Scheduled Chat, Private Chats, etc.
Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2002 10:33 am
No, I'm not flaming anyone, but I bet that got your attention!
On the Scheduled Chat this morning, we came up with some issues that we feel need explained in greater detail. The foremost of these is Private Messages.
Anyone who has used the new chat software has probably figured out by now that to join a room, you highlight it on the list and click on JOIN ROOM. There is, to me and several others, nothing more annoying than to be involved in a chat in a room, say, Scheduled Chats, and to suddenly have two or three Private chat windows pop out. The general concensus of the Scheduled Chat regular users is that Private chats are annoying, at that said time. The chat has been scheduled at THAT time. We're in THAT room. Come TO that room to talk to us, please.
Notice also the room called Private Chats. This serves, pretty much, as an open invitation saying, "Hey, I WANT you to private chat me." Well, if someone is NOT in that Private room, then it's probably a safe bet, if he/she/it is on a regular room instead, that said person does NOT want you to Private chat them. If you want to Private with them, it's common courtesy to go to the room which they are on and say, "Hello, Paolo (or whoever), I would like to PC you, may I?" I use my name here only as a filler. Nothing personal to anyone.
It's also a good idea to try and keep track of who you have talked to. I did this when I started out way back when. It's useful in the fact that you don't ask the same questions each time, or do something to annoy the sh*t out of anyone. Just a simple listing, like "Paolo, Male, asexual, hypogonadal eunuch, 35, Indiana USA, etc., etc." I'm NOT talking about a novel, here.
For example, the one I get a lot is "are you Italian?" Well, yea, it's an Italian name, it's my nick, and I do have a few Italians way back up the family tree ... but I have been asked this from the same person quite a few times. Take notes, folks, until who is who sticks in your mind! Oh, and by the way, the come-on line, "Hey what are ya into?" isn't really a great way to kick off a conversation. Well, it might be in someone's book, come to think.
And one last thing - in closing - if you dont' highlight a room and click JOIN ROOM, you're not actually IN the chat anywhere. You're just sort of floating about the page ...
The chat software is here to have fun with, folks, and I am not discouraging anyone in any way from using it. I'm just asking for users to take the time and exercise a bit of common courtesy and have a little respect for the other users.
Thanks.