While all official development takes place on the mailing lists and the Savannah trackers, a lot of discussions are had on IRC as well. Everybody is welcome to join and follow these channels, but please respect the below guidelines if you want to participate. # Asking Questions Please follow these [guidelines](http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html) when asking your question. Namely: spend some time trying to solve the problem on your own (e.g., [search the web](http://www.google.com), use this wiki, etc.), show us that you did so when you ask your question, and provide as many relevant details as possible reproducing them as exactly as possible. # Staying On-Topic Please try to stay on topic. * emacs vs. vi **is not** on topic * If it is appropriate for a **slashdot comment**, it's **not appropriate** here * why GNU sucks is **off-topic** * when the next release of the Hurd will be **is inappropriate** * you should not advocate your favorite **GNU/Linux** ditribution # Pasting Logs Sometimes providing a log or some other excerpt of text can help solve a problem or answer a question. **Do not** paste the log in the channel itself. Instead use a [paste bin](http://paste.debian.net). # Rich Text Don't use it. Don't use colors. Don't use bold. Don't use emphasis. # Greeting If you never contribute to the discussion, there is no need to always greet the channel when you enter and before leave. # Channels All Hurd IRC channels are hosted on [Freenode.net](http://freenode.net/). * #hurd - The official Hurd IRC channel. Some of the Hurd developers and users hang out there, and discussions about GNU Hurd, GNU/Hurd and Debian GNU/Hurd are had there. Local user channels include: * #hurd-it - Italian * #hurd-es - Spanish * #hurdfr - French * #hurd-de - German * #hurd.in - Indian regional languages(but primarily English) # Channel logs * [#hurd logs](http://richtlijn.be/~larstiq/hurd/)