IRC
This post is just for listing the Pros and Cons of using IRC for UG@
Pros
• Designed to be a group chat program, and actually supports it, unlike AIM. Additionally, if there are problems, each server has staff to help with them.
• Affords players a level of anonymity, if they don't want their AIM handles known.
• People can use their character/machine name as their handle, so it's clear who everyone is playing in missions.
• Affords the mods some level of security, since they can kick out/ban people if it's needed.
• For IC chat, the channel can be set so that only people given "voice" can comment. This would allow the mods to set it so that only those participating in the battle can post, avoiding some of the misfires meant for OOC chat.
• Can be used through multiple programs, including Trillian, plug-ins for Firefox and other browsers, or even through web-clients, making it easier for people to connect, even if they're not at home.
• If people are using a stand-alone client, they can set up "pings", so that the program alerts them when someone mentions their character name. This can help people make sure to catch actions and reacts, or catch when someone's trying to get their attention.
• More stable than AIM, so less connection problems.
• May be able to attract players who don't have/have problems with AIM.
• Channels can be password protected, and the password can be changed periodically, so that if there are problems with non-players coming into the channel and causing problems, they won't be able to get in.
• We already have a FAQ for battle commands, it wouldn't be too hard to add another for IRC commands.
• Once a room is registered, it's permanent (provided it doesn't go too long with no one entering), so welcome messages, settings, etc, can be set once and no need for repeating (unless they need adjustments).
• All mods can be set as auto-op, so that they're given Ops status every time they enter chat. Since all clients denote ops in the userlist in a visual way (separate, with an @, etc), anyone coming into the channel to ask questions can just look for the Ops, instead of having to ask "is there a mod in here?"
• Scripts can be set up to repeat initiative, or enemy counts. If a bot is set up, you can make it so that anyone can ask the bot for that info, and the bot will repeat it.
• Due to the ability to do colored text and such, NPCs, AIs, Haros, etc, could have custom fonts in-chat.
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Cons
• There is a learning curve. Not that big of one, but there are aspects of IRC that confuse people. The slash commands can be especially confusing, especially since not all clients display them the same, which makes it harder to make an FAQ for it.
• Everyone already has AIM.
• Unlike AIM, anyone can use any name not in use on the server. This means that there is a chance for impersonation. (This can be avoided by people registering and protecting their names, however, which will bump people without the password off the name)
• Because you can join any unprotected channel on any server, there's a shared pool of handles. This could mean that if someone's character name is already in use, they'll have to find a creative alternative to being able to use it.
• Not that we'd likely hit it, but there is a user cap on channels. We believe it's over 50-75, however.
• If we want the "voice" option for mission chat, we'd have to use the same mission channel each time, otherwise the settings have to be repeated every time.
• Netsplits (basically, multiple connection servers, and they stop connecting to each other). However, that's about on par with AIM crapping out, and it generally happens less often, depending on the server.
•
Pros
• Designed to be a group chat program, and actually supports it, unlike AIM. Additionally, if there are problems, each server has staff to help with them.
• Affords players a level of anonymity, if they don't want their AIM handles known.
• People can use their character/machine name as their handle, so it's clear who everyone is playing in missions.
• Affords the mods some level of security, since they can kick out/ban people if it's needed.
• For IC chat, the channel can be set so that only people given "voice" can comment. This would allow the mods to set it so that only those participating in the battle can post, avoiding some of the misfires meant for OOC chat.
• Can be used through multiple programs, including Trillian, plug-ins for Firefox and other browsers, or even through web-clients, making it easier for people to connect, even if they're not at home.
• If people are using a stand-alone client, they can set up "pings", so that the program alerts them when someone mentions their character name. This can help people make sure to catch actions and reacts, or catch when someone's trying to get their attention.
• More stable than AIM, so less connection problems.
• May be able to attract players who don't have/have problems with AIM.
• Channels can be password protected, and the password can be changed periodically, so that if there are problems with non-players coming into the channel and causing problems, they won't be able to get in.
• We already have a FAQ for battle commands, it wouldn't be too hard to add another for IRC commands.
• Once a room is registered, it's permanent (provided it doesn't go too long with no one entering), so welcome messages, settings, etc, can be set once and no need for repeating (unless they need adjustments).
• All mods can be set as auto-op, so that they're given Ops status every time they enter chat. Since all clients denote ops in the userlist in a visual way (separate, with an @, etc), anyone coming into the channel to ask questions can just look for the Ops, instead of having to ask "is there a mod in here?"
• Scripts can be set up to repeat initiative, or enemy counts. If a bot is set up, you can make it so that anyone can ask the bot for that info, and the bot will repeat it.
• Due to the ability to do colored text and such, NPCs, AIs, Haros, etc, could have custom fonts in-chat.
•
Cons
• There is a learning curve. Not that big of one, but there are aspects of IRC that confuse people. The slash commands can be especially confusing, especially since not all clients display them the same, which makes it harder to make an FAQ for it.
• Everyone already has AIM.
• Unlike AIM, anyone can use any name not in use on the server. This means that there is a chance for impersonation. (This can be avoided by people registering and protecting their names, however, which will bump people without the password off the name)
• Because you can join any unprotected channel on any server, there's a shared pool of handles. This could mean that if someone's character name is already in use, they'll have to find a creative alternative to being able to use it.
• Not that we'd likely hit it, but there is a user cap on channels. We believe it's over 50-75, however.
• If we want the "voice" option for mission chat, we'd have to use the same mission channel each time, otherwise the settings have to be repeated every time.
• Netsplits (basically, multiple connection servers, and they stop connecting to each other). However, that's about on par with AIM crapping out, and it generally happens less often, depending on the server.
•