KINGARTHUR'S PROFILE

IRC has Nickserv, a network service bot that handles username registrations and logging in to them, so it's not all anonymous. In particular, you need to be registered to have any automatic voice/operator status given to you and channels can be set to only let registered users in depending on the channel modes active.

Also, it's only "one room" because we only registered one channel. We can register more channels if there is a need for them. Like if we wanted #rpgmaker.net-welp or whatever we can register that to use as well. =V

Though if we ever elect to run multiple IRC channels, it might be easier logistically for RMN to just host its own IRC server rather than using SynIRC.

author=Liberty
I used mIRC. It didn't do that. :shrug:

I use mIRC and it does all of the server-connecting, channel-joining and logging-in-with-Nickserv stuff for me because I set it up to do so. Out-of-the-box mIRC and most IRC clients are a blank slate and won't do much of anything without being told, but there are plenty of options and customization to fine-tune the client to specifically what you want or need.

Other stuff most IRC clients support include: Logging, pinging you when someone mentions your name (or any text string for that matter), file transfers (DCC), private messaging, ignoring/blocking users, and more.

mIRC has a scripting functionality too, so you can even get it to power a bot or service of some sort completely autonomously too, should you want it to. Other IRC clients can also perform similarly if they have a scripting functionality as well.

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Also, it was brought up earlier that Slack had to disable automatic authentications because of a spammer problem. I'm not sure what Slack has in terms of moderating capabilities, but IRC can handle situations like that relatively well by enforcing either an invite-only mode on the channel (mode +i on the channel), enforcing a registered-users-only mode (mode +r on the channel, if I recall correctly) where anyone who wants to come in needs to be registered with Nickserv, or moderating the entire channel (mode +m on the channel) and allowing only people with voice (+v) or operator rights to speak. Bans can also be placed either very broadly or very specifically depending on what hostmask you choose to ban, too.

author=unity
There are plenty of people here contributing to games that don't do coding. Artists, writers and composers are all vital to the process. You cannot assume that all of RMN is just like you, and telling people "you should know how to do this" is not going to win them back to IRC.

Honestly, I'm not trying to win them back to IRC. IRC has been gravely unpopular here at RMN since as long as I can remember, almost nobody besides the really big-name members came even when alternatives like Slack didn't exist, so I'm not about to start fighting a battle that's already lost and over with. Hell, the IRC channel will probably still be unregistered and forgotten about had I not brought it up a couple months back.

I will voice my frustrations though, because the notion that IRC is too hard for the common masses (let alone our demographic) is ridiculous and simply not true.

author=Sooz
"Capacity for" does not mean that everyone here uses that shit. Your original point was "everyone here is making gams, so why do they have trouble with basic coding stuff?" and mine was, "We are primarily using a pretty basic engine that doesn't require coding knowledge, so obv. a lot of us aren't actual codebrains."

Again, congrats on finding IRC not difficult to deal with, but yours is NOT the common experience here, as evidenced by the fact that everyone would much rather hang out on the platform that makes sense to the plebians.

SynIRC is also home to #anidb, an IRC channel for AniDB which is a database and community for all things anime. That channel has 109 people right now, give or take a couple bots. Over on the Rizon IRC network, the vast majority of channels there are filled with hundreds of thousands of people who otherwise have no experience or skill with computers.

Now think about that, ordinary anime fans have the skill and wit to use IRC in droves, proving that it is not a hard tool to learn and use. That IRC is apparently too hard for us game developers is, like I said before, ridiculous. IRC is so "hard" that the lowest common denominator of people can use it, why are we of all people claiming that IRC is hard to use?

author=CashmereCat
Dude most people on this site don't know wtf a CLI is.

I would say that is a problem that needs addressing. =P

If the argument was "IRC doesn't satisfy our needs" like in your case then I would understand, pick the right tool for the job, but that's not what I'm hearing most of the time including in this topic. There's a major difference between "we can't into IRC" and "IRC can't into us", and hearing the former is frustrating given the demographic that we are. =V

author=Sooz
"I need to get someone to authorize me" vs. "I need to figure out a client, then figure out how to use a thing that's not terribly intuitive"

Single temporary problem vs. STEEP ASS LEARNING CURVE

I mean I like neither of them but Slack is far and away the clear winner in the "user friendliness" contest.

I'm just going to quote myself from the RMN IRC channel:

<King_Arthur> Already in that topic I can see people going IRC has "a steep learning curve".
<King_Arthur> We're a collection of god damn game developers and they can't into CLI apparently.

The biggest complaint that IRC receives is about its UI not being user friendly. What most of the complainers actually mean is that they can't (and won't) use command-line interfaces. And you know what? If you're just a run-of-the-mill gamer or office worker or whatever who doesn't have any in-depth experience with computers then maybe you have a point. IRC has always catered to the geeks and engineers, the intellectuals and the professionals.

But remember, RMN is a collection of game developers, we are geeks and engineers, intellectuals and professionals. It's kind of ridiculous to me that game developers find IRC difficult or impossible to use. If you are working with programming and developing software, command-line interfaces should be familiar and second nature to you.

author=Yellow Magic
Note:
(1) Multiple channels of communication within one Slack group. Gamedev stuff goes in the gamedev channels so it doesn't get mixed up with the more general chatter.
(2) Quick feedback in the #screenshot channel - people don't have to click on the image URL to see the full thing. Also, that image thumbnail animates!

I'll brainstorm other ways of making Slack more productive for game developers when I am not stupidly busy with stupid shit.

Multiple channels is actually a fundamental part of IRC. Most of us don't see it that way because we advertise a specific channel as "our IRC", but we can easily register multiple channels and divide discussion throughout them appropriately just like Slack. If RMN were to run its own IRC server like WIP mentioned earlier, this would be even easier and intuitive since we wouldn't have to share a public IRC server network like we do now on SynIRC.

EDIT: In fact, I'm pretty sure Gaming World used to run its own IRC server (Whahay?) where they had multiple channels for different topics of discussion.