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Thread: Chat Here?????

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Knox, Maine
    Posts
    107

    Talking Chat Here?????

    I wonder if there is any chance that there could be a Live Chat on this web site such as we have on the http://gcchat.clayjar.com/ page. Easy for me to say this, as i am not the one volunteering all of the time for this great page. However if i could help , I would Glady..

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Litchfield, Maine
    Posts
    3,592

    Default

    I will try and explain my opinion on chat. I talked to Team Trout about this same subject before we put this site online and I think he agrees with me.

    Chat can be fun and very rewarding. But it has its downfalls also. Let me try and explain this without confusing everyone along the way with and example.

    Example:
    It is Tuesday night and six users are all in the chat room sharing stories and passing along helpful information. When they are all done chatting they log off and go on there merry way with some new information that may have been useful to them and heard some nice caches stories or what ever.

    Meanwhile all the other users that were not in the chat room for what ever reason on Tuesday night never got any of the stories or helpful information that was talked about because they were not in the live chat.

    Personally I think we all get more out of it if we leave it to leaving it as a message board and that way everyone else never misses out on anything said because the messages will be there for everyone to see. You never miss a story or some helpful hints that are passed along.
    End of Example.

    This does not mean that we can not add it. It can be added. I would like to here some more opinions on this. But I can not promise anything since I have not really looked into it and don’t know how much server resources it will use or require.
    Blazing Troll

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Brewer, Maine
    Posts
    120

    Cool To chat or not to chat...

    I understand your example, but I don't agree. :-)

    Chat has a completely different "feel" to it than forum messaging. I enjoy both. In fact, it's much more convenient to do the forums. However, the enjoyment of chatting is a lot of fun. People will still post in the message forums as well as chatting in the chat room. I don't think there will be a loss of information as I believe you were inferring.

    Ultimately, it's your call -- you are the one putting the time and money into this system for OUR pleasure -- for that, you get a gold star! I'm very impressed with the vBulletin system...someone spent a lot of time doing it right and making it look good. You've done an awesome job customizing it for our specific needs. Thanks! I ran a bulletin board system for 5 years back in the early 90's, back before the internet became so popular, so I know what it takes to maintain such a beast.

    Anyway, if you are looking for opinions, I'd say adding chat would be a great addition.

    -RanMan22

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Augusta, Maine
    Posts
    119

    Default

    I have to agree. Chat in here would be great. I like CLAYJAR's chat but I don't know half the people in there. I know a few, but if they aren't in there, I leave immediately. Plus it's nice to chat with those that have been to the same caches that you have (or plan on going).

    I read the example given about why you don't think it's a good idea, but IMO it doesn't matter because those that miss it will NEVER know it was given and it won't really matter. But you can almost guarantee the same people (because we are a tight knit group) will come back in and share that information they received the night before... because that's the way we are.

    EXAMPLE: At the BBQ, someone told me what I should do to help out with Colleen (she's 3) when she doesn't want to walk once we are out in the middle of the trail and she's tired and wants to be carried. I took that advice and shared it with another cacher that I know has small kids. Just because that other cacher wasn't involved in the conversation doesn't mean they can't received that good information/advice.

    Or maybe it's because I have such a big mouth that I can't keep anything to myself??

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Gainesville, Georgia
    Posts
    3,893

    Default

    I tend to agree with the previous replies about chat. I go into Clayjar's chat once in a great while but I don't know hardly anyone,except a few of us who join in on occasion. I do appreciate the effort that Rick has put into this website to make it happen and don't know what it would take to include a chatroom,but I think it would make it that much better if we could also talk to each other one on one. It's kind of nice too being able to talk to someone whom you have already met at an event or out caching too. Just my 2 cents

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Portland, Maine
    Posts
    1,652

    Thumbs up Me, too!

    Great idea Noreasta! I would enjoy it and use it as well. In fact, I would have used it last night if it had been available. I think that there is a use for a chat and the postings and believe that they would both be used well. For example, I posted a question about a fall event and would have still used that approach even if the chat option existed. On the flip said, it would be great to say hello to people I see on at the same time that I am.

    I second the gold star for your efforts and time! The site is fantastic!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Bangor, ME
    Posts
    6,343

    Default

    As regular visitor to ClayJar's chat channel, I really don't think a local one would work well. As it is, there are often 30 people logged in there, and yet only 2 or 3 chatting much of the time. Take a look at how many are logged into our new forums at any given time - and the account for those that won't chat, and those that are just logged in but not paying attention and that would not leave much of us to be chatting at a given time. Anyone that thinks otherwise should be able to fire up a new temporary IRC channel and see just how it goes.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Hallowell, Maine
    Posts
    37

    Default How about this idea?

    We could always set a day and time for Mainers to go online at Clay Jars site, different than the "national" time of geocachers. Then we could get the best of both worlds. Say, Sunday night at 8PM?

  9. #9

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by attroll
    I will try and explain my opinion on chat. I talked to Team Trout about this same subject before we put this site online and I think he agrees with me.
    Nice job of summarizing our talk. As mentioned, I agree with attroll. In my opinion chats almost create a duel set of users, those who chat and those who, for whatever reason, don't use chat. Those who chat do develop a separate collective knowledge through the info shared there. And then in their forum posts they refer to stuff learned or shared in chat sessions and folks who weren't involved are left scratching their heads.

    And I don't think it is a matter of people not wanting to or being willing to share information that is exchanged in chat. I think it is more along the lines that it simply seldom occurs to the folks that the info they learn and exchange in chat isn't known to all. If you learn it in a public forum, you assume it is public knowledge. And really, who is going to take the time and effort to record stuff in chat and re-post in the forums?

    I also agree with brdad that it probably won't be used much here.

    But, having said all of that, if folks want to chat then let them chat. In that spirit, I like geomainiacs idea of using the clayjar site at a predetermined time. It makes for less items for attroll to have to maintain to keep this wonderful site mumming right along.

  10. #10

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by Geochicks
    EXAMPLE: At the BBQ, someone told me what I should do to help out with Colleen (she's 3) when she doesn't want to walk once we are out in the middle of the trail and she's tired and wants to be carried. I took that advice and shared it with another cacher that I know has small kids. Just because that other cacher wasn't involved in the conversation doesn't mean they can't received that good information/advice.
    Geochicks,

    I think this is a great example of why the forums serve the user community better than chat. I'd love to hear the advice. I have a 3 year old daughter who sometimes does the same thing. If that knowledge had been exchanged in a forum post, I'd have access to.

    It's great that you're spreading the advice. But the way that you spread that advice to that other cacher was dependant on your knowing that the other cacher would be interested in it because you knew they had small kids. But I don't think there is any way for you to definitively know who would or would not be interested in it. If it were in a forum post, it would be there for everyone to see.

    So, I've got to know, what is this advice anyhow? I get really tired and hot sometimes carrying my daughter.

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