mIRC Home    About    Download    Register    News    Help

Print Thread
Page 4 of 4 1 2 3 4
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,330
Hoopy frood
Offline
Hoopy frood
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,330
Originally Posted By: hixxy
The people I have on instant messaging programs are people I already know. I don't feel the need or want to see/talk to them when I'm online because I mainly use the internet for meeting new people. I talk to my friends on the phone mostly.

IRC can be used as a way of speaking to people you don't know.


Maybe it's the channels I am often in, but most people I meet on IRC are more interested in privacy than in displaying their face for unknown people to see. Displaying your face to friends is one thing... to strangers is less desirable for many people. The whole a/s/l thing was popular for quite awhile once you started seeing AOL and IM stuff going around. It isn't anymore because people don't want to share that information. Privacy is becoming more and more of an issue with people (at least from my experience). That said, I don't frequent the #chat or #cafe channels or similar ones that are meant for trying to meet people. Of course, what percentage of IRC users do? (That's rhetorical as I'm sure no one has that data, but I'm sure it's a low number).


Invision Support
#Invision on irc.irchighway.net
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,881
H
Hoopy frood
Offline
Hoopy frood
H
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,881
Originally Posted By: Riamus2
My reference to it being #1 isn't the number of users. If the other main clients look at mIRC to see what to add, then those clients are proving mIRC's #1... not by number of users, but simply by trying to live up to it. You don't try to be the same as something that's not any good.


If you want to be the #1 client but are not currently, then you will add features that are popular even if you think they are crap. Some mIRC features are popular, but they may not be considered good by authors of other clients that add those features to their own.

Originally Posted By: Riamus2
I'm unsure of how a text smile isn't good enough to show that same thing. Most people using the internet (other than brand new users) understand at least the basic text smileys. As I said earlier, I do like the idea of being able to replace any text with any image through scripting. That would be useful rather than just aesthetic and could make for some very interesting scripts. It would also allow for emoticons to exist. That is a way to add functionality to the emoticon idea so that it's worth doing for reasons that are not aesthetic.


A text smile isn't good enough because there are only so many smileys that actually make sense.

I fail to see how :S represents confusion, :@ represents anger and :-* represents whispering. Unless you start using text-based smileys like : laugh : and : blush : which make little sense to use outside of a smiley-based environment, there's only so many smileys you can use that aren't nonsensical.

Originally Posted By: Riamus2
A large number to *use* English because that's the easiest method up until now. Now that we have UTF8, more and more are using that so they can talk in their own languages. Maybe I am wrong at the percent as well, but I still think that we have at least about 50% of users who are not from the United States or England or other countries that have English as a primary language. Of course, I guess that many languages do work with English characters, so that you don't need UTF8, so maybe it is a lower percent that actually use it. Still, I do believe it's a very important feature to a very large number of people.


As far as I know it's also the most international language. That would explain its popularity on the internet as well as speech.

Originally Posted By: Riamus2
Well, that isn't really an instant communication site... it is closer to a forum/e-mail communication site. Still, I admit that I may be wrong about the number using webcams for actual live video communication. The point I was making is that other similar instant communication software (such as IM) that has the ability to use video/voice don't have a large percentage of people actually using it.


Myspace was a bad example, but many social networking sites have instant chat applets as well as forums/guestbooks/etc.

Originally Posted By: m33p
IRC will get used the same way once everyone turns it into a instant messaging wanna be client. But you do have a point hixxy. I just don't like to see IRC turned into a instant messaging wanna be type thing... I just think theres tons of different features an things in the IRC community that should get worked on before it starts messing around with voice and video crap. I don't really think it makes IRC better nor really worse..


It would still be nothing like an instant messenger due to the fact you don't have to add people to your contact list/address book to speak to them, its main focus would not be one on one conversations, you do not have to login with a username/email address and password, and a myriad of other features available to mostly instant messaging clients. Saying it's going to be an IM wannabe is jumping the gun a little.

Originally Posted By: Riamus2

IRC was out long before other online instant chat methods. mIRC is meant for IRC, so not having chat wouldn't make sense. smile

The rest are valid questions, but I don't want to start debating all of those in this thread.


You have a point. That was a bad argument.

Originally Posted By: Riamus2
Maybe it's the channels I am often in, but most people I meet on IRC are more interested in privacy than in displaying their face for unknown people to see. Displaying your face to friends is one thing... to strangers is less desirable for many people. The whole a/s/l thing was popular for quite awhile once you started seeing AOL and IM stuff going around. It isn't anymore because people don't want to share that information. Privacy is becoming more and more of an issue with people (at least from my experience). That said, I don't frequent the #chat or #cafe channels or similar ones that are meant for trying to meet people. Of course, what percentage of IRC users do? (That's rhetorical as I'm sure no one has that data, but I'm sure it's a low number).


Those that value their privacy wouldn't be forced to use the voice/video features nor would they be forced to share any information they'd rather keep private. The point is these features would be there for those that would use them, but wouldn't have to be used if people didn't wish to use them.

I don't tend to ask people their ASL or if they want to go on webcam on IRC, so I can't really say whether it seems like the majority value their privacy, but I think that's largely based on an assumption and holds no weight in a debate. For one thing, if a lot of the people on the network(s) you frequent value privacy, then perhaps it's known for those reasons. Maybe it's known as a network where the people tend to be non-intrusive, which would result in more and more people that value their privacy joining.

As it happens, I find that filesharing channels are the most popular, followed by ones that talk about a popular subject such as music/tv, followed by general chat, followed by programming, and finally scripting. Then you get others that aren't really worth a mention. Obviously I've missed ones out in between, but I'm just giving a rough idea of the popularity of general chat vs. other subjects.

Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,330
Hoopy frood
Offline
Hoopy frood
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,330
All your points are valid even if they don't change my view. But, I'll comment on this last part.

Originally Posted By: hixxy
As it happens, I find that filesharing channels are the most popular, followed by ones that talk about a popular subject such as music/tv, followed by general chat, followed by programming, and finally scripting. Then you get others that aren't really worth a mention. Obviously I've missed ones out in between, but I'm just giving a rough idea of the popularity of general chat vs. other subjects.


Filesharing being the most popular, you can wipe out those from the list using video/voice. Music/TV mostly wouldn't either unless the channel is really a chat channel about Music/TV (which would fall lower on the scale than a general chat) or if a "star" is there. General chat could depending on the people. I still believe firmly that it's not a big percentage even within this bracket, though it would be the biggest percentage bracket of all of them. Programming and scripting generally won't use it either. Perhaps voice if it's general help. If it's actual scripting, writing it down so it can be copy/pasted is easier and works better, so those situations wouldn't use it. So really, from that list (It probably is missing things, but I'm not sure what right now), the only real place you'd find use of those features is general chat, which as you pointed out is not at the top of the list of popular channels.

And, yes, I know people frequent multiple channels of different types.

Either way, I doubt either of us will convince the other about the number of people we believe will use the feature. I don't mind it being added if it's optional, so we really don't need to debate it since we both agree that it's fine to add as long as it's optional. (Just trying to avoid an endless debate when we both agree about the main part-- being added or not)


Invision Support
#Invision on irc.irchighway.net
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2
M
Bowl of petunias
Offline
Bowl of petunias
M
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2
Just to let you know, mIRC does accept emoticons, i use a script that has them on.


Irc.Atrum.org - Irc.korras.za.net
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 87
I
Babel fish
Offline
Babel fish
I
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 87
its about a buildin option , options that are build in are better than added scripts.

Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,330
Hoopy frood
Offline
Hoopy frood
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,330
Yes, scripts allow for emoticons and video and voice. We know that. mIRC by itself does not support those, however. Built in will always be better than scripted if you're going to use it.


Invision Support
#Invision on irc.irchighway.net
Page 4 of 4 1 2 3 4

Link Copied to Clipboard