier if you had contacted the editor and asked in the first place? Saved a lot of typing and bad feelings. One can’t be educated if one doesn’t ask questions..I’ve always held to that. Glad it’s worked out. Geez….

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[adamk]

Yes, it would have been easier if I’d contacted the editor. I openly acknowledge that I should have done that.

I was censored, but by a computer thinking I was doing something nefarious, not by humans. :)

I still maintain that the current “limbo” that posts get placed in by the spam filter is Bad. It’s inadvertent, but false positives will prevent people from even knowing that they weren’t heard. I look forward to any improvements that a new developer can bring to the site.

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[JustSarah]

adamk, clearly you weren’t frequenting WSB in the last six weeks or so, when spammers started inundating the forums. Ridiculous amounts of spam posts, starting with Christian spam, then golf spam, then baseball spam, then finally making a giant leap to some disgustingly graphic stuff (no photos, but explicit subject lines). It was really bad, and Tracy worked tirelessly to squelch the posts. She was successful, but posted the disclaimer that there is a chance the software would grab valid posts, too. In the end, the solution worked for the greater good of WSB and its forum members. There is no perfect solution for such a problem, short of having an actual person manually filtering posts as they come through, which clearly is not a realistic answer here.

WSB’s system is still a lot better than my work’s Outlook Exchange Server, which still filters out my own husband’s e-mails to me 50% of the time (he has a starbucks.com e-mail domain), or even messages from people at NOAA or USDC (.gov domains) with whom I’ve had 2+ year working relationships). I’d be thrilled if my e-mail had the failure rate of the WSB’s spam filter.

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[adamk]

You’re right, I don’t frequent these forums much. I didn’t see the spam problems.

I’m not saying that the spam filter is bad. I’m not saying to turn it off. I’m not saying Tracy is doing a bad job, much the opposite. This blog and its community are spectacular.

I’m just saying that currently, as the software works, false positive spam posts are handled in a bad way.

I did not see the disclaimer – it’s not a sticky at the top of the forums.

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[JanS]

adamk..those danged computers…they’re gonna take over the world!!! ;-)

sorry if I came across as p/a…didn’t mean to…

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[WSB]

OK, everybody, group hug now.

Seriously, I will be in touch re: the live chat.

We all – and I mean the collective WSB/West Seattle community of tens of thousands, NOT just your site hosts here – kicked ass in sharing information during the last winter-weather crises, and that would be a great component of making sure things work even better during the next one. I’m pretty sure the forecasters are going to be right and unlike last year, we will see something this year, and with local weather trends, it would be more likely in the next eight weeks than in the early part of next year.

The most important thing, though, to keep in mind when mulling realtime communication, is that from our standpoint, we do need to curate key points of information. Even in 2008, before the whole world was on FB, we were incorporating bits and pieces from there and Twitter etc. into the ongoing main storyline. As static and clunky as comments may seem, you can link to them individually (the little number sign by each comment, or Forum post, gives you its link) for later reference – like “35th is closed,” etc. FB and Twitter also enable direct links to tweets/status updates.

There are also some systems that people have used for “live-blogging” events, like Cover It Live (or is it Cover It Now?). I haven’t adopted those because we have tried to keep this fairly low-techy, to make it as accessible as possible to people, with some degree of success, even if it does post some degree of frustration to the megasavvy.

Onward!

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[lazybeard]

I still use IRC to this day with no intention to stop (~16yrs?). I’d idle in the #, but it’s on a different network than what I use. Ah well

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[redblack]

wow. IRC: internet relay chat. it’s been a while.

adam, are you the sole moderator at this point? you’ll want more if you want this to grow successfully. and you’ll want mods with the ability and stones to kick/ban the rabble and stand by their decisions.

so is IRC space still populous?

for the uninitiated, the big benefit (unless it has changed radically) is that you can maintain your anonymity, because it’s all text based. no avatars, no blingies.

maybe some people who still use IRC could throw a brief primer out here, with the assumption that it predates most people’s internet experience.

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[redblack]

just chatted with adam for a few minutes in IRC.

there’s a web-based IRC client at

http://webchat.freenode.net/

type in your nickname, type in #westseattle for a channel name, and go. bam! you’ll be in a chat room. probably with just adam. :) who may or may not be AFK.

or you can download an IRC client for free from cnet.

mIRC is a good program, but that guy wants $20 to register, 30-day free evaluation.

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[GenHillOne]

Okay, so I know this might be annoying to the “megasavvy” but WHY? Again, if I was truly interested in something happening now, like sirens racing down the street, I’d sit here, or on the home page, watching the screen – like in a chat room – and asking questions/reading others’ reports. Is there any other benefit other than not having to hit the refresh button?

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[adamk]

Thanks redblack, that web based client works pretty well.

Here’s a link with the channel name prepopulated: http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=westseattle&uio=d4

Just fill in your nickname, then solve the captcha. The login screen can be placed in an iframe as well, apparently. It might embed nicely in the WSB.

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[GenHillOne]

Okay, I’ll address the question directly then. Why, adamk, would IRC be better? You seem to want us to follow your link, but sell me/us on why this would be a better system.

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[Kevin]

IRC is great! Old, but solid proven technology. A bit of a learning curve if you are a newbie. The nice thing about it is that is like a big party line and the conversation is instant. It also allows for private conversations at the same time.

Personally, the only reason that I still use it is that I belong to a group of folks who get together on Saturdays and the participants come from all over the globe.

Unlike Twitter, users can type messages as long as they wish. In it’s hey day IRC was cutting edge technology. Today, it still remains a good tool.

Now for a real blast from the past, how many folks can remember “chatting” at 300 baud?? You would actually watch the characters march across the screen.

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[adamk]

Better than what? It’s a different form of communication. Have you ever used IRC? If not, try not to be so negative.

There tend to be three different styles of internet communication, ranging from most polished to most informal:

1) Large posts/documents: This is what blogs tend to be, and is the format of the front page of the WSB.

2) Informal message-based communication: web forums, mailing lists, or newsgroups.

3) Real-time group chat: IRC, AIM chatrooms, etc.

Until you’ve used all 3 for their intended purpose, you may not realize how useful some are.

Reloading the front page of the WSB is a lot different than a running live discussion with other West Seattleites.

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[GenHillOne]

I’m asking because it seems you are asking WSB to add an element to their format, that may even require extra effort in the form of moderation. Or, you’re asking to access their audience. Perhaps I’m wrong, but that’s how it’s coming across, so I’m asking what the benefit would be. If I sat right here, I could “chat” with you minute to minute.

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[adamk]

I’ll be awake and on the chat channel for another few hours, why don’t you follow the link and try it out? We can discuss it there, it’s a better format than trying to reply back and forth on this forum.

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[redblack]

no problem, adam. it was one of the first 3 google hits, and the web client appears to be on the same server as the chat relay. can’t get much faster than that.

don’t know if you guys solved the world’s problems overnight, but i think genhill is at least partly right.

to put it simply, adam, if you build it (with help, of course) WSB will report it and maybe link to it in some way. you should count on doing the leg work.

if it’s a hit, great! we’ll have all of west seattle kicking it old school. if it’s a bust, TR has made no investment of valuable time, and it least some of us nerds can chat from time to time.

to the uninitiated: this isn’t anywhere near as complex as it might sound. follow adam’s link, enter a nickname, enter the captcha, and you can start chatting with whoever is in the room immediately, in real time. and you can, indeed, create other “rooms” for one-on-one meetings or small groups.

and regarding moderation, it seems i was wrong. IRC – or at least freenode – appears to be largely automated. (so watch your language. computers don’t do nuance. :) )

one last thing, adam: i would “bump” this topic with a new thread, and the post should be titled something like “west seattle chat room.” most people don’t know what IRC is.

the first post should be simple and contain 1. directions on how to get there. 2. basic rules. 3. a FAQ link.

if you want to do this, let me know if you need help with writing and editing and such. i was an english/writing major in another life.

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[JoB]

the problem i always had with IRC was that it is live.. you literally have to be there to participate in whatever the current chat is.

what i like about facebook and the forum is that i can catch the conversation when i have time and if there is something that interests me.. i can comment.

kind of like the difference between television and DVR ;)

although i have to admit.. there are many times that i find myself up and awake in the middle of the night. it might be good to have a place to connect with others who are also awake and unwilling to disturb their households…

i have to warn you though adamk…

those of us over 50 who find themselves awake in the middle of the night far outnumber the young turk nightowls. You might find us discussing gardening or …. ;->

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[WSB]

Dear all –

Please follow the rules and avoid discussing personalities, whether pleasantly or not.

I’m having trouble deleting things currently – am pulled over from I-5 on the way from a North Seattle story to a Tacoma interview, both of which have WSB relevance, unfortunately both scheduled on a day that turns out to be pouring rain blah blah blah I won’t bore you further. I’m going to try to close this thread because it’s way outlived its usefulness. Adamk has posted his IRC link, and I assume (I don’t have an IRC client so I can’t check it out) it’s live and there for anyone who wants to chat there, which was his original point. If this doesn’t wind up closed, will you please respect management’s wishes and NOT perpetuate it, and I’ll try again when I get on a stable connection that doesn’t have torrential rain? Thanks …

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