Talk:IRC/Group Contacts

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For what are the Group Contacts responsible? I doubt that it is in the scope of them to log everything in here and they certainly don't need to interfere with every problem that occours that can't be solved by their ChanOP rights. --81.28.129.97 14:32, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Our job is to hand out (and, sadly, rein-in) ChanOp rights, rather than day-to-day management of individual channels.

James F. (talk) 20:31, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Group contacts not recognised

Session Start: Wed Nov 08 16:27:58 2006
[16:29] <Angela> hi numist. please could I get a Wikipedia cloak for Betacommand?
[16:30] <numist> a wikipedia cloak?  I'm afraid not
[16:30] <Angela> oh?
[16:30] <numist> I'm not up to date on who the GCs are, but I think only JamesF or Jimbo
[16:31] <numist> can request cloaks for
[16:31] <numist> er, for wikipedia

Does anyone know why this might be the case? Has anyone else who used to be a contact had this problem? Angela 05:39, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

There is a central directory, and to the best of my knowledge you're on it—I've had staffers go "uhm, let me check" while they hunted down someone with access to this apparently close-hold list, but nobody's ever had the audacity to simply say "no, you're not on it" based on their personal memory, without bothering to look. You'll probably have better luck with a more clued-in staffer. Austin 06:27, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I know it's several months later, but to clue you in - at the moment, only James and I are on the database due to a security breach a bit ago that meant freenode were forced to knock it down to James (and then I joined). Feel free to let me know if you need to know anything else. —Xyrael / 21:09, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Update this page?

Can someone please update this page to help clarify what's going on these days on freenode, how the recent change in chan ops happened, how this is being resolved, and who at freenode and among the wikipedians can be expected to be following these matters? Thanks, +sj | help with translation |+ 18:47, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Group contacts

The page says:

"Right now, freenode staff are recognising the following people:

• James F. (talk) (James_F, James_F|Away, James_F|Busy on IRC) (Chair)

  James is currently inactive in this position due to other work with Wikimedia and Real Life (TM).
  
  

• Sean Whitton (talk) (seanw on IRC)

  Due to James's inactivity, Sean is completing all group contact work and should be contacted first for assistance."

Could someone provide evidence that Freenode recognizes James and Sean as group contacts? I've read elsewhere that they don't. SlimVirgin ^(talk) 02:43, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Not too sure about James, but Sean Whitton is a freenode staff and he is for now the sole group contact of wikimedia (in absence of James) and thus is incharge of other wikipedia related channels such as #wikipedia, #wikipedia-en and he has appointed channel contacts to oversee the selection of ops for individual channels..I don't think that their is any thing "official" to show that "Freenode recognizes James and Sean as group contacts" but if you would like to find out yourself, you could join #wikimedia-irc and personally talk to seanw or James (they are msotly online)..--Cometstyles 03:34, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

freenode does recognize James Forrester as group contact for the channels #wikipedia-*, Sean Whitton is deputy contact. This is different from saying that freenode recognize James Forrester and Sean Whitton as group contacts for Wikipedia/Wikimedia. Can you link where this has been questioned? Snowolf 14:04, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

The page says "wikimedia community", when I said #wikipedia-* (well of course #wiktionary-* and so on), but I hope you got the point. Snowolf 14:07, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

*puts on freenode staff hat* I can confirm as staff that James and Sean are in fact the contacts and this information is entirely up to date. *puts on Wikimedia contact hat* Essentially, we try to stay out of day to day channel affairs and we let the channels run themselves. The way NickServ presents information is somewhat ambiguous here. freenode grants us the right to take over #wikimedia-* #wikipedia-* etc. by asking staff (usually by asking myself) and to set cloaks. Seperately we are also listed in NickServ as contacts for certain channels, but this does not necessarily mean we have taken them over. We may just have been put there as reliable people. I hope this clears up the situation - channel contact and group contact are very different. —Sean Whitton / 21:00, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Hi Sean, sorry it doesn't clear it up. Freenode has apparently said it doesn't recognize a group contact for Wikimedia. What distinction are you drawing between group contact and channel contact? SlimVirgin ^(talk) 16:41, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Well wikipedia/wikimedia are listed in the Primary Groups and according to the Group Registration, Wikimedia IRC Group Contacts are "The approving contact" thus we have 2 groups "wikimedia" and "wikipedia"...Freenode recognizes James as the Group Contact for Wikimedia since James was appointed by Wikimedia to represent them as such. Sean is appointed by James as his deputy and Group contacts as I stated above choose Channel contacts for individual IRC channels who in turn choose channel ops to look after these channels...--Cometstyles 17:01, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Nowhere in the links you gave does it say that Freenode recognizes a group contact for Wikimedia or Wikipedia, and Freenode has apparently made it clear elsewhere that they do not recognize one. Wikimedia has explicitly said that it does not want to underwrite the Wikimedia/Freenode relationship, and does not support anyone as group contact. So the information on this page seems to be wrong. SlimVirgin ^(talk) 03:28, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Hello. Above, I noted as freenode staff that we recognise myself and James. Thus freenode has made it clear as I was speaking on behalf of freenode when I said that :) —Sean Whitton / 18:13, 28 December 2007 (UTC)