We've actually posted about it here before. Yes, we do it; yes, it works. Didn't see the Nightline segment, though. We began at 4 months as wild disbelievers, startled by how readily our kid peed in the pot. At 10 months, it just feels routine.
I think it's important to distinguish it from "potty training" per se, since EC is a longterm process. Though you try to get most of what you can in the potty, you really need to be equipped with a "no big deal" mentality. We use diapers on outings and overnight and mostly use training pants at home.
There was also a piece in Babble about it recently, in Notes from a Nonbreeder.

Also: http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/
There is a large, high-volume yahoo list on EC, and there is also a local one for NYC (which also holds meetings) Many other regions have local lists/groups too.

Hard to do unless you are a stay-at-home parent, though, as consistency is key.

It is all about conditioning (both parent and child)...

I recommend the book Infant Potty Training if you want to learn more about it.

I have two friends who do it. One of them started her daughter when she was about 4-months-old.

MamaChilanga is right, though -- you really need to be a stay-at-home parent to be able to do it as consistency is paramount. I work full-time, so it was difficult for us to do.

Actually, there are a lot of people who work out of the home and part-time EC, just on evenings or weekends or whatever fits for them.

Not sure I understand the benefit or value of doing it part-time. Isn't that confusing for the kid?

lb - thanks for the great resources and information. We'll check it out, but in the meantime, is there an age at which you should start your baby?

This is how 1.3 billion people in China do it. Babies walk around with a slit in their pants. It is a normal sight.

The value of doing it part-time is connecting with your child and normalizing the potty as a place to go. Our daughter is diapered with no EC on the two half-days she is with her babysitter, and she doesn't seem confused at all. I think a huge misconception about EC is that it is all or nothing. If it's something you want to do, you can fit it in to whatever your lifestyle is. Let me give you this example, with a very concrete benefit: our kid is very consistent about pooping in the pot when she wakes up in the morning. So whether it is an out-at-work day or a work-at-home day for us, that one catch would make it worthwhile if she never saw a potty again all day long! :)
http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/index.php?module=faq&FAQ_op=view&FAQ_id=11

As for ages, we started at 4 months. If we have another child, we will begin at birth. Most people recommend starting before 6 months, just because it is easier for a variety of reasons. Maybe people start at 3-5 months because they are starting to leave that newborn haze and feel like they are up for it. There are also a lot of "late start" EC'ers, meaning that they begin after 6 months, but younger traditional potty training would take place.
Hope this helps--feel free to ask more questions.

RE: China... defecating at the side of the street or road is not unusual in China, but I wouldn't attempt it here ;-)

It's popular in India too. When I was a pediatric nurse, I remember the little Indian children coming in in their pretty silk outfits, with no undies, no diaper, and a slit in the pants.

I did EC the lazy way. Using cloth diapers, but also paying attention to when my kids had to go. As such, all of them were going #2 on the potty by about 10 months and fully potty learned by about a year to a year and a half. I certainly wasn't strict about it, but did try to be in "tune", none of them seemed to like making messes in their diapers. Made diaper laundry easier for me!

I have to ask:what part of China has MamaC visited where defecating at the side of the street is not unusual??

Back to the topic at hand: we've had great experience with this, if 1 kid counts as experience. Sounds like our kid is on the same routine as lb. If you're thinking about it, I'd say go for it, you never know.

I must confess I've never been to China. But I have friends living in Shanghai and my Grandfather used to travel to China on business several times a year. They all joke about how common it is to see children and men relieving themselves in public. I'm not sure that would be acceptable here.

BTW: My brother and I were toilet trained by our Russian grandmother by the time we were a year old, using an EC-like process. But I opted not to go that route with my now 3-year old. She woke up one morning and decided she wanted to wear "big girl underpants". One week later she was pretty much accident-free (with one bout of regression her first week of preschool). My pediatrician says most kids are completely accident-free by 3ish, regardless of the method used. Many roads up the mountain ;-)

I really wish I had done this.

Everyone says "no one goes to kindergarten in diapers," but honestly, my (developmentally on-track) 3.5 year old would have been happy to. I am convinced that, unlike MamaChilanga's kid and so many others I've jealously heard about, left to his own devices my son would never have chosen to use the potty. I cannot even tell you the unrelenting nightmare that potty-training has been around here.

If I ever have another, I will definitely try EC, at whatever level I can handle. Anything to avoid the same hell in the future.

Hi Janie,
you can start whenever it feels like the right time, though it is 'easier' before say 6 months as they go often enough that you have plenty of opportunities to 'connect' the action and the cue (wees and poos to perhaps a sound or word cue)

- Though lots of cultures start around that time as baby is sitting up and NOT wetting so much!

Many ways. EC is 'better' for those families practicing it - that is why they do it!

May I offer a link to my resources helping families ease into EC part-time? I am really enthusiastic about helping families ease into baby pottying as a way to reduce diaper washing and waste.

I have put together a free introductory series of emails - a guided tour about the best attitudes to adopt when beginning EC. It's very popular!

Here:
http://www.parttimediaperfree.com/
http://www.parttimediaperfree.com/Modern-Cloth-Diapers.htm

Thanks,
Charndra