We talked about IRC a couple times already, but after you are connected, then what? Is IRC about instant gratification? Well, yes and no. It depends on who is in the channel you are talking in. I use it to talk to people about projects I am working on like #ubuntu-us-ca. If you can think of a large open source project, chances are good that there’s an IRC channel for it on Freenode. I have conversations in real time during meetings but I also have conversations over periods of days. Some channels are busier than others and it varies depending on the time of day and day of the week. Phone calls are OK for unconnected people about private topics, however IRC is one of my most important and effective tools I use when collaborating with others on important projects.
I alluded in the previous post to enhancing or augmenting an IRC channel by running a bot that has useful services. I’ll get to that in the next post. Unfortunately the power supply of my ShivaPlug died so I need to get a new one and get my super python bot or supybot back online. I look forward to speaking with people about grantbow.com/irc.html intended to help people get started. Your feedback here or via email would be most appreciated.
The BerkeleyLUG meets from noon to three on the second and fourth Sunday of each month at Bobby G’s Pizzeria. Our May 26th meeting is going on now.