6 Pasting > 3 lines? Don't!

As a software developer, I can sometimes be found lurking on IRC channels (essentially chatrooms, for those of you unfamiliar with IRC) related to programming. Programmers in these channels often want to communicate ideas through source code. Pasting large chunks of code (greater than three lines or so) directly into the channel generates a lot of extra noise for everyone, even though only one or two people may be interested in it. It also makes it difficult for everyone else to weave through the conversation logs. To alleviate this problem, it has become the social norm to paste code to a website like pastebin and link to it in the channel, or to send the code to an individual via private message.

This norm is usually displayed in the channel topic, which a user sees as soon as he joins the channel. For example, when I join the #python channel on irc.freenode.net, I’m presented with (emphasis mine):

* Now talking in #python
* Topic is 'The Python Programming Language | NO LOL. | Pasting > 3 lines? Use http://rafb.net/paste | Tutorial: http://docs.python.org/tut/tut.html | #python.web / #wsgi | FAQ: http://effbot.org/pyfaq/index.htm'
* Set by Jerub on Tue Sep 18 20:48:25

Channel operators (or "ops" for short) are the Leviathans in this setting. They can enforce the norm by either kicking and/or banning the offender. When an op kicks a user, he ejects that person from the channel; however, he is allowed to rejoin the channel. Because of this, kicks usually serve as a warning. When an op bans someone, he is not allowed to rejoin the channel until an op lifts the ban.

The note in the topic is what Wallace calls a "sign at the door." It makes all visitors aware of the rules adopted by the Leviathans (the ops). If a user decides to break these rules, typically an op or some other regular will reproach the user. This action is the CMC equivalent to the "arched brow" in FtF. The goal in both cases is to gently let the user know that he is acting beyond the accepted norms of the group. If the user continues to disregard the rule, an op may attempt to kick or ultimately ban him from the channel.

Regular channel visitors don't violate this rule and they reproach new visitors who do, which indicates that the channel members are willingly giving up this freedom for the greater order of the group. This matches Wallace’s argument that a Leviathan is appointed in order to preserve orderliness and efficiency in the group. A given channel member gives up the convenience of being able to paste code blocks directly in return for conversations that are easy to follow without having to wade through heaps of pasted code.

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