2. #duesouth


2.1 Where is it?


#duesouth meets on Efnet and Dalnet. Two of the more popular servers amongst the #duesouth regulars on Efnet are irc.ais.net and irc-2.portal.com. A more complete list of servers used by people on #duesouth can be found further down in this FAQ.

 

2.2 When is it?

Once upon a time, there were "official" and semi-official meeting times for #duesouth. Now, people can be found in #duesouth on most days. The secret is to join the channel and sit in it for 15 minutes or so. People will come to you. Some of the best times to drop by the channel are:

To see folks from the UK:
noon-4 PM New York/Toronto
10 AM-2 PM Los Angeles/Vancouver
3-7 AM Sydney
6-10 PM London
To see folks from North America:
6-10 PM New York/Toronto
4-8 PM Los Angeles/Vancouver
9 AM-1 PMSydney
midnight-4 AM London

2.3 What the heck does that mean?

IRC has a few unique quirks and acronyms. You may see the familiar BTW (by the way) or ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing) - or ROTF or ROTFLMAO, but there is also wb (welcome back), BRB (be right back), and re (the perennial re-greeting for the poor soul who keeps getting booted from her server but keeps coming back for more). If you find yourself getting hit by a trout - well, that just means that you've found someone who is using mIRC. Hollyitis (TM) results in colorful typos, and lag rats (TM) slow your connections. Food fights (TM) may occasionally break out - with doughnuts and kit-kats being flung electronically. You may also see GMTA (great minds think alike), TYK (which needs no explanation), YMW (you're most welcome), >:| (a glower), and MANGO! (which is just a call for PAPAYA! to check someone's ping times).

(TM) refers to #duesouth specific events. These are not common to all channels.

 

2.4 Thank you kindly?

There are some unwritten rules to hanging out on #duesouth, though they can be useful just about anywhere in IRC you happen to go.

  1. No being rude, obnoxious, impolite, and hurtful.
  2. If someone says "Hi", reply in kind. If 20 people say "Hi", reply "Hi everyone" rather than 20 separate replies.
  3. Say good-bye rather than just taking off and slamming the door behind you.
  4. Remember what your mother told you about discussing religion & politics? Well, she was mostly right. No flaming of either sacred cow. Rare flaming of computer industry giants is allowed, though only with good reason (like if one of them just ate your hard drive).
  5. Don't gripe if someone drops a "Due South" spoiler. The Canadians will start to discuss the new eps on Thursday nights, the Americans will on Fridays. Consider yourself warned! This is a large part of the reason behind #duesouth, and if you don't want to see spoilers, then don't join in. It is completely legitimate, however, to insist that spoilers for other series not be discussed (most notable being "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" which airs during the Sunday night chat and has several fans there). The topic of spoilers is in flux for the time being - when Season 3 begins, these rules will likely be reestablished.
  6. Punctuation counts. As does spelling and capitalization. We all understand that you're working hard to type quickly, and some errors will slip through, but you should be making an effort to have fairly well structured statements with appropriate punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. And you may just find yourself as the subject of a vivisectionist if you type things like "c u l8r" rather than "See you later."
  7. Who was that for? If you are responding to a comment made by a particular person, let us know. We can't see who you're looking at when you say it, and it may just be a bit confusing for the group. Commonly used formats include -
    Jedi-Jazz: You actually *touched* him?!?!
    Aloha> Is next week's L&C a rerun again?
  8. Abbreviations and/or acronyms are useful, but only when someone else knows what the heck you're talking about. Just watch the channel to see what people are using. If you don't know what one means, just ask.
  9. Being a newbie is nothing to be ashamed of. The atmosphere of #duesouth is actually more supportive than DSOUTH-L, and everyone is more than happy to help a newbie through those first few difficult times on IRC. Mention that you're on the list and not just a twerp dropping in to ruin everyone's time. When in doubt, ask! Don't feel that you have to jump right in - introduce yourself and then lurk for a while.

 

2.5 Commonly used servers by those frequenting #duesouth

I have kept track of the servers used to access #duesouth for the period 28 April 1996 - 4 May 1996. Each time a server was used by an individual, that was recorded as a "hit" - if more than one person in the channel were using a particular server, multiple hits were recorded on that server. Using one of the more popular servers is more likely to reduce the effects of lag and/or splits.

 

server name:

no. of hits:

irc.ais.net

17

irc-2.portal.com

5

irc2.epix.net

5

irc.cerf.net

5

elk.nstn.ca

5

irc.magic.mb.ca

5

irc.texas.net

5

irc.yorku.ca

4

irc.io.org

4

irc.netcom.com

4

irc.winternet.com

3

CISMhp.Univ-Lyon1.FR

2

irc.colorado.edu

2

irc.voicenet.com

2

irc2.netcom.com

2

irc.cris.com

2

irc.mcs.net

2

piglet.cc.utexas.edu

2

irc.law.emory.edu

2

opus.bridge.net

2

irc.bt.net

2

organ.ctr.columbia.edu

1

irc.funet.fi

1

irc-2.mit.edu

1

irc.cdc.net

1

irc2.netcom.com

1

irc.mcgill.ca

1

portal.mbnet.mb.ca

1

irc.gate.net

1

irc.ionet.net

1

irc.mo.net

1

irc.pitt.edu

1

irc.polymtl.ca

1

irc.phoenix.net

1

joyce.eng.yale.edu

1

dismayl.demon.co.uk

1

irc.epix.net

1

irc-2.stealth.net

1