IRCNEWBIES III
"Beyond The Foundation"
By Brad Ireland
It would be a momentous achievement and a great leap forward for ircnewbies if people were able to learn from history, were able to reconcile their differences with each other, were able to work with each other as a team, have the desire and be prepared to put in the needed effort to make positive changes, look past quick fix solutions that don't provide long term meaningful solutions and build strong foundations for the channel to operate on.
Foundations made up of a principle based mission statement, principle based channel guidelines and language use policy. As much as ircnewbies would be a better place if it could achieve all of this, achieving these things is only the beginning of the process, not the end.
A house is made up of more then strong and solid foundations. A house also needs a sturdy framework that supports the walls and roof of the house. Issues such as how ircnewbies is managed and operated on a day to day basis, how bots are used, how channel bans are used, how people communicate, discuss and distribute information and the type of customer service the channel provides make up this framework. All these issues can influence and impact on the whole channel in a number of positive or negative ways.
If the channel is to become a more positive, productive and creative place then these issues need to be seriously discussed and agreements reached with all interested parties.
Channel Management Style
For many years ircnewbies ran and operated under a system that I refer to as Group Rule. Group Rule works on the idea that basically all the Ops in the channel are equal. No one is more important then anyone else. Everyone has a voice in making/changing/maintaining channel guidelines, channel operations, long term bans, choosing new Ops and the various other discussions that take place about channel business. In some ways Group Rule can be compared to a situation where people are all equal partners in a business.
Having everyone involved in the channel management can assist people to add value and contribute positively to the channel, allowing them to develop and work more effectively as a team, can increase morale and motivate people, can empower people and encourage them to take initiative, can give people a sense of ownership, can allow people to solve problems together and use others as sounding boards about various things and very importantly can improve communication, understanding and interaction between Ops in any channel.
All of these have great potential benefits for ircnewbies and they all steam from a shared vision (people having the same/similar motivations and desires) and Group Rule.
I personally believe very strongly in Group Rule as I see it as a form of Self-determination, a way of having personal freedom and freedom of expression and most importantly a principled method of running any channel. It's the only system of channel management I totally support and embrace to run any IRC channel because it is the only totally fair and open way to run a channel. some others do not share my views and dislike the system of Group Rule due in part to problems they sometimes unfairly associate to this style of channel management.
Some people say that Group Rule can never work or they don't use it because with a group of people you can never really get full or majority agreement and cooperation with everyone involved. People also point out that with Group Rule there are fights, arguments, bickering and disputes among Ops. The decision making process is slower and sometimes ineffective and things like voting are difficult to mange.
The opinions people have formed about Group Rule I believe are based on how it used to operate in ircnewbies. These problems with Group Rule weren't problems with the system but were a reflection more on how people communicated, interacted and behaved towards each other. It also had to do with the lack of a channel mission and workable set of channel guidelines along with peoples desires and motivations not matching or compatible with the purpose or function of ircnewbies (See part 4).
One individual or small group of individuals acting as managers and leaders of a channel is what I call the One Op Leader / Small Group style of management. If this style of management isn't implemented in a totally honest, open and fair way there is the very real threat that the protections, rights, freedoms and due process that people have with Group Rule will be wiped away at the whim of one individual or small group of individuals. The danger of these things happening is dramatically increased if the individual or individuals running the channel is the third type of self interested Op I have described previously in part 2.
With this One Op Leader / Small group style what accountability and responsibilities does a One Op leader or small group have to the channel and the people within it? Do they have to run the channel in a totally open and transparent manner? How can the channel, the Ops and other regulars/newbies be protected against a One Op leader or small group who are more interested in them selves and the good times they can have while online then the well-being of other people in the channel or operation of the channel itself?
Consider the situation if Op A is in charge and they have personality conflicts with Op B or Regular C, but Op B or Regular C hasn't done anything that effects the channels operation or security what mechanism is in or could be put into place to stop Op A from getting rid of Op B (e.g. removing Op access from bots), removing Regular C (eg kicking/Banning them) or influencing other Ops via various means to get rid of Op B or Regular C. What if Op A wants to remove Op B's Bot that is needed to run the channel for no justifiable reason?
With this One Op Leader or Small Group style of management is it possible to question or appeal in a constructive way against changes made to channel rules, operations, direction (purpose) or functioning of the channel. Is it possible to appeal or question anything the One Op Leader or small group proposes, says or does without the threat real or implied of retaliation (Flooding, Banning, Nuking, intimidation, harassment or other types of retaliation) against the person or persons questioning the leader Op or small group? Is it possible to appeal and get an independent and fair hearing regarding any of the questions and issues I've just asked about?
Group Rule was dropped because of the perceived problems with this system. Others and I believe that since this change in channel management style ircnewbies has and continues to suffer from a lack of leadership that remains true to the aims and objectives ircnewbies had when it was founded. Many of the problems that I've discussed in this series of articles can be tracked or linked back to the change in management style and thinking.
The channel should reinstate Group Rule or the One Op or Small Group leaders should have to operate in a totally honest, fair, ethical, professional, open, responsible and accountable manner towards everyone else involved with the channel and remain true to the original aims and objectives of the channel..
While I'm a strong advocate of Group Rule I do acknowledge if done correctly the One Op / Small Group style can also potentially benefit a channel. It is very rare indeed in my experience that this style can work to the benefit of a channel or people in it.
Channel Bots 101 & Bot Owners
The history of ircnewbies and other channels show another issue frequently linked to disputes, fights and in the worst cases channel wars and splits are bots. The basic functions of channel Bots are to automate various functions on an IRC channel such as Opping Ops, kicking, banning, protecting the channel from flooders/troublemakers and setting the other channel modes. Some IRC networks such as Dalnet, New Net or Galaxy Net have channel and nickname registration services available reducing the need altogether for and importance of Ops and Bots.
Efnet has no such channel or nickname registration services operating, meaning that to keep any channel running and open at least one Op needs to be in the channel 24 hours a day. For channels that have enough Ops this might not be a problem but for channels that don't it is impractical for one Op to stay in the channel so one or more bots are used. Using their Internet Service Providers or other computers permanently connected to the Internet people are able to run bots. Bots are common on Efnet but not everyone runs a bot due to the knowledge needed to be able to set one up and maintain it for use on IRC.
Bots also have security systems built into them, which is used to determine who can access and use the bots various features and functions. A bot has different access levels known as Flags, for example you may have a flag that allows you to ask the bot to Op you in a channel. The highest Flags or levels of access in a bot are known as Owner and Master flags.
A channel Op on Efnet depends on access to one of the channels bots to actually Op when they join a channel. If an Op doesn't have access to any Bots or any already Opped Ops they are effectively unable to Op. So far this is all pretty straightforward sounding, so you might ask why are bots so frequently linked with so many disputes, channel wars and splits within channels. The problem is not with bots themselves but their owners and how they choose to operate the bots they run or have access to. Although all Ops should be treated as equals, bot owners effectively have more power then other Ops.
Bot owners like One Op Leaders or small groups that run channels need to be responsible, accountable, open, honest and realize the obligations associated with running a bot in an IRC channel, especially if they are running a bot in a Help/Info/Service type of channel. The whole issue of Bots, their use and what the various responsibilities of Bot owners are within ircnewbies needs to be discussed and some type of agreement reached so people are protected as much as possible against bot owners who abuse the trust other Ops give to them and power they have over everyone else due to the fact they happen to run a bot.
An agreement on Bot use and responsibilities of owners would hopefully reduce the chances of bot owners taking the law into their own hands to try and resolve or force a resolution of channel disputes on other people, or in other words to stop the minority making choices that effect the majority. Bot Owners are not any better then other Ops or people within the channel are they? Bot owners shouldn't use their bots as a method to place themselves above other people should they?
A bot agreement would also reduce the chances of bot owners removing the access to a bot of an individual or the entire group of Ops (20+ people) during channel disputes (such as has previously happened in April 96 and September 98 just to name two occasions this has happened) or when bot owners are having personal disagreement or conflict with another Op. Removing people's access to the bot is generally a quick fix and not a meaningful or long-term solution. More constructive ways of conflict resolution need to be found and used instead of resorting to easy ineffective quick fixes that accomplish nothing.
The operation and management of bots is vital to ircnewbies and other channels operations so this issue needs to be constructively, openly addressed and agreement reached in a similar way that the channel needs to develop a mission statement. If some sort of agreement could be reached for Bots and their operations within ircnewbies, ircnewbies could avoid many of the problems that have previously plagued it.
Channel Bans
As mentioned one of the uses of channel bots is to set and maintain a channel ban list. I can only think broadly of only two reasons why a channel ban would have to be set. This is when an individual or group of individuals is somehow threatening/disrupting the channel in terms of its operation/security or secondly people threatening or abusing other people within the channel.
Would it be right to kick someone or set a ban on them simply because an Op doesn't personally like the person? I would say that using a bot to ban someone simply because an Op has had a falling out with a another person, an Op doesn't agree with something someone said (as long as it wasn't abusive), an Op had a personality conflict with someone or because an Op held a grudge agonist someone for some past event are not valid, professional or fair reasons to set a ban within a bot. It would appear however that at least some ircnewbies Ops seem to think or give the impression that it is ok to use a bot to ban people for purely personal reasons that have nothing to do with channel.
I can think of at least six people (including myself) in the past 12 months that were or are currently on a ban list in ircnewbies for no reason that is related to the operation or security of the channel. History would show that there have been many other occasions over the years where bots have been misused to set bans for personal not channel reasons. It's possible some of the bans have not been removed because the ban list of the bots (I'm told) is not maintained on a regular basis. The only other conclusion I and others can draw for such bans being in place is that the bans are there on purpose and for no justifiable reason.
The practice of Ops setting bans for purely personal reasons should be discontinued within ircnewbies and other channels. Ops who ban on a regular basis for personal reasons show they have poor conflict resolution skills or low maturity levels. Any personal bans currently in the bots should be removed, no ifs no buts. Doing so is the fair and honest not to mention ethical.
The length of the ban shouldn't be permanent, at least not at first. The person should be warned first and then kicked. If warning and kicking doesn't work then they should be banned. Due to the warning and kicking the person should have a clear understanding of why they were banned when/if they are banned. After a certain period of time for example two hours the person or individuals should have the ban removed. If they offend again a ban that lasts for a longer period of time should be served. If after this they offend again then consideration should be given to making the ban long term (a month) or even permanent.
A person should also have the right to a fair and independent hearing to request that a ban be removed, in a similar way that sports people can appeal a ban on competition. One banning offence shouldn't always mean banned forever. After alll most people deserve a second chance.
Communication / Interaction
Internet Relay Chat is all about individuals and groups of people communicating and interacting with each other on a variety of subjects. You might expect then everyone would be great at communicating with each other but all to often both minor and major disputes can be tracked back to communication related issues. Communication related problems could and have caused misunderstandings and disputes between individuals or groups to take place. Communication problems have been a big problem on ircnewbies and other channels I've been part of and caused some channels to fall apart altogether.
Good quality, positive and constructive communication is essential. It is one of the basic ingredients for running any IRC channel but is at times overlooked as being important to the successful operation of a channel. Good quality, positive and constructive communication among channel Ops, Regulars and the newbies/visitors can really help to reduce the chances of disputes or misunderstandings taking place or if they do take place stopping them from escalating out of control into major disputes.
One of the biggest reasons there are so many communication problems on IRC is the method of communication that everyone must use when on IRC. When people communicate or interact with each other face to face they can draw not only on the words (text) used by the person or persons they are talking to but also the tone of the voice, the volume of the voice, facial expressions such as smiling and other body language used to gain an understanding and determine the meaning of the other person.
While on IRC the process of communication is hampered by the fact that people only have access to the words (text) on a screen to try and gain an understanding or meaning of what is being typed (said). People should be aware of this and take this into account before reacting or responding. For example could the person be attempting to be funny but you think they are serious? Trying to seek first to understand before reacting or trying to be understood by others is something everyone should try to do. It will help to avoid misunderstandings from happening.
When operating and managing a channel on IRC the frequency of communication among Ops is very important. Information and discussions about events that have taken place on a channel, trouble makers, bans or kicks that have been set or taken place on the channel, bot breakdowns or changes made to the bots, nominations for new Ops and discussion about proposed changes to the operation/function of a channel needs to be distributed and provided to all channel Ops on a regular basis.
Distributing and providing this information before changes take place (if possible) can stop people from becoming angry or upset after they discover changes have been made on the channel. In other words distributing of information can prevent communication problems. Not enough communication can lead to communication breakdowns between channel Ops and can lead to minor and major disputes taking place, at least it has in the past.
If communication breakdowns or disputes happen the best of channels can turn bad or they can even cease operation entirely. On the other hand there can be too much communication as well. Too much can cause people to switch off and stop listening or contributing, which also has disadvantages for a channel. Any IRC channel needs to find a balance that means there is enough information but not too much shared between all channel Ops.
Whether the outcome of communication between individuals or groups is positive or negative often depends on simple things but people tend to forget about them or not think they are as important on IRC as they are in real life. It's important to always remain calm, be polite, courteous and respectful towards other Ops, channel Regulars or newbies/visitors you interact with, even if they are not. It reflects positively on your character and maturity level if you resist the natural human temptation to react to such provocation and reflect negatively on the character and maturity level of the other person.
If you are talking, discussing or trying to explain something to one or more people avoid the temptation to label people, apportion blame to them personally, call them names, swear at them, abuse them or stereotype them. Doing any of these will cause or make it more difficult for the conversation to remain on the original topic and continue to be constructive. It is human nature for someone to react in a negative manner to perceived provocation or attacks on them from others.
Whatever you were discussing or trying to achieve no matter how valid or important will get lost or be ignored due to the fact the other person will put their efforts into reacting to the perceived provoking or attack on them. You should also remember that some people will attempt to bait you into reacting as a means of avoiding talking about, dealing with or taking action about a particular issue or situation.
If there could be good quality, positive and constructive communication between everyone involved in the channel, then ircnewbies would be a much better place and be able to solve many of it's problems. Two practical ways of improving communication between channel Ops is to have an Ops Email list and have regular Op meetings.
Ops Email List and Meetings
Two practical ways of discussing channel issues, distributing information and communicating effectively among all channel Ops is to use an Ops Email list and have regular Ops meetings. Both have been problematic for ircnewbies in the past but with improved communications among people, people working more as a team and having a shared vision for the channel these two methods of communication could be very rewarding for the channel Ops and the channel as a whole.
Around the world email is used extensively by millions of people in their homes and in businesses. It is an effective and accepted practice for keeping in touch with people and distributing information. In ircnewbies there has been in the past an Ops email list. The list was used to discuss any channel business. Topics discussed were varied and covered many subjects. When it was used correctly the email list informed all Ops of what was going on within the channel and allowed discussion of important issues related to channel operations and management.
The problems that ircnewbies had with using the email list was at times people wouldn't use the list for channel discussions or distributing information but use it for the wrong reasons. One of the most common misuse was that people used the list to carry out personal disputes, others would then take sides and write lengthy replies filing the inboxes of Ops and making it a time consuming process to read and reply to all the email going through the list.
What happened on the list often then spread to the channel or vice versa. If Ops agreed on an email code of conduct then many of the problems associated with the use of the list would be resolved. I would strongly recommend that if the list is not currently in use that it be established again and used to discuss channel issues and distribute information.
The practice of having regular Op meetings which is basically a time when all Ops are present and discuss channel business on a temp channel could be an effective way of distributing and discussing channel business. Some issues are better discussed in real time rather then in emails. Like the email list though Op meetings for the channel did accomplish things when used correctly.
Op meetings had the same types of problems as the email list though. Many meetings instead of being used to talk constructively and seriously about channel business often went way off whatever the topic was and degenerated into fights or open warfare in some cases. There were also problems with getting a time that all Ops could attend and dealing with the constant interruptions caused by netsplits and lag.
Despite the potential problems with holding Op meetings I still believe that they could be effective if the meetings were conducted professionally using improved communication by all Ops. It would also help if people were actually prepared to discuss in a calm, rational, respectful and serious manner channel related issues. The standard of communication is the key to the success or failure of such meetings or the use of an email list.
Customer Service
If you were to walk into a shop or store and the sales person were to ignore you, make fun of you, use foul language while talking to you, ridicule you, harass you and basically not provide the goods or services that the store or shop promoted themselves as selling or providing then you probably wouldn't stay long in the shop or store and you probably wouldn't go back any time soon. You may even tell your friends about the experience and advise that they don't go to the shop or store in question.
People have expectations and form opinions based on of how they should be treated by staff, what type of goods are sold or what services are provided to them, when they look at the name of the store, the promotion of the store and previous experience with similar types of stores they've dealt with in the past. The same is true I believe for IRC channels, especially help channels. A channel's name and how it is promoted give people an impression and expectation of what they will find if they join that channel.
The mIRC program has become over the years the most popular program for people to use to connect to IRC. Some of the thousands of channels that exist on IRC such as ircnewbies have been recognised by the creator of mIRC and listed in the default channel list that pops up when mIRC is started. Many channels want to be added to this list of channels due in part to the status and the fact that a listing means the channel will have a regular stream of new people joining the channel. The self interested third type of Op I discussed in part II is sometimes attracted to the listed channels.
With a listing though, comes some expectations from people joining the channels. These expectations don't really apply so much to fun and chat channels but people expect that a channel claiming to be or promoting itself as a Help Channel (such as ircnewbies does in the channel list) to actually provide help and information in a polite and professional manner.
At one time ircnewbies had a good reputation on Efnet and a commitment by most of the Ops at the time to provide a high level of customer service to newbies joining the channel. They did this by concentrating on providing well prepared and written help information and assistance to anyone who joined the channel, providing they were not trouble makers. They also created an atmosphere that attracted people to the channel and kept them coming back. Doing this I believe is what earned ircnewbies it's position on the channel list and the Ops in the channel knew the responsibilities and obligations towards people joining the channel that came with such a listing.
Some people might suggest that the ircnewbies of the past focused too much on help and not enough on fun. If that's true then the ircnewbies of today has in many people's minds gone from a help focused channel with a nice atmosphere to a fun focused channel with an at times sleazier atmosphere and little priority given to providing help, although there are some Ops who still provide help and assistance when they can.
If ircnewbies is still a help channel it needs to focus more on helping people, providing information and providing a service to people joining the channel that lives up to the expectations people formed about the channel based on it's name and it's promotion in the channel list of mIRC.
That said the channel still also needs a healthy does of fun but this fun shouldn't prevent the channel from providing help, information and service for the newbies that use the channel. A workable balance needs to be found between help and fun that everyone can live with. There shouldn't be too much fun that it prevents the channel from doing what it was originally intended to do, help people learn mIRC/IRC. A balance might not be easy to find but it would be worthwhile and benefit the channel in the long run.
A Channel Web Site
It's becoming more common these days it seems for IRC channels to have a web site associated with the channel. These web sites have such things as channel information, guidelines/policies/procedures, rules, pictures and information on Ops and channel regulars, channel statistics, channel logs and links to various web sites. Some of the help channels such as irchelp on Efnet have done a great job of centrally locating mIRC and IRC help information. Doing this extends the services the channel can provide to its users and can act as a promotion or advertisement for the channel to attract people to the channel.
While there have been attempts at creating an ircnewbies web site by many individuals in the past there has been no coordinated team effort to create a web site for the channel. There are several experienced and wanna be web page designers involved with ircnewbies who could pool their skills, knowledge and efforts to develop and maintain a web site for the channel. I believe with a team effort that we could succeed where previous attempts have failed and produce a web site that is as good if not better then any on the web today.
A web site is one way to keep Ops interested and motivated about the channel giving them an alternative way of contributing to the channel. If the web site included tutorials or frequently asked questions sections then Ops wouldn't have to answer these questions as often on the channel as we could refer newbies to the web site to get up and running with the more basic style of questions.
The web site could also contain information that isn't easy to explain on the channel. All Ops could contribute in some way to the web site making it a truly team effort and production that we could be proud of. Web sites work for other channels and I believe it could work well for ircnewbies.
Conclusion
I have hope and faith that what I have written about in part 1, 2 and 3 is not impossible to achieve, although the road or way ahead will not always be easy to travel, especially at the beginning. The combination of a strong foundation made up and based on principle based channel mission statement, principle based channel guidelines and fair language use policy.
Which supports a sturdy framework and walls made up of responsible and accountable transparent channel management, bot use including bans and improved communication between everyone on the channel and an renewed balanced focus on customer service would create an almost totally new positive and creative atmosphere on ircnewbies.
Given these circumstances ircnewbies could potentially achieve much more then it's been capable of before. Such improvements would reduce the disputes and fights that have engulfed the channel previously and give the channel a very bright and rewarding future.
Given the potentially positive results of such changes isn't what I've written about worth at least serious consideration?
