> So, I would hate to see the continuation of a proprietary solution to > a particular problem by the free software development population of > the general public. It goes against nearly every basic part of the > Linux/Unix/IP philosopy and in the end denies us functionality and > choice. > > Again, I apologize for the speech.
You all seem to be missing the point. Have any of you tried ICQ in the last little while? I recommend you try it before even bothering to suggest such a clumsy and poorly written protocol like IRC. 1. Easy to use. 2. Its a Swiss Army Knife for communications (meaning it does almost everything as far as chatting goes) 3. Shows when friends are on. You don't have to worry about dynamic IP addresses. However, I also agree with the lines I quoted above. I don't believe in proprietary solutions (They don't always fit my needs so its easier to make changes when I have the source). We have many standards which cover most of what ICQ does. But we don't have anyway to bind them together into a seemless communications tool that allows us to communicate with each other regardless of IP number (nothing as smooth as ICQ, that is). Microsoft and Netscape have both built suites that don't impress me compared to ICQ. ICQ is a good model of what I think the future brings in communications. ICQ is a little slow, the company seems to have number of problems trying to keep its system running. But it is still a good idea. As long as we continue to recognize good ideas... We will continue to create better software. I don't apologize for the speech. __________________________________________________ Andrew Brigham [EMAIL PROTECTED] System Administrator FoxNet Communications -- TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Trouble? e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] .
