New to IRC, quick question reddit / irc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kagedtiger · 2015-05-23 02:36 Forgive me for my ignorance, but why is there so little chatting actually going on? I mean, even when there are many users in a channel, there still isn't much happening...I don't understand how there can be 100 or so users in a channel and 3 people actually chatting. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ScarletAngel · 2015-05-23 02:50 You probably just need to branch out and find a more active channel. You can try typing '/list' in your client, or visit one of these pages: https://www.snoonet.org/communities https://stats.snoonet.org/channel#activity ---------------------------------------------------------------------- damiankw · 2015-05-23 02:59 A few reasons. Depending on what network you're on and what channels you are in, but a lot of people idle simply because they've been around so long and can't let go of IRC (me), then there are the bots that are online for various reasons, or bnc's waiting for their host to rock up and chat. Then there's always the fact that the world is a big place with a lot of timezones, when you're active, a lot of people won't be :D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kagedtiger · 2015-05-23 03:03 Yeah, I'm banned from snoonet now. I'm guessing it's because vpns aren't cool. Found that out too late ---------------------------------------------------------------------- aperson · 2015-05-23 03:21 In large channels, you can always only expect less than 10% of users to be around at any given time. Power users are often in a ton of channels and idle in others a lot. It's easier to stay in a channel and chat in others than to only be in the one you're active in at the moment. Also: bouncers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lyspr · 2015-05-23 15:09 Snoonet is garbage anyways. Freenode is the biggest and most popular, but very strict on channels. Anyways, the reason it seems like so little chatting goes on is because of all the noise from people coming and going. On top of that, people might be logged in to dozens of channels at a time, so they obviously can't chat on ALL of them, ya know? But if you really want to chat hard, find a social channel. Freenode's is #defocus and it's hardly ever quiet. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- aFreshMelon · 2015-05-23 15:52 How is Snoonet garbage? Also, Freenode is not strict on channels at all, I don't know what you're talking about. With 90k users it's just not possible to be strict on channels. Freenode is for open source software communities, but since their userbase is so humongous it's no wonder that many off- topic communities also have very active chats there. I love my development communities on Freenode, it's great to have 200 users in a channel to always reply to you. But usually those channels are much less for general chatter. I suggest trying other big networks that aren't focused on developers, like Rizon or QuakeNet, or even the smaller Snoonet. IRC takes a bit of getting used to, but you will find channels with your kind of activity soon enough. It might help to just ask people where else they chat.. :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lyspr · 2015-05-23 16:05 I've been using IRC for 10+ years, and if you have to ask, you aren't ready. Freenode is indeed very strict with channel moderation and namespacing, which is why there isn't so much a problem of spam and tomfoolery as with other networks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- aFreshMelon · 2015-05-23 16:08 "If you have to ask, you aren't ready". IRC is not a cult. Or an exclusive community. IRC is fun, open to everyone. You're making it sound like it's this elite chatting. Just connect to a network and ask around, you'll find somewhere to chat :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lyspr · 2015-05-23 16:16 lol @ you trying to educate me on IRC. There's no way to say this without sounding like an asshole, but there is literally NOTHING you could ever teach me about when it comes to IRC. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- aFreshMelon · 2015-05-23 16:22 You're right, you couldn't say it without sounding like an asshole. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cecilmx6 · 2015-05-24 02:33 Efnet still has a few good channels left. I rarely go on anymore though cause like other people had said we all just idle in there most of the time. There was a time once where all the nerdy kids would chat on there all night but we all either got families or jobs that take up a majority of our time now.