Thread: Discussion: Restoration Chat on IRC

If you want an IM (not just an IRC client), I think Pidgin is up there with the best of them. It is also free. And if you use PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives, you can install it on an USB stick or portable drive, and have the same setup whereever you are.

I've never seen IRC as short- or mid-term solution. The PHP-chat was. I think all of us who are technically minded agree that IRC is the best protocol to have the SRP chat over. It's small, open, portable, tested and there are plenty of free clients. The fact that the java client that is currently embedded on the website is not very good and that mirc cost money is no excuse for using something esle. I used chatzilla and I'm going to be using pidgin.

As far as flash goes, this is it, nostalgia or not, it is no more, and I'm pretty sure it will stay that way. The only relevant parts with respect to it are what of its features people are currently missing on the IRC. As far as I can tell almost none of them if you do not insist on using the java applet. May be we will find a better applet, but the pidgin client is pretty nice and everybody should be able to install it on their computer, or on a USB stick (if they have to use public computer).
I tried it and it has sounds, separate windows, colors, smileys and what not. It is also small and easy to use. And most important to me - it's missing the main feature of the flash - bogging down my computer.

On the topic of separate rooms, it seems to me all the complains are because people either don't know how or don't want to change the way they are used to something.
However, since most of you have been motivated enough to learn using straight razors because it's better, I think you can find some motivation to learning how to effectively use a chat.

Yes, you can have one single conversation where everybody talks over everybody else and we are already well beyond the number where this thing works. As I already said, it is analogous to a 30-50 people talkinng simultaneously to each other.
The solution to this scenario in real life is breaking up in groups of manageble size, i.e. going to another room (channel). These were easy to create in flash, and are equally easy to create in IRC, although you may not know that it is accomplished by typing '/j new_channel'

I actually use this all the time when I want to talk to several people when there's already a conversation (or few) going on in the main channel.

In any case the only official channel right now is #srp and I would like it to be always available for newbies to stop by and get help. Yes, sometimes they will be ignored, but I'd rather not increase the odds for this happening by allocating Tuesday evening as the 'resto chat', or 'gun chat', or 'make best lather chat'....

As a moderator my job is to enforce that things happen as intended. Off-topic talk is perfectly fine, as long as it does not interfere with the main goal. In the context of #srp to me this means that people get helped as much as possible.

After much discussion, Here is what we are going to try....
Since there has not been one true objection raised by anyone to using the main chat channel for Tuesday's Restore Chat, we are going to assume that it has been established enough that we can use the main chat for the Restoration Chat at 8:00pm EST on Tuesdays....

Let's all be extra considerate and try and answer any and all questions that might arise from non-restore members... Remember it is not really our little cave anymore, so let's go out of our way to be helpful... (You guys always are anyway)

So this Tuesday Night 8:00pm EST in the main chat room for restore chat... See ya there !!!!!

Originally Posted by gssixgun

After much discussion, Here is what we are going to try....
Since there has not been one true objection raised by anyone to using the main chat channel for Tuesday's Restore Chat, we are going to assume that it has been established enough that we can use the main chat for the Restoration Chat at 8:00pm EST on Tuesdays....

Let's all be extra considerate and try and answer any and all questions that might arise from non-restore members... Remember it is not really our little cave anymore, so let's go out of our way to be helpful... (You guys always are anyway)

So this Tuesday Night 8:00pm EST in the main chat room for restore chat... See ya there !!!!!

Sounds like someone is turning a vise on your cojones.


Jokes aside, I think it's more important to have everyone on the same page, so to speak. I'm not sure what would be worse:
- Non-resto converstation on resto night from members who don't know better
- Members cluttering the chat with bickering about where we should or shouldn't chat
I suppose out of the two, option one sounds better.

Main chat? You'll all have to watch your language

Excellent idea, Glen. Thank you very much.

Just for the record: If any of you guy should have difficulty logging into the chat with the interface provided by SRP, try the other server (link on the main page of the Wiki) or try one of the programs whose use is described in detail here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/gener...-srp-chat.html

I'll add a walkthrough for Pidgin, too, as it seems the easiest program to use. And yes, it has colours, sound, and smilies.

BTW The Pidgin thing that Robin is talking about is easy enough that even I could get it to work....

Yes it is true..... I have severly limited computer skills

I guess we'll see how it works out. I think all of this has been discussed already in the posts above but... (haha, kind of like a general chat room I just browsed through it all and there was too much volume to sort out comments specific to this point.)

Here's the downside I can see. Holding "topic specific" themes in a general room/channel may result in a lot of private chats. People will open up a private channel simply to have a focused discussion or one-on-one about some small point of interest. Not because they want it private but simply to filter everything else. Others who might simply want to listen in would miss out on the side conversations. If it's kept topic specific then the general chat/information is sort of unavailable during the topic specific times.

Adopting the use of some client is the way to go. Either incorporate one in the "chat" tab on the forum and/or just have it point to a few free alternatives, maybe with basic instructions for the more popular ones.

I think it would be nice to have a number of known "sub" channels for this. Everybody starts out in the main channel and/or gravitates to the sub channels. Special interest groups might tend to show up regularly on the side channels at a regular time.

Many years ago (before they had IM even) we used some irc client written by someone in the community of poker players we had (haha, yes, before online poker) where you could open channels at will and either designate them as private, only allowing selected people to join, or public. All the channels would just pop up in the channel list on the client. It's been so long I've forgotten how all that worked but there were a number of pre-established side channels mirroring the partitions of the usenet group.

So it might be nice to establish something like
#srp
#srp - resto
#srp - honing
#srp - ebay
#srp - boker club
#srp ... whatever

Some might not get used but it would give a pre-established structure/organization much like the forum. People might generally hang out in some place or other or simply jump to another channel for a conversation with less noise.

(sorry of this has all been discussed previously in the thread but there was just too much noise to pick it out )
#srp - soaps creams brushes stuff you put on your face

hey guys, I'll mention this again (last time I promise) but I think the chat room could be a little more user friendly by replacing the current link with this one:
https://kiwiirc.com/client/irc.freenode.net/srp

the design is a little cleaner, a little more modern and IMO more user friendly