riled? hardly - i think this sort of thing happens too mcuh becasue we are all adapted to guessing the intent behind the words of people we chat to.
There's something about a forum rant which makes me think 'he's angry' when i look at a lot of posts (specially the betamax ones) - does this have something to do with the problem?
Most people who are new to IRC are stupid, and crass, and can't read the emotion-behind-the-words very well at all. Subsequently, they annoy me personally - ie If I talk to someone and sit on their lap and proclaim I am a 1ft high centipede like creature (Mesklinite), then I get abuse or swearing or confusion.
The veterans chuckle as they can tell its an odd kind of thing and an amusement to us all.
Is this segregation that happens (take any teen room - the regulars will quite gladly do their own thing and the noobs will come and upset the balance) part of the problem with IRC?
Kids so used to speaking in SMS with such bad language skills no one wants to talk to them, and they fall back on their IM network of peers who suffer the exact same problems...
Since they already know em, chances are, their problems are shared:
"me brd"
"me brd 2"
"c u at skewl?"
Thoughts?
