IRC useful developer tool or time sink?

Question

I work for a company with a small dev team and Access to IRC is blocked. Our IT guys cite this as for "Security Reasons".

I've had several problems whith 3rd party libs which I've only been able to solve by plugging in a 3G data card, disconnecting from the network and logging into the IRC channel for the dev team behind the tool kit.

Many Open source projects have IRC channels that are constantly occupied with people willing to answer questions where it could take days to get the answer on the associated Forum.

Is IRC a useful dev tool and if so what arguments can I use to get it opened up, or is it a time sink/ security risk and should I be Grateful that this festering pit of botnets and timewastiness has been closed, and feel safer for it?

Answer 1

I've always had this impression that instant chat programs in general are problematic for a developer. Getting in the zone means focusing your attention to the task. No interruptions, no temptations.

But of course that's just me. I suppose IRC could have its advantages if used by people that know when to pester their fellow dev and when to Google. What it comes down to is do you work better with or without it.

If you really need it, I think you should just go to the guy in charge and speak his language ie. project x will be finished sooner/cost us less if I have access to this and this...

Answer 2

I think it's a much weaker argument for IRC than for foo.com/web-in-general. Besides, SO turns answers around pretty fast.

Answer 3

On the project I was on last year, the development team was split up between two studios a few hundred miles apart. We used a shared Jabber server to setup IM between the teams, as well as conference rooms for people to ask general questions about various systems.

It worked out well on that project. Certainly at times it was used more for entertainment than for actual work, and could become a distraction. But even apart from the conference room, the IM was well worth it.

I think that setting up internal chat can have great benefits, but you need to keep a casual eye on it to be sure it's not more of a distraction than a benefit.

As for public IRC, I'd hate to be in a situation where it's blocked, but I don't find myself asking questions in public IRC channels very much. If it's a valid support avenue for your team, that's a great reason to lobby against blocking it.

Answer 4

Stackoverflow: useful developer tool or time sink?... It's the same thing - access to potentially smart people.

Personally I'd say IRC is less distracting than regular IM.. I always found with IM you are almost forced into replying instantly, compared to IRC where it's quite common for relies to appear hours later.

IM clients are generally "louder", notifying you of everything with flashing-popup-windows-with-alert-sounds. IRC clients tend to be less obtrusive and easier to ignore (part of the reason I've ended up using irssi as an IM client, with bitlbee, an IM->IRC gateway)

..but as I said, Stackoverflow and an IRC channel are basically the same, and I could probably be doing something more productive than posting this answer just now.. in both cases, they just have to be used correctly

Answer 5

I think the main problem is that it can also become a huge distraction.
Sure, you CAN use it to help solve your problems with these specific people in a specific channel, but as far as IT are concerned you can also chat to all of your friends non-productively.

Maybe you can ask them to add an exception for a certain IRC server, if like Manos Dilaverakis says, you can be more productive with it and complete your project that much sooner.

Answer 6

At work, I use chat to talk to colleagues :

• it avoids walking all aroundthe building to find someone,
• It makes it easy to talk to people working from home,
• It can be ignored so its less bothering than the phone : phone is for real emergencies
• It is quicker than email (as any sane person I turned off the instant notification "you have mail" and check it only every 30 minutes or so, when I want to)

But I would never use it to find answers to technical problems : it is much better to use SO, forums or whatever to leave a trace for the next guy with the same question / problem...

Yes, it can become a time sink for people not very motivated by their work. They abound so I can understand why a manager would want to shut it down, but the same goes with the phone !

For the security risk : web sites are a security risk. Your administrators should close all ports ... or educate users and install good protection softwares (anti-virus, anti-malware etc.).