There is one I believe #processing channel at irc.freenode.net

the processingjs is at irc.mozilla.org

we had this discussion a while ago.
and i still think the idea of a processing irc channel for helping people is not as good as it sounds.
cause  alot of information will get lost or not saved at all, just think of the old processing board not existing because all these questions were asked in chat.
and its actually not as bad. you mostly get an answer to your question withing some minutes or at least an hour.

I've used both forums and IRC for a variety of tasks and find that while a forum has a longevity factor there's not nearly as quick a feedback loop as you'll get on a good IRC channel or even an e-mail list. If your problem isn't pressing then a forum is fine, but if you're sitting at the keyboard "right now" and need a bit of help IRC is the way to go.

Leam

I'm with cedric on this...  If you get help via IRC there's no-one else checking it to see if you've actually been offered good advice; or to offer alternative/better solutions; and if the problem can be addressed with a quick fix, or is a beginner question, then more than likely the answer is already in the forums or Learning section and available via a search.

I get what Leam_h is saying. I post stuff on the forum and I wait a few days, sometimes people respond the same day. However that quick instantaneous response is lacking, but like blindfish said, thank God for the old forums.

As an aside, I got a job once based on my supportive activities on IRC.   :)

I've used and run both IRC/reflectors and forums before, both have value. Neither is a guarentee of good info but active IRC tends to have a faster turn around time; moments instead of hours. But as noted you have to go to some extra effort to save the output though. Well, we all volunteer somewhere, so if there's not the enthusiasm for an active IRC channel then there's just not the option.

So far I'm fnding this forum software to be problematic. Multiple sign-ins, back buttons don't work, and the "remember me" capability seems hokey. I'm running FF 3.6 with a current Java plug-in, on Fedora. Could be me, but if other visitors have similar experiences then it becomes uninviting.

Leam

as an aside i got several jobs from the discours board :)  and probably again, the chance to get a job might be bigger cause what you said is permanent.

but you are right, the forum is far from beeing perfect. we just switched but i am still not really happy with it.

It's  kinda ironic to mention this, but I think as technology/processes aim to get better, I find earlier renders of software or images are the better version as time goes on.

Processing 0135 is wicked fast!!! and as the versions got closer to what we have today 1.21 , 1.21 is actually slower.
VLC PLayer 0.92 is much better than the latest version.

I find the original version of the forums are better than this one and the one we just came from.

I get what leam_h is getting at. We need a place which compliments the power of Processing; where we get balance.

A place to post opengl sketches would be great IMHO.

@owaunandrew--yeah, features are added onto the original architecture for versions 1-2, and then about 3 they have to go back and refactor the internals to regain speed while maintaining feature sets.

Leam