[Theforum] IRC Bot - thepfy
Madhu Menon
webguru at vsnl.net
Fri Dec 28 06:10:15 CST 2001
G'day.
I've kept quiet about this whole IRC issue. Maybe I should put my 2 paise,
er, Rupees, in. [1]
I'll admit to being a complete IRC newbie, which is probably why I still
take delight in teaching thebot to say silly (but never offensive) stuff.
When I first joined #evolt, I didn't know bots logged conversations. It did
surprise me. However...
At 11:09 AM 12/28/2001, Michele Foster typed these words:
>It is not a matter of having saying things to a private forum .. it *IS* a
>matter of knowing who's listening in and who isn't.
I believe that this premise is incorrect. IRC is not a "private forum",
unless you have your own channel and restrict membership/access to people
you trust, like, or want. One-to-one email is private, instant messengers
are private, and restricted chat rooms may be private, but an IRC channel
that *anyone* can join is not private. It's not my space or something that
only some people use. #evolt is for anyone who wants to join.
Having established that, one should be careful what one says in a public
forum. As Internet veterans, all of us know this already. If you don't
think that others should read it, use more private channels. When I want to
talk privately to someone, I use an instant messenger or email.
If people want to have their private chats, I can think of a few options:
a) Start your own private channel on the server (I *think* this is
possible. Can an IRC veteran confirm this?)
b) In the #evolt channel, use private messaging i.e., send a message
directly to your friend. I don't think bots can log this.
c) Use email
d) Use Yahoo messenger/ AIM/ ICQ/ MSN
Options a) and b) are the easiest, IMHO.
A bot logging a conversation may unnerve a few people initially (I was one
of them), but then if you want to say stuff like "[xyz] is a loser who
needs a kick in the arse" or other personal details, it's better to do so
privately rather than on a public channel like #evolt. That's always a good
idea whether there are bots or not.
Once we see that a public IRC channel with no restrictions (yet) is NOT a
*private* space, most arguments will be resolved.
Regards,
Madhu
[1] 1 Rupee is approximately 2 US cents. 2 paise is 1/100th of 2 cents ;)
<<< * >>>
Madhu Menon
User Experience Consultant
e-mail: webguru at vsnl.net
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