<p>woo. I've already got my first badge. I feel all fuzzy inside. Anyways, flashback (after a lot of arguing against {DS} and a few #GMG people) set up an irc channel on slashnet. <a href="irc://irc.slashnet.org/#64digits,ischan"><u>Come and join us</u></a> if you want. There is also a <a href="/64IRC"><u>java applet</u></a> for those of us <del style="text-decoration:strikethrough">freaks</del><ins>less technically inclined</ins> without an IRC client. I myself use <a href="http://konversation.kde.org/"><u>Konversation</u></a>, a <a href="http://kde.org/"><u>KDE</u></a> (and thusly linux) only client. For windows users, I recommend <a href="http://www.mozilla.org/projects/rt-messaging/chatzilla/"><u>Chatzilla</u></a>. mIRC isn't my kind of client for various reasons I won't discuss right now, although if you ask Lep on slashnet he will make it a bit better for you. So come on in. We won't bite. I aim to eventually ask flashback (when he gets back on or gets used to IRC) if my bot Pointything can idle in the channel and provide <a href="http://wm161.net/stats/irc/gmg.htm"><u>IRC stats</u></a> for the channel.</p>

<h2>Update</h2>

<p>Ok, a few people have been joining the channel and leaving seconds later. Why? Because it is something new. They say they can't live without the crappy sounds and the stupid avatars. They are afraid to try something new. Most of you are unaware about the thing called the <b>network effect</b>. Let me explain it to you.</p>

<h3>A new Telephone Company</h3>

<p>Lets say a new telephone company is founded. It uses some fancy pants new wiring that is several thousand times better. It is incompatable with the old telephone lines, so the subscribers need to get the new technology of the new phones and lines. Noone is signing up. Why? Because it is useless to them. Nobody else is using it, so whats the point?</p>

<h3>An old channel</h3>

<p>This same thing is what #GMChat went through when we moved from dynastynet to slashnet. Nobody wanted to move because nobody wanted to move. Its a paradox. The only way we achieved movement, was by being the first people to do so. Lep and I went to slashnet, and we went through the trouble of setting up our own #game_maker. For quite a while, it was just Lep, my bot Pointything, and I. Every few days I would go around to everyone and say "Hey, we are trying to move #game_maker to slashnet, want to help?". A few took the time to help in the effort by idling in the new channel. The rest just said "Ok, as soon as everyone else does".</p>

<h3>The Network Effect</h3>

<p>Now, as you can see, the network effect determines how useful something is to someone directly through how many other people are using it. Right now me and Quietus are the only ones idling in the new channel for 64Digits. Everyone else comes in, sees us 2, and leaves saying either "Useless" or "I'll come back when its better". The reason they say it isn't better, is because there aren't enough people using it for it to be good. If more people use the newfangled telephone equipment, then there is more of a reason to switch. It takes a few brave pioneers to get the movement started. That is the role that Quietus, Flashback and I share. We make the new channel useful by reducing this network effect. If everyone looks at it and says "Useless" at the same time, that isn't making it any better, now is it?</p>

<h3>The Plea</h3>

<p>Ask yourself this question: Why is it not as good as the flash chat? I have the answer for you. Nobody is using it. How can you make it better? Use it. The more people that use it, the more desirable it becomes to use it to everyone else. If you use it, you are advertising the fact that "Hey, this is pretty good." Be a brave pioneer! Break ground! Do something that no one has done before! Help support the movement towards the future of 64digits! Come on people, I thought this was a community. If flashback initiated this, there must be a reason behind it, right? I mean, there is only one kind of progress - forward.</p>