Editing IRC channel (section)

== Principles ==

The #haskell channel is a very friendly, welcoming place to hang out,
teach and learn. The goal of #haskell is to encourage learning and
discussion of Haskell, functional programming, and programming in
general. As part of this we welcome newbies, and encourage teaching of
the language.

Part of the #haskell success comes from the fact that the community
is quite tight knit &mdash; we know each other &mdash; it's not just a homework
channel. As a result, many collaborative projects have arisen between
Haskell irc channel citizens.

To maintain the friendly, open culture, the following is required:

* Low to zero tolerance for ridiculing questions. Insulting new users is unacceptable. New Haskell users should feel entirely comfortable asking questions.

* Helpful answers should be encouraged with <code>name++</code> karma points, in public, as a reward for providing a good answer.

* Avoid getting frustrated by negative comments and ambiguous questions. Approach them by asking for details (i.e. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method Socratic questioning]), rather than challenging the competence of the writer (ad hominem). As the channel grows, we see a diverse range of people with different programming backgrounds getting accustomed to Haskell. Be patient and take satisfaction from spreading knowledge.