[FM Discuss] Instant Online Communication

[Janet Swisher]

For FLOSS Manuals projects, I have only ever used the IRC channel.
However, for my daily work I often use 1-to-1 instant messaging
(Gtalk, AIM, etc.). That works for me because I usually know exactly
who I need to ask questions of, and nobody else needs to be part of
the conversation. For a class, I think IRC or some other group chat
would be better so that more people can watch the discussion, even if
they're not participating.

The benefit of a discussion board system is that even people who
weren't online at the time of the discussion can search and read it,
and therefore benefit from it. In contrast, you can save IRC logs, but
they are often tedious to read and difficult to understand if you
weren't present at the time. So, there is a trade-off between the
real-time nature of chat, and the persistence of discussion boards.

--Janet

On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 10:21 AM, Tomi Toivio <tomi at flossmanuals.net> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I would like to make a quick question about: What kind of instant online
> communication technologies have you been using for FLOSS Manuals
> collaboration? Is it only our beloved IRC channel, or have you been using
> something else?
>
> We have been using Moodle for the university course that we have going on
> currently. This one was about translation, I am a bit worried we need
> something else as well when we start the technical writing course. There
> just haven't been so many conversations and questions arising from the
> translation process, but technical writing should require a lot more
> conversation. And of course Moodle is more like a discussion forum rather
> than a real instant messaging discussion.
>
> Since we are writing manuals and technology subjects are often easier to
> write down rather than explain orally, I would prefer just IRC. Or email for
> longer explanations.
>
> I just noticed again today how important it is to have a non-formal and
> chatty online conversation when you are working on an online collaborative
> project like this.
>
> We have to set up a Finnish speaking IRC channel for FLOSS Manuals at some
> stage. But should we have something like a discussion board as well?
>
> --
> Best Regards
> Tomi Toivio
> Open Source Coordinator
> http://fi.flossmanuals.net/
> tomi at flossmanuals.net
> +358445488856
>
>
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