If you have ever been to the Stardock IRC server you probably recognize this question. People enter the channel and leave within a minute. Often they ask this or another question and leave. I can show you logs full of such samples.

These people are probably not familiar with IRC and think it is a kind of a phone. They expect to be answered immediately and they leave within a minute. Sometimes very angry because they didn't get an answer within a minute.

A second reason why people do that is because they want to try out the chat option in SDCentral or the WC Browser. If they don't see any activity for a minute or two they leave.

Being in such a channel and seeing those people come and go can be irritating, but we are getting used to it. However, most of them stay away from channels like #WinCustomize and #SDCentral because of that. These two channels are the ones used by SDCentral and the WC Browser to autmatically connect you to the IRC server.

You should remember that there are real people in these IRC channels, so don't be nasty to them. Stardock employees, skinners, SD/WC users and SD gamers all hang out there. These people are often connected to IRC for 24/7 and may be working with another program, sleeping, skinning, making coffee, answering a phone or away from their keybaord for another reason. So, chances are they they do not see you as soon as you appear. Remember that these people come from all over the world and may not be in the same timezone as you. Half of them are not even from the US. Nobody is rude to visitors intentionally, but if they are we will kick them off the channel. People in these channels are there for fun and may help you out if they know an answer to your question. So, next time you join please wait 15 minutes or so.

Some of you may be afraid to speak on IRC because they see "famous" names there. Don't worry about that, none of them behave like stars.

The IRC channel is intended as a support tool and should be fun in the first place. It can also be a great tool for people working on the same skinning project.

The SD IRC software is as simple as it gets, but you may need some extra information about its practical use and may need to learn a few commands. Also there are more hints and tips, like those described above. In addition, there are rules what we accept and do not accept on IRC. If you are interested I can write all of that down and make it a sticky thread (Jafo already agreed to that). Let me know if you are interested in that.

Have fun...