I work in technology, i have done online community work since 1991, and I heartily loathe IRC, for all the reasons Sarah mentions. Hear, hear.
Paula
On Thursday, September 6, 2012, Sarah Stierch wrote:
Hi Lori! See my responses inline, as well.
*IRC* An open chat platform used often by Wikipedians, but unfamiliar among most GLAM professionals. Arguments can be made for and against; so discuss away.
IRC is terrible, archaic, and uncomfortable for the majority of people. This is 2012, not 1992. People are welcome to have an IRC GLAM US channel but I bet, the majority of the people using it are the same old people who use IRC now. I think we should scrap any focus on IRC and communicate through social media, wiki, and mailing lists. I figure, if people want to have me involved in something or have a question for me, they will send me an email, wiki me, or Tweet me - and not sit around and wait for me on IRC.
We could always have an IRC office hours for GLAMWIKI but, again, that'd be just a strict ubergeek thing and that's not inclusive of the broader GLAM community (and those of us Wikipedians who hate IRC because we stopped using it when BBSes disappeared).
-- *Sarah Stierch* *Wikimedia Foundation Community Fellow*
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