Freewheeler Chat

[Cducharme]

How would you guys feel about an IRC channel for The Freewheeler? If you don't know, IRC is a lot like playing multiplayer notepad. A very old style chat "room" that can be pretty easily maintained and run on an existing network for free. I have a bot, which protects the "operator" status for those who need it, so while it's a free reign concept it'd be something HM and co could "moderate" as needed.

I know most of you don't know how to use IRC right now, but it really is VERY simple, and I plan on making guides for all the major ways people use it, from PC to Mac to Linux as well as smartphones and tablets. It's all pretty similar so it'll be in a format sort of like "IRC basics - For All To read" then "IRC *device* - Walk through" for each device.

That is if you guys think you'd be interested in the occasional instantaneous antics of your fellow freewheelers, so if interested in it (and lugnut better be one, since he's already on the network we'd use) reply here and if we get at least 4-5 I think we've got a decent start to a channel.

Also, I think if we have a channel on IRC that isn't listed as secret or private, we might get more people to check out the freewheeler and get more posters. Could be a win-win situation.

EDIT: I won't setup the channel etc until I know there's interest and write the guides. I will be checking back on the thread in the morning (7AM EST or so, when I get home from work) so if there's interest then, I'll start the process of getting the guides written and the screencaps found/created so there will be visuals.

[Cducharme]

One last note before getting ready for work, you think I'm active here on the FW?!?! You've seen nothing.

[I'm Almost Human]

I'd absolutely love it.

[lugnut]

Eh, works for me.

[Hey Man]

We actually have Live Chat that can be used within this forum - I just haven't implemented it yet or even really knew that we had it until I just looked into it. ;D

I will see what it is all about and hopefully get the Live Chat going soon.

[Cducharme]

Ok cool, if it's something that you aren't too happy with I don't mind setting up the FAQs for connecting to IRC and "donating" my bot to run the channel for us.

[lugnut]

Honestly the IRC channel sounds like it would be better to me if only because you can set the channel up as a "permanent" fixture so that people can stay logged in or pop in anytime, which might be handy for our "international" members. At least that way those of us who randomly wake up at 3 in the morning like myself could just peek in on the already-open (if you stay logged in) mIRC window and see what's going on instead of having to log into the specific Proboards chat to check if anyone's around.

But then again, this is also probably because I've been on IRC since like 1993 or something. Like Cdu said though, it's not a difficult thing to use or access, especially with the mIRC program, and there's a hundred other ways to get there too.

[Tookie]

I wish online chat was my forte, but its not. As a communicator I'm a lot slower with expressing my words and thoughts than most. Just the way I am. Of course a few beers and that filter and lag disappears a bit, but it doesnt translate nicely into text chat. Besides I'd like to be able to irritate you with my rants and laughing once I get on a roll! I'd be more than willing though talk to almost anyone here sometime via phone/skype since I feel like most you a bit now and am over that shyness factor I deal with on a daily basis.

[Cducharme]

Is it real time in that you don't have to refresh? I'm just curious as I've never used another proboards forum.