Ideas Wanted.

N_X64 · none Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 2

So. I am turning here to look for some ideas.

What do most people want out of an IRC network?

[list=]Friendly People - Check
Abuse Free - Check
Stability - Check[/list]

What else?

Whats a good way to improve a network that is slowly becoming smaller. (Which network isnt getting smaller though?)

Any suggestions are welcome. I'll receive a notice when a reply is done, so that I will be able to see =)

Thanks folks.

NSA-AcidBath · Newbie Joined: 06 Nov 2008 Posts: 76

Ok.. theres alot of people out here asking the same question, I dont know the answer for sure but i'll throw in my 2 cents =D

First off, it really depends on how many friends you actually have on IRC, with the growing number of networks, users is hard to find period.
So, alot of it will be word of mouth, get your friends to be friends etc.

Maybe some games? IdleRPG/Trivia etc ? Just an idea.

Friendly website applets, for chat etc might help

Alot comes with past network experience, if you were a user for many years like myself before starting a network, usually the good friends you've made on all those other networks will come to yours? I don't know, reply to this post, give me your network addy I want to stop by and take a look, maybe throw you some pointers?

youngblood · Newbie Joined: 17 Apr 2008 Posts: 66

how about you get a uno room few good staff members maybe a good link to a very friendly network but games is always good to have on your network

darkwarrior · Lurker Joined: 02 Aug 2008 Posts: 172

It seems to me that most of the larger IRC Networks were once linked to a large network, and delinked later on, taking many users with them in the process. I'm not encouraging you to do this, and of course, I don't approve of doing something like this, so don't do it.

AcidBath got it right, friends and word of mouth is the best way to do it. Although the only problem I have with that idea is the fact that since my friends all know me well, if I tell them about my network and ask them to join, they all want to be staff, and if I tell them no, they either leave or stop talking to me. Sure, who needs friends like that anyway, but regardless of something like that, I choose not to bring any friends to my network. I will not sacrifice good friendships over an IRC network and ircop status.

Now, I do think another thing is to look at everything from the user perspective. Pretend as if you're on an IRC network that isn't your own. What do you look for in an IRC Network yourself as a user? What kind of service? What kind of staff? Chances are, if you want it, then there are definitely a lot of others who also want it.

Many people have also claimed that if you do have something unique to offer, it could be a decent attraction to new users. I find that is somewhat true, but also not true, depending on the users you are targeting. There are gaming irc networks in which gamers may be a lot different than those who are into a religious based network. So you also have to think about what the community you are trying to target would want. As an example, some communities might not care if you have services at all, and all they'd want is a small non user network just so they can have the largest channel, where some would prefer a network that has thousands of really large channels. So, you really do need to decide which community type you want to target, then you can start figuring out what they want and what to do to attract them.