I personally regard the IRC channel as a "particular flavor" of c4l, rather than the "primary" flavor.  For example, this discussion is happening on the mailing list and not in the IRC channel.  I'd say IRC is one of the main flavors, but I'm not sure I would call anything primary.  I really like zoia, and find the channel to be a very good complement to the conference.  But I really don't hang out in IRC, and I think many people who read the mailing list and/or attend events don't either.

Regarding people being comfortable with participating in the IRC channel, I think you can't please everyone.  If you stop all the messing around with zoia because some people find it frivolous and irritating, then other people will think the channel has gotten too stuffy and serious.  So I think it's important to keep focused on what is alienating to a large fraction of the community. 

-Esme
--
Esme Cowles <[log in to unmask]>

"Information wants to be anthropomorphized." -- /. sig

On 01/18/2013, at 3:47 PM, Karen Coyle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> This would mean not seeing the c4l irc as a "primary community" space but as a "particular flavor of the community" space, and taking pains to make sure that c4l IRC is not billed as or treated as the "main stage" for c4l and those who do not hang out in the channel should not be viewed as "non-participants" in c4l (and I think they are not). However, by doing so we do lose the one central "go-to" place for quick questions when you're stuck in some technology nightmare. Some of that takes place on the list, but sometimes you want to find a real person and do a quick back-and-forth.