User talk:Vera

Use of IRC

[05:49am] <Vera> Hello again :) I've got two problems I can't solve - could you help me please.
[06:16am] <Vera> a chat-room of no reply - what' the use of it then ?

I've seen you on IRC twice, and both times you've arrived and left within a half-hour while nobody else is around. Particularly, when you arrive it's early morning just before I wake up, for me. Rosetta Code, just like many other projects, is not a massively-staffed 24/7 operation. Other people aren't watching for questions constantly. Just like any IRC channel, it's a good idea to join and stay there for a while to see when people are active.

Also, if you have a question, then ask it — don't ask “can you help me” — ask your actual question so that when someone else notices they can give a useful answer. If nobody knows what the topic of your question is then they're less likely to reply even if they are paying attention, because they can't tell whether they are able to help you.

If you don't have a setup where you can just leave #rosettacode open in the background and keep an occasional eye on it, then perhaps IRC is not the medium for you, and you'd be better off using Rosetta Code:Village Pump which is asynchronous.

I hope this information helps you get your problems solved.

—Kevin Reid 13:34, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

If we're going to use the Pump as a programmer's Q/A, it might be a good idea to use actual forum software for it instead of MediaWiki. I've tried that before, but the site wasn't active enough to make its software maintenance worthwhile, and the Pump still doesn't seem active enough for that purpose. While it wasn't the purpose I really had in mind for it, the Rosetta Code subreddit might be a good place for something like that. --Michael Mol 16:24, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Vera, I'm @shortcircuit in #rosettacode. Most of what goes on in there is short-term discussion of maintenance, and occasionally discussion about tasks and features I'm pondering adding to Rosetta Code. As Kevin suggests, you should probably try an asynchronous communications medium. The Rosetta Code subreddit might eventually be a good place for it, but I don't think a lot of people use it or know about it yet. You might also find Stack Overflow to be a good place for Q/A, depending on your problem. --Michael Mol 16:24, 25 February 2010 (UTC)