[wp-docs] IRC users list

[Scott Merrill]

Matt Mullenweg wrote:
> Scott Merrill wrote:
> 
>> Since the bots all allow other people to adjust your definition, I
>> don't think this is a very reliable option.  Also, what happens when a
>> bot is offline?
> 
> 
> Wikis allow other people to adjust your definition as well. 

True, but wikis include a public revision history, and the bots
generally don't.

> I think all
> of Relle's points are valid, I wouldn't want to create/maintain an
> "a-list" of IRC people any more than I would for anything else. It's
> exclusionary, elitist, emotional, and I think it will cause more trouble
> than it's worth. 

I can agree with this.

> If people on IRC are looking for more recognition may
> we could do something different, like have a poll on the most helpful
> IRC users and then send them a WP t-shirt or some sort of prize.

I don't think it's so much a matter of individuals wanting recognition
(at least not for themselves), as it is providing some sense of veracity
for people who come looking for help.  With 100+ nicks in the channel,
how can a new user know that they're dealing with someone who is
legitimately able to help them?

Obviously one answer is "_Do_ they help you when you ask?"
I've seen very little (none, actually) malicious activity toward new
users looking for help.  But new users won't have this perspective, and
may be justifiably trepidatious about following someone's advice without
any indication that the helper is on the up-and-up.

I've often poo-pooed the "# of posts" stats used on other forums to
denote the number of posts individual posters have made; but that might
be one way to help the new forum users know who's "legit", or at least
"been around long enough to be reasonably legit".  Or maybe after X
posts to the forums you get a different title, as is common on many forums.

Or maybe the forum mods just watch who consistently offers good advice,
and manually flag these users in some way that is visibly obvious to
forum users.

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