fpgroups.com: Revised chat room

[John Esak]

>>>>>
Since anyone may write an irc client, and since irc has ben around a long 
time, many different irc clients have been written by now on pretty much 
every platform, far more than the few shown here.
This just shows a few of the different options and shows why it is far more 
convenient to participate in an irc chat room than an ivocalize one. I use 
every one of those examples above, and they were all available years before 
ivocalize even existed, let alone before ivocalize attained linux and mac 
client ability. (maybe not the zsh module that is only a few years old.)
<<<<<<<

We have been experimenting with new software for over two years now. Often
we do *not* use Ivocalize since the new software is so much more powerful
and I have invested time and money in the source. At some point very shortly
in the future the FP Room will move to this new software.

>>>>>
Anyone may also write an irc server, and several of those exist too. The 
usual advantages and disadvantages of open source software apply. No license

counts, no cost, no obligatory help, vast seas of voluntary help, only 25% 
of which is bad, ability to modify to suit, ability to port to other 
platforms, deploy anywhere and any how you like...
<<<<<

We all try at the level we are capable of dealing with the
wants/desires/needs of the people we write our software for... The FP Room
has striven to meet those needs for nearly 4 years now I bleive. (Or has it
been longer?) We will improve things as possible to meet as many of those
*perceived* needs that user's feel are critical in order for them to reach
and use the room successfully. Currently, allowing Windows, Mac and Linux
clients to fully participate does it for us. Later the bigger world you
speak of... perhaps.... perhaps not. It's all in the reality of actually
*doing* something these days... not just *talking* about it... especially
with software that is so often just ideas in people's minds and not
functioning programs out there being used.


>>>>>>
The short version of all that is that there is really no end to the reasons 
why open source versions of whatever_you_want_to_do are more desireable, 
useful, & more widely convenient than any proprietary solution. But 
sometimes it just sounds so meaningless to say "there are many 
advantages...", it sounds like all the writer probably really means is "It 
doesn't cost me $35.50" or "If I copy it, which I am going to do anyways, at

least if it's open source I won't get arrested." When really those are about

the least of the issues.
>>>>>

Sorry, what I write and what I invest in will *never*  *ever*  did I make
that clear enough... *NEVER* *EVER* be open sourced.... Sorry, when you have
the time, money, effort, resources and philanthropy to do this, go for it.
It's not on my list of things to ever do. I'm sure you realize this is a
topic for another forum than this... and, by the way, I won't be there
talking about it either. :-)

John