Developers using IRC for tech support is

John Olinda Developers using IRC for tech support is - I believe - primarily a way of feeling superior to non-users. I'm not saying it's not something you can use, but using IRC as your support channel is only a way of excluding people who don't know how to use your aging and increasingly marginal technology. I think IRC is great, but I think there are better tools for helping your customers.

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🦿 Lucian Marin Another benefit of IRC is that conversations aren't stored on a server. Companies like privacy.

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Martijn Not true. IRC server software can easily be used to log all text that goes through it, InspIRCd is one I have heard supports logging on the server side. This holds even for private messages between two people, unless of course you switch to DCC.

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Mark Dain What's the alternative? IRC doesn't need an account which can be quite appealing for drop in support

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John Olinda Email, phone, SMS. The key is that if your user is already having problems, asking them to do something new on top of that can generate frustration. I'm familiar with IRC, but when I have to do something like set up a new account to use a forum, I have the same feeling. Friction for support means people are less likely to ask and more likely to vent.

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