Live Stoner Chat AFN IRC Channel? (OOPS!)

[n00b]

Accidentally closed the original post lol...

Would anyone join a live AFN chat channel via IRC?

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IRC = Internet Relay Chat. It's essentially a live chat room on a private network. You download a client like mIRC to access these networks. They used to be popular in the underground pirating scene back in the day but I haven't been on one in years.

 

[Son of Hobbes]

I would be very wary about posting IRC channels or attempting to get together via IRC pubicly; there is no guarantee of your safety/privacy and I don't believe we would ever sanction an official AFN channel either (so if you see one up or someone claims to be running it on behalf of AFN; it's most likely not true and not sponsored by the site or staff; you can always PM or ask via the forum as well if unsure.)

Just my opinion; but on a site where many members may be growing in countries/states/provinces where cannabis cultivation is illegal, it's better to err on the side of caution and keep the information and chats where we know they are safe within reason and not some place many people may or may not have a good idea of what security loopholes may exist.

Just my two cents brother! :karma Cloud:

 

[n00b]

Same goes on here. I doubt many members are using proxies to hide their ip which means the ops have all our info anyway. I agree safety is priority. Irc servers now provide a good amount of ip protection and even encryption.

 

[Son of Hobbes]

Same goes on here. I doubt many members are using proxies to hide their ip which means the ops have all our info anyway. I agree safety is priority.

I'm glad you understand the security risks of it and are not denying it has them; at least we agree that much on it.

I do disagree with your comparison though; the security and protections afforded by AFN are far more than you would find on IRC in my opinion; not only through the software we used to protect the site, but through having staff members that have been here for years and have built relationships based on trust. There are actually VERY few people with access to member IP's and personal information (that's good for everyone.)

I'm not saying this to shoot down your idea bro; I just think it's a security risk (and saying that in my opinion, my views don't necessarily reflect the official AFN stance on this.) I miss the old Shout Box we used to have on the front page. Ohhhh the days of telling you all the status of whether I was wearing pants or not. Those were the days indeed!

Some things are currently in the works with site improvement; we now have a thread called the AFN Site Suggestions Box, where you can put ideas like this in there to give site staff and admin something to look at when we get some free time (and it's a thread designed to give members a chance to give their ideas with less scrutiny/feedback.)

 

[Muddy]

We did have our own chat here on AFN but it was taken down when we upgraded our version of vBulletin. We're going to be adding another site tech to help with some of our issues and I'm sure that's one thing we'll be revisiting. In all honesty, it was never all that popular. Most times there were only 2-3 people on it and never for very long. Since anything said on there was lost we always discouraged talking about plant issues. We always felt those type of things were best discussed in forum threads so the information would be saved.

 

[Son of Hobbes]

We did have our own chat here on AFN but it was taken down when we upgraded our version of vBulletin. We're going to be adding another site tech to help with some of our issues and I'm sure that's one thing we'll be revisiting. In all honesty, it was never all that popular. Most times there were only 2-3 people on it and never for very long. Since anything said on there was lost we always discouraged talking about plant issues. We always felt those type of things were best discussed in forum threads so the information would be saved.

Are you referring to the Shout Box? Or was there another version of chat on here prior to that?

 

[n00b]

I do like the forum format as well. I wasn't suggesting it, per se. I was curious if anyone would like the feature. Since you've already tried it then that answers my question lol.

 

[n00b]

I'm glad you understand the security risks of it and are not denying it has them; at least we agree that much on it.

I do disagree with your comparison though; the security and protections afforded by AFN are far more than you would find on IRC in my opinion; not only through the software we used to protect the site, but through having staff members that have been here for years and have built relationships based on trust. There are actually VERY few people with access to member IP's and personal information (that's good for everyone.)

I'm not saying this to shoot down your idea bro; I just think it's a security risk (and saying that in my opinion, my views don't necessarily reflect the official AFN stance on this.) I miss the old Shout Box we used to have on the front page. Ohhhh the days of telling you all the status of whether I was wearing pants or not. Those were the days indeed!

Some things are currently in the works with site improvement; we now have a thread called the AFN Site Suggestions Box, where you can put ideas like this in there to give site staff and admin something to look at when we get some free time (and it's a thread designed to give members a chance to give their ideas with less scrutiny/feedback.)

By the way, I wasn't implying that ops are not extremely security conscious and I'm sure they take everyone's safety as the top priority..I meant in overall terms of safety there are methods for securing both http and irc protocols alike. but I agree it would be better suited as an Ajax window as part of, or a section of the site, in which it would be covered by the same security protocols that are already in place here

 

[yodabuds]

BoxPn (a VPN service) and a tor browser :thumbs: