[easterncalculus]

My point is not to dis on IRC/chat rooms here, just explaining why I've never particularly found it engaging, and so I'm curious what others see in it, as I feel it's something I could learn to appreciate if I tried a bit harder.

I have also always felt this way, trying to get into it and thinking I'll enjoy it but never really succeeding. Maybe all of the people trying to get into it need to create a channel on Libera and just start talking?

IRC and all internet communities that rely on real-time communication have this implicit hurdle where you have to be comfortable talking to people you have never and will never meet.

I personally have never felt especially interested in internet friends and so when I see a Slack channel for something I'm interested in, I just lurk. There is something about the real-time nature of it that is harder to get into compared to sites like HN or reddit, where you can post something and not be as actively holding up a conversation; It's more work. It's also less interesting than doing it in person.

The upside of lurking on platforms like Slack is that every now and then, when someone posts a link, a job posting, something else that I find interesting, I can click on it and easily search for it. Without an IRC bouncer and checking in at regular intervals, I see less interesting stuff over time. You have to "be there", it seems. That's aside from the slow, questions only discussions you're referencing. My guess is that people who can't get into chat rooms, IRC, etc are not willing to check into these online spaces in the same way they do physical ones.

[GekkePrutser]

> I have also always felt this way, trying to get into it and thinking I'll enjoy it but never really succeeding. Maybe all of the people trying to get into it need to create a channel on Libera and just start talking?

Tbh if you're on hacker news you're already halfway there. You clearly like high-density no-nonsense communication and aren't put off by the lack of a glossy consumer app.

Slack is kinda IRC just more glossy though. I have a lot of time for slack groups, especially the professional ones like MacAdmins. Don't forget slack also has actual search (at least in the groups that pay for it).

But lurking is normal. When there's 500 users in a channel you don't want to go "hey everyone how's your day" constantly because nobody has time to keep up with that if everyone does it. Though if you're into that, there's offtopic channels usually with people that do have time for it.