vIn a sense, much like how the village was alive with stories and drama. Now, we go in depth and explore one of the most fascinating stories from IRC — this was quite literally a tale wag-tale drama filled with some serious Snowpony Rules. It is a tale that will capture the imagination of IRC stalwarts and newcomers alike, with enough twists and turns – to say nothing of jaw-dropping revelations.
Introduction to IRC Snowpony Drama
Since the 1980’s, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) has been a method of online communication. It is a gathering place, chat room and can do live sharing ideas. Of all the channels and users out there, Snowpony is notorious for his drama.
Lucky you, the layers of WARPgate IRC Snowpony Drama to follow. When you read it, this is really three things–the people who mattered most; the events and conditions that changed everything for them in 2020; and almost everybody’s hard-earned lessons from Last Year. By now you will have a good grasp of what happened and why it is significant.
What is IRC?
But before we start with some of that controversy first a brief overview about what IRC is. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is an application layer protocol that facilitates communication in the form of text. By default, it works on a client-server model so there will be clients connected to this server and you would need to have an IRC client installed or use web-based services like cgi:irc which support all sorts of things ” out-of-the-box” just fine without having anything pre-installed at your side causing wombats ruining everything by trying too hard while thinking stuffs over again-anyhow… notes made earlier -so we’ll assume based off second-hand information later given via #reddit-networking during weekend hours if still alive somewhere here among us today elsewhere near stupid lands. It is also one of the oldest still running Online Chat Protocols.
IRC is not a centralized service; there isn’t just one server that MUST be hosting the channel. Instead, there are several channels where people create their own. This decentralization makes moderation very difficult and is both a blessing & a curse of.community.systematicity(case&)
The Snowpony Community
The Snowpony IRC community is like an interesting, little niche. Named after an interest in snow ponies, or mythological creatures similar to sentient ponies who live on cold worlds—the community rapidly expanded. There were discussions of fan fiction, and also real-world affairs in a great way to create comradery.
But of course, in any tight knit community there were disagreements and conflicts to be had. So snowpony gate or whatever.
The Genesis of the Drama
It started with a calm and reasoned debate on which parts of the Snowpony lore should be considered canon.scalable typed…but it was getting heated. The conflict started as a small dispute before turning into all out war. Fund members soon picked sides and the once tranquil channel consisting of music became a forum for words.
This was a period that gave birth to some iconic characters. At odds with one another were the “Traditionalists” who wanted to adhere only to pre-Major variations of The Snowpony Story. The “Modernists” also fell into two sides, one who wanted to build out the lore with brand new things and another side that was happy as-is.
The Role of Moderators
Any IRC channel, including the Snowpony community (of which I was a part), is also heavily influenced by its mods. Moderators initially imposed rules and guidelines for discussions in an attempt to pacify the upset users. But they were up against opposing forces on all fronts
Matters were made worse by accusations of bias against the RS. Mod and users got more paranoid, with each side thinking mod was favoring the other. Other moderators have resigned in the hopes of escaping harassment and all types of abuse.
Major Incidents
There were a few key events that seem to stand out in the history of what is now known as The IRC Snowpony Drama:
The Great Ban Wave
The latest ban wave was all set up in an effort to maintain decorum, focusing on the top troublemakers across both factions. This calmed the situation in the short term, but also prompted cries of censorship and injustice to be thrown into an already frenzied atmosphere.
The Splinter Channels
As day after day went on with no fix in sight, cruds became fed up and started their own channels – each bringing along its unique external politics. The channels acted as echo chambers, deepening the divide in its community. These extensions resulted in even less active users on the primary Snowpony channel.
The Reconciliation Attempt
Trying to bring the community back together, a group of neutral parties came up with some reconciliation event. They brought together leaders of both groups in order to listen and locate some common ground. But what started off as the hopeful event of education quickly degenerated into the deepest and most profound demonstration that ended up fixing none of it.
Impact on the Community
What happened with Snowpony lingered for the community. Disillusioned by the nonstop strife, a few members left IRC entirely. Others stayed but lamented the damaged camaraderie replaced with bitterness.
Not everything about this sucked though. The campaign also birthed new groups, the core of which had consolidated and cloistered. These smaller communities also tend to have better rules and clearer objectives, leading to more meaningful conversations.
Lessons Learned
Why Guidelines are so Important
A key aspect of the Snowpony scandal is that there needs to be clear policy in place. Unclear regulations lead to ambiguity, thus incite disputes but clear guidelines help better control hindsight disagreements.
The Role of Moderation
Moderation is absolutely essential when it comes to keeping an online community healthy. Moderators need to be fair, even-handed and not afraid of the banhammer; they also have to always bite their tongues when commenting as a moderator. Having well-trained, empathetic and highly professional moderators makes a huge difference in avoiding situations like this.
The Value of Communication
The ways of communication must be open Our members find it easier to bring up & address most stuff in the context of community meetings or feedback sessions (or at least acknowledge that something is an issue) and we’ve set a pretty good guideline for when things should just be taken straight back to sextype-catfights.
Community Dynamic Insights
Communities are living, breathing things that change over time. Knowing which ingredients bake into these shifts can assist in preserving peace and goodwill.
Modern-Day Snowpony Community
But free from drama, the Snowpony community is stronger than ever. The system has since learned from those mistakes and matured. Fresh perspectives and ideas are brought in with new members. The community remains remarkable evidence of just how resilient online collectives can be.
Snowpony Community Sign Up
You too can become part of the Snowpony community to be a disciple in practice by following along with the story line if you find it intriguing. No need to get too technical, either – just join an IRC network that allows the Snowpony channel and you’re in like Flynn. Please take the time to read over our community guidelines and introduce yourself properly.
Conclusion
The IRC Snowpony Drama is a story of community, confrontation and compromise you have to hear. A powerful reminder of why online interactions are not as simple and highlight the necessity of good moderation.
We can use the knowledge of how they have worked to create those lessons for other online communities, and build more peaceful coexistence and communal atmosphere. For a deeper dive on online community management, participate in an upcoming discussion or register for a webinar.
Thanks for coming with us down this rabbit hole of IRC Snowpony the Hedgehog Chaos! Share this information and it is useful. So be on the lookout for more chat about all things online communities.
[Notes for the readers] Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in community management online via comments. Join the conversation on Twitter.