Gitter chat?

[tannewt]

Hi all, I'm continuing working on micropython for Adafruit and am looking for a way to bounce ideas off of other micropython developers. I found #micropython on freenode but haven't seen any discussion there.

I did some work on Betaflight (flight control software) and they use Gitter to provide a place for devs to chat. Like Slack and HipChat it keeps a chat channel history which is super nice. You can also mention people even when they don't have it open and they'll get an email.

Would you mind creating one for micropython encouraging people to hang out there? Thanks!

[tannewt]

Oh, the link for Gitter is https://gitter.im.

[dhylands]

I hang out there (on IRC). I'm on Pacific time, but I often only check a few times a day unless someone mentions my irc nick (dhylands).

You're more likely to get a fast response here (just because there are alot more people reading the forums).

[pythoncoder]

I've not come across Gitter before, but if it uses push notifications to the browser might it prompt a quick responses? I take it that only the owners of MicroPython can create a topic.

From a quick look there doesn't seem to be much in the way of Python support on there, but perhaps I'm missing something?

micropython on freenode has been pretty dead whenever I've looked.

[deshipu]

I see you were in the channel for whole 4 minutes. That's not how IRC works. There are people from all over the world (different time zones) there and often busy with other things too. We look at the channel once in a while to see if anybody has asked a question or started a discussion, but it can take even a whole day for someone to respond to a first question. Four minutes is not enough to even notice you. It would be great if you could try IRC again, but maybe hang on a bit longer this time. There are ways of remaining connected while you are away, so that you don't miss conversations too.

Also please note, that many of the MicroPython developers are busy people and don't even have time to hang out on IRC. In fact, you won't find Damien or Paul there, for example (which is a bit of a shame, but totally understandable).

I don't think creating yet another service will help much. In fact, it will dilute the already scarce attention of people even more.

[deshipu]

And no, the channel is not dead. It's just resting.

Lovely plumage, too!

[tannewt]

dhylands, Thanks for letting me know your timezone! I'm also on the west coast and will ping you today.

pythoncoder, yup I believe Gitter has push notifications and also email notifications of mentions. You are right about permissions, the Gitter channels mirror GitHub repos and therefore someone with admin rights to micropython/micropython would need to create the channel.

deshipu, I'll keep trying IRC but haven't had any luck yet. Betaflight uses Gitter (https://gitter.im/betaflight/betaflight) really successfully to get around the issue of timezones. With it its easy to wake up and see what you missed.

I understand your concern about diluting attention but I think Gitter makes it easier to pay attention than IRC which will be a net win. I'll be on IRC whenever I'm at my computer west coast time so I'll bring things up there.

Thanks!