How about listing "Channel Inactivity Policy"?

bsperan · none Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 10

I do find Searchirc.com to be useful. It can be a big help to find the channel you're looking for or the right network to use. However, there is something missing on the "Network Page" that I think would make this service even more useful to some people.

bsperan · none Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 10

Enter "Channel Registration"

But not all networks provide channel registration. (Which is a service some still consider a bad thing.) And while SearchIRC does mention some of the networks that have channel registration, this information does not seem comprehensive. Some networks are not listed has having this, but may in fact offer it. In other cases, it may be mentioned but not in a form that is easily recognizable to newbies. (The presentation is not exactly consistent.) And only very rarely is the period of channel inactivity mentioned.

As a result, I spent several hours going through various network listings and visiting their websites. In some cases I had to register with the network before they would even let me view their Terms of Service! But even there I did not always find their policy on 'channel inactivity.' So, often I would have to find a working server in my area, log in, and use "/Join #chanserv" or "/Chanserv help" to ask and find out. But even that was not always possible or permissable. On a few networks even using "/Join #help" did not work.

This is most of what I found so far.

bsperan · none Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 10

I live out in the rural boonies and high speed access simply is not available. (With the exception of satellite, of course. But who can afford that?) So I'm stuck with lousy quality dial-up that's slower than molasses running downhill in January. However, I really want to set up a channel to discuss and find players for Xpace - an obscure, free PbEM game. (see my WWW)

I simply can not leave even one PC online all the time, so it would be difficult to be the op/admin for a channel. And since it is so hard to find players I can't promise that I will visit said channel on a regular basis, either. (Though, I would include my email and website address in the description so they can tell me they're interested.) Even with those allowing channel registration, most networks require the op to join their channel at least once every 14 days. A bot on a shell account might be a solution, but I'm not sure I can (or want to) justify that expenditure at the moment.

bsperan · none Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 10

For that matter, I'm surprised that there is not at least one IRC network that allows registered users to register a channel on a non-temporary basis. Anotherwords, allowing users to register a channel that would only need to be confirmed say, twice a year. (Perhaps with an email reminder?) If there are others who really have a legitimate claim to that channel (such as a company or product name), the ownership could still be appealed. For some people, such a system might be an alternative to using a bot. (I don't suppose there are any networks that offer to give an email warning about dropping due to inactivity...)

I can already hear the rebuttal:
"If implemented, such a system would inevitably lead to a significant increase in the number of channels that have one or no users online. And that makes it much more difficult to create a new channel." ...Or would it?

Already, many users who want to set up their own channel will do so. And if they want a more permanent home they will often use bots or have the channel registered. But this system might lessen the need for bots. And if someone really wants a channel all to themselves, what's the harm? I doubt many people actually get a kick out of literally chatting to themselves. But I happen to find such a system useful because I can't use bots and my subject is so obscure I can't guarantee regular activity. Are there not others in a similar situation?

jilles · none Joined: 22 Jan 2006 Posts: 12

There's two factors here (on most networks):
1. your nick/account must not expire, so you must come online at least once every few weeks (if it does, the channel is usually passed to another user in the access list; you may or may not need to provide more input on this ("successor"))
2. the channel itself must not expire, so a user with sufficient privileges on the access list must join every once in a while

Factor 2 amounts to properly managing your channel, really. Having a channel where no ops join for long times is just holding a channel name, really. To resolve this, you need some trusted friends to be ops in your channel. They are also people visitors can chat with.

Alternatively, just create a channel when you are there. If someone has already taken that channel name, pick another. You can put the channel name on your web site, for example.