On 5/26/06, Delirium delirium@hackish.org wrote: [snip]
I don't find IRC (or "chat" generally) a useful or efficient means of communication. Email gives enough space that people can look up sources, consider their positions and arguments, read other material if necessary, and then respond. IRC is a mixture of off-the-cuff and prepared remarks, broken up into small bits with a lot of asides and chit-chat that you have to sit through in real time.
[snip]
IRC's time constraints, is by large, a primary factor in its attractiveness. It acts as a great time equalizer, preventing kooks with unlimited time to prepare their rants from monopolizing the fourm. Actions are what counts, not how long you can make your argument.
If someone were to propose such discussions happen on a mailinglist with a limit of ~100 words per person/day, then I'd find that agreeable. If you can't make your point in a small space you either haven't thought about it enough or it's just not a good idea. Brevity also helps non-native English speakers understand.