Dejan Čabrilo wrote:
The most problematic rule is the ban of off-topic talk in the channel.
Off-topic chat is not *banned,* but it is being coaxed into other channels where it is more appropriate. Consider visiting #wikipedia-social. This doesn't mean that tangents and banter are disallowed, but that completely off-topic discussion should be avoided to begin with.
We think of off topic conversation as a good thing. There is nothing worse than getting into a silent channel, asking a question, and getting the answer half an hour later, when you lost all the interest
Yes, getting no answer while US politics or furry fandom drown out the question is worse than that. I think your concern is exaggerated. Most channels do not have 250 regular users, and they do fine. I think #wiktionary is a good example of a channel that consistently has less than 30 occupants, and is always more active than #wikipedia-en with many more on-topic conversations, and tangents as well.
- Were there any complaints that #wikipedia wasn't helpful to people
with questions?
Yes, very much so.
Dominic