There is now a Des Moines Web Geeks chat room. You need to use IRC to connect to the freenode network. Once there join the chatroom #dsmwebgeeks.
If you just want to pop in for a bit you can use the webchat client or if you plan to visit more regularly, check out a native client for your system:
- If you are on Windows a good chat program is Pidgin
- On Mac OS Adium or Colloquy
- On Linux Pidgin, Empathy or X-Chat (one of these is probably already installed for you)
Each of these should understand how to connect to the Freenode IRC network but if you want more info check out http://freenode.net/
Never used IRC for chat? It’s a very popular, very casual chat system. You don’t have to register a username, just pick one that’s not used when you log in. Freenode allows you to register your username after you’ve claimed it so that people can’t take it when you’re not using chat.
If you want to get someone’s attention in a conversation, include their name in your reply. This will “ping” them so that they get a notification. It’s very much like mentioning a person’s twitter name in a tweet.
Please feel free to join and ask questions or start a conversation. The only guidelines that we ask you to observe is to please ensure our room remains respectful and welcoming for everyone.