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IndiaTwits? - The IRC Hangout Place For Indian Twitterers

How do I start? (quickly)

The easiest way to start is to go to http://java.freenode.net or http://www.mibbit.com. Once you're there, make sure you use these:

   * IRC Server: irc.freenode.net
   * Channel: #indiatwits
   * Nickname: For consistency, we recommend that you use the same IRC handle as your twitter username.

Sign in to start chatting, its that easy!

Ok, this web chat thing is weird. Is there something better?

Yes, there is! Download mIRC (http://www.mirc.com) for Windows, Colloquy for Mac OS X, or irssi for anything else. Now while connecting, Choose the server as FreeNode?, enter the channel name as #IndiaTwits?

For consistency, we recommend that you use the same IRC handle as your twitter username.

History of #Indiatwits

The channel was initially floated as #IndiaTwit? by @preshit with @abhin4v, @aryayush, @karthiksn and @SathyaBhat joining the discussion. The channel remained operational only for few days, as interest died down.

The Rebirth

It all started with @SathyaBhat's innocent tweet: http://twitter.com/sathyabhat/statuses/806099756

From then it grew quickly. The first few people to join were @prasnation, @alagu, @preshit, @unitechy, @aditya, @vimalg2, @DBhai

Then the channel was brainstormed as #IndiaTwit? by @aditya, @SathyaBhat, and @vimalg2 on May 8,2008, pre-lunch, around 12:30PM

The channel was then registered as #indiatwits by @aditya on recommendation by @prasnation on May 8,2008 post Lunch i.e., 2pm, and #IndiaTwit? was taken down.

A bot, itbot was added to automate some of the things like a true IRC chatroom. The bot, initially a mIRC script, was ported over to Python by @aditya in little over 6 hours time, under @harshad's suggestion.

Under @prasnation's suggestion, changes were done such that every topic change, or messages logged by Operators are automatically tweeted to @indiatwits.

The channel still under continuous development, with @aditya bringing it up to hacker standard.

Name our bot

@prasnation and @hiway started discussing if it would be better that "itbot" be renamed to something more fun and interesting. Here are the current suggestions:

   * tapori (by @prasnation)
   * champu champak (by @codelust)
   * mandakini (by @codelust)
   * Add your suggestion here!

Chat on #IndiaTwits? - Is that all that can be done?

Not really! Of course #IndiaTwits? was created to offload a bit of chatter from twitter, here's some more neat things that you can do:

• Store your favorite line(s) of chat into the database
  • How Do I do that?

Simple, just type

       !log <your-message>

and it gets stored!

• Retrieve your stored message, or messages containing specific word
  • How Do I do that?

Just type

        !gl <search-keyword>

and the stored messages containing <search-keyword> will be retrieved.

But I can't be on IRC all the time! :(

Oh? But you can be on Twitter and keep checking on tweets often? If so then just start following @indiatwits, all topic changes are tweeted to @indiatwits! In addition, certain select messsages are also tweeted to @indiatwits! If you find them interested, just join in!

How do I spread the word?

Firstly, thanks for helping spread the word! Here are a few ways:

   * Invite your twitter friends to join in
   * Tag your tweets with #IndiaTwits? tag (http://hashtags.org/tag/IndiaTwits/)

Why are there bots in the channel?

Bots are there to help us live our lives easier. Each has their own purpose:

   * tapori (formerly known as itbot) - This is our general purpose admin bot. @aditya created and maintains this bot.
   * gyaanbot - This will serve other purposes like FAQ, quizzes, web searches, URL shortening, etc. @hiway owns this bot.