IrcGuidelines

Revision 2 as of 2006-01-10 19:32:25

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attachment:IconsPage/IconWarning3.png This document is a draft and supposed to be presented to the Community Council pretty soon, do not yet take it for granted

The #ubuntu IRC channel is growing very quick, at the moment of writing there are 600 to 700 people in the channel every day. Keeping a pleasant atmosphere in #ubuntu has been the main cause for it to be so nice. #ubuntu is the home for quite a few people that provide support to anyone that needs it. The operators of the channel do lots of work to keep the channel friendly and to keep people happy.

This all is made possible because they adhere to a certain set of unwritten rules, which over time became more strict. Lately, more people began wondering about what is allowed and what not, especially since operators became more strict. That's why I decided to write this down. I want to discuss these rules with the Community Council before even wanting to call them 'The rules of #ubuntu', they are however the de facto rules so far.

The [http://www.ubuntu.com/community/conduct Code of Conduct] should always be obeyed:

  • This one should not need further explanation, the Code of Conduct forms the basics of the pleasant atmosphere in Ubuntu. Being nice to each other, being cooperative and respecting each other is a must.

Don't flood the channel:

  • Flooding the channel disrupts all conversations. Don't do it. If you want to show large texts, such as errors, use [http://paste.ubuntu-nl.org the pastebin]

Don't use public away messages:

  • [http://sackheads.org/~bnaylor/spew/away_msgs.html really, dont!] Image 600 people doing that. It's not a pretty sight. If you use away messages, you will get kicked without warning. Given that you are away, a warning would not help anyway; consider a kick to be a warning since it will be followed by a ban if you don't stop using them.

Don't repeat your question every few minutes:

  • #ubuntu is a support channel, tha means lots of people are asking questions. We do our best to answer them all but are not omniscient. If you don't get answers immediately, wait a few minutes before asking again. If it's busy: wait even longer. If no one answers: don't get mad, maybe no one knows. You can always try the [http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users mailinglist].

Bot abuse:

  • #ubuntu has an infobot, it's called Ubotu. Do not abuse this bot, or use a lot of triggers in a short amount of time. Adding spam or stupid items to the bot will cause you to be excluded from the channel. More info on ubotu can be found on [UbotuUsage his wikipage]

English only:

  • #ubuntu is an english-only channel. There are a lot of [InternetRelayChat channels in other languages]. If you talk on #ubuntu in another language you will be pointed to these channels. The infobot has triggers like !es for spanish, !nl for dutch and so on. If you continue speaking in another language you will be removed from the channel.

Don't be annoying:

  • Apart from flooding, away messages, repeating and bot abuse there are much more ways you can be annoying. Many people for instance start behaving badly after an operator warns them. Such behaviour will be rewarded with a ban.

When helping: be helpful:

  • Any help is appreciated of course, but you should help people solve their problems. If you get stuck, tell that instead of guessing; someone else will step up and continue. There is hepas of information available on the wiki, [http://ubuntu.cc.com.au in the infobot] and at other places, try to familiarize yourself with that. Telling people to RTFM or [http:///www.justfuckinggoogleit.com JFGI] is not done, at least give them some directions to documentation they can use. Do not recommend outdated and bad information such as ubuntuguide.org or bad solutions such as using install-css.sh from libdvdread, running java-installer.bin files directly or using automatix. For all these things there are much better alternatives available.

Don't ask for operator privileges:

  • It won't help. Whenever #ubuntu needs new operators, we will ask the helpful and polite members of the chat whether they want to take the responsibility. Don't ask to become an operator, you will only be ignored. Being an operator in #ubuntu is not a privilege, it's a responsibility.

The operators in #ubuntu all signed the Ubuntu code of conduct, most of them are Ubuntu members too, which means they are active comtributors to Ubuntu and the Ubuntu community. This however does not mean they stand above others. They do their best to keep #ubuntu a friendly place, but they're also human so they make mistakes. If you disagree with the decision of an operator, then talk to him about it in a polite manner. Cursing and swearing will only get you ignored. If talking to the operator himself does not give you a solution you like, then talk to anoter operator. If that neither helps, write down the issue and bring it to the next Community Council meeting. You should make full, unedited logs of anything you don't agree with available. So far this measure has been needed less than a handful of time, which is a good indication that simply talking to operators will work. Whatever you do in case of conflict: do NOT go to #ubuntu-devel. #ubuntu-devel is for development discussion, not for escalating issues from #ubuntu. The people in #ubuntu-devel can't and won't help you.