Xchat: the exception that confirms the rule?

[Jo-Erlend Schinstad]

On 28/01/2008, Corey Burger <corey.burger at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jan 27, 2008 3:47 PM, Jo-Erlend Schinstad
> <joerlend.schinstad at gmail.com> wrote:
> > XChat isn't included in Ubuntu by default, and I guess that's because
> > of the rule of one application for each task. However, I feel that
> > even though Pidgin can be used for IRC, it does the job so poorly
> > compared to XChat, that it isn't a real option. Most users quickly
> > install XChat anyway. I therefore think XChat should be included by
> > default, and not XChat-GNOME, but the standard one. IRC, after all, is
> > a very important tool in this FOSS world of ours.
>
> Xchat was removed quite deliberately because although IRC is used a
> great deal by us geeks, it is not really something mom/pop and the
> more recent generation use, as they mostly use IM, SMS or increasingly
> Facebook.
>
> Corey

They also doesn't use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, they don't
use Ubuntu instead of Windows, and not XMPP instead of MSN. Why is
that? They're never exposed to it. People don't learn what they never
get a chance to learn. The fact that Microsofts IRC client was a flop,
causing them to force their proprietary chat protocols on us instead,
is no good argument for removing peoples opportunity to use real,
standards based, chat protocols. In fact, I'd say quite the contrary,
of that reason we _should_ make IRC accessible. There is also the fact
that help.ubuntu.com in numerous places refers to IRC as the best
place to get help, which is true. Newbies, of all people, should have
easy access to IRC in general and our beloved Freenode in particular.
Xchat's standard configuration should open a connection to freenode,
automatically join #Ubuntu-welcome, which should offer them some
introduction, preferably in their own language, and suggest, or
forward to help channels.

Are Facebook, Microsoft Network, and the SMS really good alternatives to IRC?

<Some polite greeting>,

Jo-Erlend Schinstad