Today i found on the FAQ: Great! I wanted to get some advice and feedback for my late-night modding excersizes, so this would seem a good place. Instead of a few modders, the channel was used by a random selection of apple/micro$oft discussion junkies, much like 90% of the IRC channels in the world i guess. The people talking kindly informed me that the channel was no longer used by bit-tech. (well, not kindly actually, but i'm no critic) The point of this thread is not a rant. If you came here looking for rant or quickchat, [thread=142352]this is your thread[/thread] Is there any way of setting up a proper channel, one that is (among others) about hardware and casemodding, like say um... this website? I think that by simply locating the channel on a server that is not used by so many generic IRC-elitists, we'd have a very good chance of the channel actually being good or even helpful. For example, chatspike is a great irc network. Well-supported, good services and nice people, mainly because it's not so big. I'm sure there's many more great servers, i just happen to know this one. I'd be really happy if any of the mods could comment on this issue, and ofcourse i invite all bit-tech people to help take this in a positive direction.
Perhaps if you would have asked your question you would have gotten an answer. Such a radical approach, I know. Also, there has been much ado over moving the channel from Qnet almost since its inception, I don't think that your post is going to achieve that. Nonetheless, a non-official IRC channel isn't going to be officially set up by any forum mods. Again, go figure.
The point is not whether i asked my question the right way, is it? The point is that it's a damn shame that a community like this has no proper IRC channel, and one should and could easily be set up. I specifically chose to say "setting up a channel", and not "relocate the channel", for two reasons: The current channel sucks. why keep a bad thing? relocating is too much hassle. again, please keep this thread constructive! thx
Well you joined in the middle of a discussion. Being a chat channel these things do tend to happen. #bit-tech is not a tech support channel, please don't think of it as such. There are many regulars and we discuss everything from how I like mathematics a little bit too much to ArsoN's sex life. Furthermore, I said that this wasn't run by Bit-Tech proper, which is true. It is very much an unofficial channel. We discuss basically whatever comes up. You joined the channel and didn't really try to start a conversation. Actually I don't remember you doing much at all, so sorry if your question didn't get answered. #bit-tech is (for a large part) populated by people from the forums (see my join date to the left). Some of us visit the forums, others don't, some have even been banned from the forums. We are not a bunch of "generic IRC-elitists". We're not required to answer your questions, we aren't paid to be there, we just hang around as it's a fun community. We're generally a helpful bunch if you actually get to know us. That said we dish out a lot of abuse to everyone (regulars aren't excluded). None of it is serious; if you're easily offended then the internet probably isn't a good place for you much less an IRC channel of any sort. If you want questions answered the best place is here on the forums. First it's a lot more organized, IRC channels can have many concurrent conversations going on at once. Second people can reply at their leisure which means you'll get a more informative answer. If you want an answer quickly then try google. If you want an unorganized, rarely serious conversation then join #bit-tech. That's not to say we're not helpful, we're just not always able or willing to use our free time to answer questions. I'd like to emphasize and repeat this one more time, we're not a tech support channel. If Bit-Tech wants to either donate their free time to an official channel or pay someone to support one then that's fine, but I can't imagine that happening. So please, please stop coming to the IRC channel only to leave 15 minutes later offended that we either didn't help you or (jokingly) made fun of you and then going to the forums to complain.
Who notated the current channel as sub-par? The 50 or so of us who frequent the channel seem to find it suitable enough to patter away countless hours otherwise filled with prog rock and menial tasks. Relocating the channel isn't much of a hassle; in theory, anyway. However, if the channel is relocated it will be for the sole reason of Qnet's inability to keep a node connected for any decent amount of time, not because a few forum members aren't pleased with the current channel. The bottom line is - and has always been - that IRC is a supplement to the forums that was started by forum members and is ordained by forum members. It's entirely seperate from the official forums. Some will find IRC to be an entertaining and helpful place and may subsequently choose to stick around. Others may decide the forums are enough for them. If you don't enjoy the IRC environment don't join the IRC environment.
first, i'm not offended, so no worries there mate Indeed, i did not get around to asking any questions or joining a discussion, because at my first try four people piled on me saying "who the **** is Xtrafresh?". Again, i'm not offended, but it's not strange that this leaves the strong impression that there's a few eggheads running the channel and sending everyone they dont know away as fast and as harsh as they can, because they can. I've seen too many channels like that. But ok, it could all be joking around, no biggie. That's why i asked you guys. You told me this: [01:49] <Astrum|Lap> we're not affiliated with the site Forgive my my conclusion, but there's really no mistaking that, is there? Oh, and 3rd time in 3 posts: this is NOT a rant or a complaint, it's a suggestion for improvement. I'd really appreceate it if anybody would like to comment on that, and leave my own withered ego and off-the-charts n00bdom out of it
Every reply thus far has consisted of how you could have gotten you answer and/or how no improvements are to be made. You've decided to ignore every comment so far.
The thing is Xtrafresh, the IRC channel is not officially affiliated with the site. It's place where forum members and non members alike can enjoy some witty conversation, sometimes even serious conversation in real time without forum restrictions. You and all others (well most) are welcome to join in, but as Astrum stated it's not a live tech support facility, just members chatting.
i beg to differ Q.E.D. Anyway, i guess i stand corrected, thread is hereby declared dead. (no need to invoke Godwin's law) I hope you can understand my pov. I came into the channel looking for a bit of a talk, was OMGWTFBBQ'd out of there, told literally that the bit-tech community deserted the channel. After that i go here, find nothing but a thread ranting at how bad the channel sucks. I thought i'd put in my 0.02$ and pop in a suggestion, a positive one at that. And please dont tell me that you feel insulted, that would be party hard dudes
Yeah, we're abusive on IRC and we like to make fun of new people. It's really not that bad though, you should have been around when I joined. It's sort of like hazing only less serious. We're not affiliated with Bit-Tech, i.e. we're not a formal associate. We're a community of forum members using a different medium to communicate, that's all really. We weren't abandoned by Bit-Tech, we never were officially part of Bit-Tech (at least as long as I have been there). The improvements new users tend to want is a bona fide tech support channel, where they can ask questions and get answers quicker than if they were to use the forums. And as I said, unless Bit-Tech proper decides to set up a proper channel where they themselves field these questions or have a formal associate run such a channel then you're not going to get what you want.
I idled in the channel for probably a year, year and a half before I said a word. I still got a "who the **** is MaZ-", "look at dat fukken noob" etc, its pretty much the same as any relatively banterful IRC channel in the entire world. Take the banter for what it is, witty, sarcastic, generally fun & non-serious chat because people are bored. If you come in, say hi, don't get totally phased by the random hazing and comedy insults ("who is dat fukken noob" is a comedy insult btw) and ask an interesting question, it's likely people will answer you (I definitely would) after finishing their conversations.
While i won't speak for the IRC channel as I don't use it, I am glad this is not the prevailing attitude at bit.
Yes To be honest I've been reading bit-tech and the forums since a long time ago, probably 02 or 03 but I only signed up to the forums in 04 and then I only posted once. I have a habit of forgetting things, and about a week back i tried logging in to bit-tech randomly and it let me in, didn't even remember I had a forum account , at which point I decided I might as well post to pass the time Anyway glad to see you returned to the IRC channel and maybe you can accept us for who we are, we're not all bad
IRC just tends to be special that way. Which is why it's generally best avoided if you care for your sanity imho.
