FF:WA online chats are killing the forum

Hey guys, I got on tonight and there are hardly any posts. If everyone just chats on icq all the time, we're going to lose some valuable discussions on here. The new people on here won't get to know us, and we're at risk of becoming too cliquey.

Private discussions are fine, but don't let them take the place of the forums. Not everyone is online all the time, and people will start to feel left out.

I, for one, am starting to miss the constant dribble and fun that made us all friends in the first place.
*sheds a wistful tear*

 

Im here

 

Hey! PL got to start a thread!
you're not still mad with Bar Bar then?

 

I'd just give him a flogging to keep him in line anyway

is this enough dribble for you?

 

If you want drivel, take some lessons from Paul, and Qld forum in general.

 

ummm i think we'll pass on that thanks

 

Thanks guys, I feel loved again. And you know I could never really be mad at my little Gungan friend.

 

Jokes and dribble aside, Princess Lego's made some very good points guys. As some of you know, I haven't been entirely comfortable with this apparent need for online chats and I couln't put my finger on why. PL's nailed it.
If there's any club business or good ideas for the club, I think this is the place to discuss it. More & more I'm hearing things like, "So & so and I were discussing that the other night." If you have an idea and you want to get someone else's opinion before you bring it up here then that's good, but I get the feeling that private chats are starting to take the place of the open discussion that built this place.
I often like chatting 1 to 1 with people on ICQ when I see they're online but there's a number of reasons why I don't think that online chats are a good way for discussing the club. Especially group chats.
For one thing, chats with more than a few people don't accomplish much. By the time you post a reply to one person's comment, 3 other people have already taken the discussion on a completely different tangent. It's very difficult to keep online chats on any topic for very long.
Online chats only include people who happen to be online. Everyone else misses the discussion. When we moved, we had no phone connection for a week. When we got back online we didn't miss anything on the forums because the threads were all still there. Anything discussed on chats, we would have missed competely.
In my experience, I've never found group chats to be very productive. Think about the last time you chatted online. Was it productive or was it all just passing time and socialising? We did have chats on E-groups a while back. There were technical problems but we had plenty of chats without problems. Can anyone remember anything productive that came from those chats? They're fine for socialising but that's about it.
One thing that chats are good for is chatting with people over long distances but they can participate and feel included just as well in here. These forums do't require any proprietary software either. Any web browser will do so it doesn't matter who's got what installed.
PL suggested that if we get in to regular online chats, we run the risk of forming in to clique groups. It will happen. I've seen it happen before. People start forming their own sub-groups of people they like to chat to a lot and before too long, the whole thing drifts apart.
Most of us met online so it's natural for us to interact online, but I don't want Outer Rim to be an online starwars club. The truth is, I'd like to move the emphasis away from the Internet and just use the Internet to complement the club's offline activities. With the exception of a few newer participants, I've met all of you in person, including a few from outside Perth. I plan on continuing that. I want you all to be more than just names on my monitor.
I'm not saying don't chat online. Just don't over-do it, and certainly, don't let the private chats take the place of the open discussions we've enjoyed here all this time.

 

Sorry? I missed the part after..."Jokes and dribble aside"... could you repeat the rest please.

 

Short version; "The Second Rule is you do not ask questions."

 

What was the first rule again?

 

first time here but sounds good

 

About time you showed up!
Half the guys here have met you in person now so it's good to see you here in the forum.

 

I for one, hardly ever use ICQ, but then again, I liked telling Grizzly the other day about the Blues being MMC CHAMPIONS!!!!

Sorry, but I just couldn't have my self.

Also, ICQ is good to tell me not to forget to turn up to meets - now all you have to do is tell me not to write it on my whiteboard, cause I'll sure as hell forget then!

 

I didn't read Soniel's big post but what I do know is that I check these boards early in the morning, which means I don't get on at night when the rest of you are on to hear these PRIVATE chats on ICQ. Which is another thing, if you don't post in here then not only will I, Wayne Siviour, VICE P. of OUTER RIM!! (Sounds good, doesn't it) hear about then any other newbies that come won't here about it either.

Am I on the track, Eh what the hell!!

 

I propose that everyone posts their icq histories, no? maybe best not then