Forum:Using the IRC

Nowadays, this site has more contributors than ever and fewer vandals than any of us have imagined. Our articles are growing more numerous and qualified at an astonishing rate. The prevalence of the Star Wars Fanon encyclopedia and community is showing great promise. If we continue at this rate, we will be one of the largest wikis in Wikia.

However, there is a drawback to rapid growth, and it can be found in the following: That newer users have less opportunity to be individually instructed by helpful experienced users, that a large community makes for less user-to-user bonds and there is more independence of each user and less interaction and collaboration, that some users will take a while mentally profiling the list of active contributors, their works, and their personalities, and that we can be intimidated by the amount of contributors and the amount they're contributing. This can be tied up into an analogy of a forum, which is usually a friendly discussion place for site-related topics.

To compensate for the forums that could become less welcoming, the IRC should be used more often. This has been suggested by more than one user, including Aiddat and GHe. I have been witness to the flexibility and efficiency of the IRC channels for Wikia and have concluded that IRC is an excellent place for discussing short-term site matters that would drag out for days on a forum.

This is why I started a Senate Hall page for this. We should discuss what ways, how often, and who should use the IRC messenger boards. They are a good replacement for "MSN Messenger" when the topic is site-related and is more accessible by every user on this site.

Ideas (add to if you want)

 * We could use the IRC in the manner of a periodic Mofference in the manner of the Wookieepedia for site-wide discussions. (Wookieepedia's Mofferences are usually crowded, jam-packed, and lagged, but our community is small enough for a very productive meet such as this.)
 * In addition, we could discuss ideas for community pages, policies, and collaborations. Jedi Master 76 and I had a rather fun conversation that did divert away from Star Wars Expedition, but was productive nonetheless.
 * We could use the IRC for queries of newcomers, so a more lifelike conversation can be made, and therefore more comfortable for the newcomers.
 * Minor problems or ideas that won't likely get nearly the attention that typical proposals and suggestions would can be discussed on a designated time on IRC.
 * Continuity between users can better be achieved through an instant relay communication.

Comments
Please discuss. If it is agreed that we should periodically and more regularly use this feature that has otherwise been ignored, I can and will create a page for scheduling and proposing IRC meets. --C3PO the Dragon Slayer 6,000,000 forms of communication 00:43, 7 December 2006 (UTC)