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IRC as a World-Changing Medium
khaladan writes "Wired has an interesting article titled Chat Room That Built the World that talks about the power of developers helping each other on IRC. The article covers the case of #winprog on EFnet, where people such Justin Frankel (creator of Winamp), John Johansen (DVD Jon), and Shawn Fanning (of Napster fame) have come to chat, hang out, and get help. Many from Microsoft visit the channel as well. Ben Knauss calls it 'innovation in its purest form, without ego, money or fame as its goal.'"
I find that part of an IRC channel's culture is the people that attend it. Now that the channel has been advertised, do you think those people will continue to show up? More importantly do you think the quality of help will maintain? I believe that now it has been advertised, the quality of programming help will now decline. *crosses fingers hoping that isn't true*
...but how do I get ops?
I would have thought that the "world changing medium" would be that IRC services chat rooms both directly and indirectly (through its protocol), game servers (Tiberian Sun, etc. are now played through an IRC derivative), and plays host to countless other apps.
So yep, it's a world changing medium, but man, the world its changed is so, so much larger than a single chat room.
And oh -- it's probably landed some 1337 k1dz in jail. So it's changed their world, too.
I can see it now:
<SFanning> Hey.. I'm having a little trouble with these APIs.. Any of you guys willing to lend a hand?
<wind00d33> slaps <napster> across the face with a large trout
<haxxorman> slaps <napster> across the face with a large trout
<carlie79> Heh.. Guys.. I'm so high right now...
<Mj> So about my penis...
<-- SFanning has quit (screw this...)
At work we've got a semi-private irc channel where the majority of the developers and lead developers hang out.
:)
It's a simple way of communication and it excels in situations where not all people are in-house, especially in situations where I want to paste 12 lines of code/xml/etc. to a colleague and ask him if it'd work against his interface/service/etc.
Just as long as people remember that it's a second form of communication, nothing can beat actually being physically present
IRC, as far as I am concerned from having spent many a year on them helping others & learning as well, is a good place to learn & share ideas on things technical regarding computers imo!
In fact, I spent a good portion of the mid to late 1990's there modding/adminning one on Dalnet in #Windows95 (a Win32 OS tech help channel that K. Mardem Bey endorsed as that network's "official Win32 OS help channel" or something like that, as its title & standing on that network).
It was a good crew there initially, but like all things, nothing lasts forever - that channel no longer holds that designation for that IRC network afaik, but when it did it was a great place to go for tech help & just making friends with common interests.
What did I get out of that experience?
Well, MOSTLY, I personally learned a great deal on how Tcp/IP works, and that was because the #Linux channel would start "hack fights" with us weekly, w/out fail...
Programming wasn't a "big topic" there, & I think I may have been only 1 of 2-3 coders that went there to THAT particular channel, so it wasn't something of note being discussed there a great deal.
That end of things I learned on my own more & more as time passed, in coding.
However, that channel was LOADED with network administrators & network security & forensics personell, & I took advantage of it, & learned from and WITH them, regularly.
IRC helped me "round out" my skills in computers as far as I am concerned.
IMO, a computer person today cannot just "be a coder" or "be a network administrator/tech/engineer" but, has to be most ALL of those things... yes, a "return to yesteryear/the old days" when the computer guy @ any particular shop wasn't a specialist in some particular area, but a jack-of-all-trades.
You have to understand (to a decent degree @ least) most ALL of the particulars in computing today, in order to function & contribute as well as be marketeable in this field.
The attacks by the #Linux channel I mention (mainly each time a new Win32 OS vulnerability turned up & they would exploit them) earlier on?
That, in turn, taught me to start looking for various ways to seal off & secure Windows NT-based OS!
That research on my end resulted in this article I put up for others for years to use in how to do so as well, securing their Windows NT-based (NT/2000/XP/Server 2003):
http://www.avatar.demon.nl/APK.html
It works, enjoy the read... much of it came from researches based on being attacked on IRC, so good did come out of "the bad"...
Anyhow - So, some good comes out of the bad (being attacked by the #Linux folks regularly & it was bad, one time resulting in my system actually being compromised - but, the guy who did it was nice enough to point out HOW he did it to me).
I learned much as did my colleagues @ that channel over the years we spent there sharing our knowledge with one another.
IRC is good stuff (or, used to be @ least), as a whole, & is a far faster medium than say, forums boards like this or email, mainly imo because it's in "realtime", & instantaneous information exchange, no waiting @ all (provided the folks you want to talk with are present that is).
The only thing that bugs me nowadays about it is the dangers present on it, & they are there and real, so watch out what you get from others there via DCC transfers is all I can say!
(DCC's typically not something to trust out there, & a vector for 'infectors' that is typically utilized, so watch what you get offered there... it could be a trojan horse, is all I can say).
APK
I remember using #WinProg a few years ago when I started learning Win32. Sure enough, it was a helpful resource, but at the time the regulars (not all though) were some of the most arrogant, egotistical (and in many cases, unhelpful) people I had ever come across.
....
...
Typical conversations:
[ilitirit] how do i check the class styles for a certain FOOBAR?
[winprogger] learn to use Spy++, n00b
[ilitirit] ok, where do i can get Spy++?
[winprogger] AARGH!!! are you stupid or something? it's PART OF VS 98!!!
[ilitirit] i'm using Borland's commandline compiler.
[winprogger]
[ilitirit] how do i create window without a titlebar?
[winprogger] how do not run into tree and smash your nose?
[ilitirit] ????
[winprogger] YOU JUST DON'T DO IT!!! don't specify that it should have one!! sheesh. is everyone suddenly getting dumber or something?
[ilitirit] erm... i don't think you can do that
[winprogger] lol
[winprogger]
[winprogger] ok
not too mention the countless "IT'S IN THE DAMN TUTORIAL FFS!!!" responses...
IRC certainly is a powerful communications medium. I first talked to a woman, who i later lived with for 3 years as my girlfriend, on IRC. She is the most important person in my life, though we are not currently together.
This weekend, I am leaving to visit the Netherlands for a job opportunity. How did this happen? By mentioning I was looking for a job, while I was on IRC. Someone I had talked to for years knew his employer was looking for someone like me, and the rest is history.
No doubt about it, IRC has changed my life in major ways.
-- Note: If you don't agree with me, don't bother replying. I won't read it.