Call for discussion to clarify the IRC guidelines

[Phix]

2011/7/18 Juha Siltala <topyli at ubuntu.com>
>
>
> Some of the points that don’t always seem to be fully clear, or
> completely agreed upon are:
>
> - What exactly does “family friendly” mean? We obviously don’t want to
> allow cursing, personal attacks and such, but we might want to
> tolerate some amount of “horseplay” on social channels, such as
> #ubuntu-offtopic. But as a multicultural project, we might have some
> difficulty in defining this. How do we currently approach this issue?
> How should we improve?
>
> - What is supported in #ubuntu and other support channels? Only
> sofware supported by Canonical? Only software that’s included in
> either main or universe? Only free software? Should we support users
> trying to run popular Windows games with Wine?
>

As a fairly inexperienced user of linux and ubuntu with old hardware, I ran
into the issue of "what is supported" quite frequently, and saw the process
repeat just as often to others. Since #ubuntu is the most active channel, it
was always the best place to ask universal questions about ubuntu linux,
even if I happened to be using xubuntu, the ubuntu+1 beta, or trying to
compile a third-party-program. The snag seemed to be that good intentioned
helpers would become frustrated with the problems of a new user, and when it
finally emerged that you were using something that could be supported in
other channels, they'd say, "oh, you have to go to #x for that." Then I'd
watch the same argument unfold:

new user: "but I went there and it was dead!"
helper: "you just have to be patient"
new user: "I was, I waited for x minutes, no one answered,"
helper: "well sorry, you can't get any help here."
...
Which usually ended up in more arguing and disruption until the user left or
a more experienced helper came around and saw what was going on.

I think for sanity's standpoint, #ubuntu should offer support for
non-canonical software, and that should be mentioned in the topic or
somewhere else helpers will see. Users should be made aware that they should
check out other channels for potentially more support, especially if there's
nothing more that the channel can do for them at the moment, but #ubuntu
should still be a welcoming place for everyone, not somewhere users have to
conceal what they're doing from volunteers to ask for guidance. Using
lubuntu? No problem, we'll help you if we can. That's the Ubuntu spirit.


No doubt there are many more small and big things where our opinions
> may differ, and I’d love to see them discussed openly here, as well as
> in the coordination channel. Please give this some thought when you
> have time and bring up your own suggestions here on the list. Also,
> let’s use the coordination channel to the fullest, to keep the team as
> well greased as it is, and perhaps make us even better!
>
> Thanks,
>
> --
> Juha Siltala
> http://ubuntu.com
>
> --
> Ubuntu-irc mailing list
> Ubuntu-irc at lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-irc
>

--Patrick Hixenbaugh (semitones)
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