how should we use IRC? [was: agenda...]

Ziv Hellman wrote:
> 
> >where:  W3C Zakim bridge, room "WEBO"
> >       tel:+1-617-761-6200#9326
> >
> >       and supplimentary IRC channel
> >               irc://irc.openprojects/net/webont
> >       logged in
> >               http://ilrt.org/discovery/chatlogs/webont/
> 
> could you elucidate what "supplementary IRC channel" means?

Yes; sorry I left a lot unsaid... I use the combination
of IRC and the phone for remote participation all the time,
but I'm sure the idea is new to lots of folks here...

> Does this
> mean we are expected simultaneously to join the tele-conference and the
> chat room?

It means you are welcome to. It is by no means obligatory.

I find that

	-- when the teleconference bridge goes haywire,
	it's nice to have a supplimentary real-time channel.

	-- it's nice if the chair and scribe can share a text channel,
	so that the chair can tell if the scribe is getting the
	essential points

	-- it's nice if the participants can say "I'd like the
	floor" over IRC without using the much more scarce
	audio bandwidth.

	-- a near-real-time transcription of what's going
	on helps a lot in the case of participants that aren't
	native English speakers. It made a world of
	differences in teleconferences with our Japanese
	colleagues in the W3C team.

	-- it's also nice if the participants can
	make clarifications, provide pointers to relevant
	resources, etc.

Meanwhile, W3C requires that folks use email
and HTTP (and, per our charter, telephones and airplanes ;-)
but we do not require that folks have simultaneous
phone and Internet access; if folks feel that the use of
the IRC channel by some folks excludes them from
fully participating, we can tone down our use of it.

Another point: Peter noted some difficulties with
OpenProjects, and suggested we might want to switch
IRC providers. W3C doesn't run openprojects.net,
nor the realtime log into HTTP space
( http://ilrt.org/discovery/chatlogs/webont/ ). They're
provided on an as-is basis.

If the group wants supported IRC service, I can
look into that; but that's not what we have now.


-- 
Dan Connolly, W3C http://www.w3.org/People/Connolly/

Received on Thursday, 29 November 2001 13:49:42 UTC