Channel Problems

JousterL · none Joined: 18 Mar 2005 Posts: 1

This is more a request for assistence in regards to channel admining than a failure on the software part.

First, let's get this out of the way. I don't have very much experience in the administration department, this being the first channel I've ever helped run.

Now, onto the situation:

For about three months, a friend and I have run a channel on IRC that was for likeminded fans of a particular internet comic. For the most part, it's worked fine. The original situation merited a shift away from the person who started the channel (He got angry at a particular topic being discussed and banned the person who brought it up). So we shifted over to a new one.

The original owner began raising a ruckus about how we turned his life into a private hell, stole his friends, etc... The co-admin of the current channel made him jump through a couple hoops to be allowed to rejoin ("No being bitter, no being a kill-joy, etc...").

Things started working out, and everything was fine with the channel. We made it through a month or two without any major situations flaring.

However, earlier tonight a couple people were talking about RL situations that, to some, would be synonymous with the keywords 'angst' and 'drama'. The following is the actual statement made by the co-admin.

"<-----> If people don't lighten the frigging hell up and stop angst and dramatics in chat, I'm going to get liberal with kicks and bans. I made this place to be fun, not a venting ground for negative emotion."

This opened a whole can of worms... and I'm not exactly sure how to contain it again. On the one hand, he's just violated the original reason the channel was created. Censoring a topic because an op doesn't like it. I also would not like to force the issue, because that may result in me alienating one of my better online friends.

Problem is, I can see both sides. On the one hand, you have people like him who go to the chat to escape from the daily grind and all the issues that are associated with it. However, on the other hand, you have people like the ones that sparked that comment, who log onto the chat to find likeminded people to talk their problems out with, and as a way of dealing with thier problems in general. Both have valid reasons.

Yet, I can't see both co-existing. And if it keeps up the way it was going, the channel's going to be torn apart. Already, one member has informed me privately that he has started avoiding the channel because ----- is 'controlling', and that they formed a sub-channel...

Also, ----- is registered as the channel founder, through various intricacies surrounding the immediate time frame after the original incident. I have SOp priveleges.

Any ideas? I'm honestly at a loss.

PingBad · Guru Joined: 05 Feb 2005 Posts: 2031 Location: New Zealand

One method would be to request the ones who brought up an off-topic discussion to discuss it in private (either by PM, or in a seperate channel).

However, in regards to the channel founder, I would say that he should expect off-topic discussions from time to time and not go on a poer trip because some1 decided to say what he didn't want to hear (so to speak)

Its a system I usually apply to channels that have one strict line of discussion (EG: I wouldn't expect to see parenting advice discussed in a room designed to help people script features into their mIRC clients)