[PLUG] Joining IRC channels using Riot/Matrix (and some IRC tips)

[Tejas Sanap]

Good morning folks,

On Thu, Aug 22, 2019 at 09:30:32AM +0530, Amey Abhyankar wrote:
> We need to find a solution which is user friendly
I think user-friendly is a relative term. Setting up IRC on an android
device is no different than setting up whatsapp or telegram. I know
people who think using irssi through ssh on their android phones is not
difficult, either. I think, what is lacking is *good tutorials*.
> which will not use too much resources on mobile
> phone/laptop/desktop/IoT devices etc.
A normal ZNC instance for 25~30 people can run comfortably on a Pi.

> Many organisations,banks,payment companies use whatsapp/wechat/telegram.
> Is there any reason why we don't want to opt for these services?
They are not FOSS nor do they care about our privacy.
> Keeping in mind that we are not going to discuss anything very
> confidential, above options may serve the purpose.
As members of PLUG, and using tools to do "PLUG" work, we are
*obligated* to use tools that are FOSS.
I think, due to the great influx of new users to linux in the past 2~3
years, has given a boost to the use of proprietary software on the linux
platform. We can see this clearly with how many distributions now
provide proprietary softwares in their official repositories. I won't
deny the fact that many FOSS projects lack the finishing touches that
proprietary softwares have.

> There will be decline in adopting odd solutions like Riot/ZNC until
> they are fully mature enough.
ZNC is mature and stable. It has been in development for the last 15
years (since 2004). Please check out: https://wiki.znc.in/Providers to
see how companies and IRC networks are deploying ZNC on large scales.
We fail to percieve those solutions as "mature" because they are not
marketed to us in that manner. In terms of support, ZNC has great
community support. I can vouch for that.

> We wont be seeing any new users at Riot/ZNC sadly.
I couldn't agree more but that's why we must increase our efforts to
bring people to IRC instead of opting for other platforms.

> I did a quick survey recently and figured out 99% IT newbies are not
> aware about IRC nor they use it :-)
This again brings us back to the good tutorials issue. I think this is a
point where the folks at `hashtag dgplug` should be commended. Their insistance
on the whole "learn from blogs and blog to teach" model is the right way
to solve this problem. If, you find that using a software is tricky,
share whatever you have found through a blog. Even, if you don't
actually manage to get the software working. What is more amazing is
that they have proven it works. I know CS and IT graduates who don't how
to open terminals in linux and think that "ubuntu" is "linux" (and, yes,
they score very-well in their exams).

> Same for IT techies working at fancy MNC's at Hinjewadi/EON IT Park.
> They use meetup.com aggressively.
Yes, that's just sad. But, no good alternatives exist for meetup.com. A
similar issue can be found with youtube.

# Conclusion

In the end, a "normal Joe" will look for convinience and will want tools
that "just work". But, how can we make softwares that are seemingly
difficult easy? I would give you the example of NeoMutt. Lord knows,
configuring neomutt for the first time is a nasty experience. The linux
youtuber Luke Smith, solved this problem by creating a installation
wizard for neomutt. You can find it here:
https://github.com/LukeSmithxyz/mutt-wizard
(Yes, I am a Luke Smith fanboi).

"All good things take time"

-- 
Tejas Sanap.
(whereistejas on Freenode)
https://whereistejas.me