[FnordianSlip]

in light of conflicts i've witnessed in chat, i'd like to suggest there be chat hosts (friendly mods iow) for all the fixed rooms. i can speak from several years experience as an aol chat host that merely the presence of a mod will keep many conflicts from ever arising, and those that do can usually be quickly de-fused by neutral yet positive and supportive intervention by the mod along with a reminder that chatters have to option to hit the 'ignore' button if they need to.

as for user-created rooms, these would remain un-moderated, but because of that should be passworded only.

alternatively (and not nearly so complicated if the software allows), if there were just a way to make a clearly visible notice appear at the top of the chat window regarding where the 'ignore' feature is and how to use it, i think the PC chat-space would be a more harmonious experience for all.

[Raynaadi]

Yeah, its been brought up before that we have mod coverage for the chatrooms. However, we don't have a ton of mods and we're all on a volunteer basis. To have 24 hour coverage would be very difficult and its hard for us to be in chat and moderate the forums.

For me, its kinda cool that DocJohn has enough trust in the members to let chat go un-moderated unless we feel like chatting or are alerted to a problem. Its always suggested that a mod be alerted to a problem if we're online, and then we'll come in and help. Otherwise we assume that chat is going fine.

There is a sticky post in General explaining ways to save chat, use ignore, etc. Here's the link to that post.

Using self care and the tools we have can make for a good chatting experience. We all watch out for each other here, so even if there's no mod online at that time, we can still take care of any problems that may arise if there is a copy of the chat session. Chat sessions can be saved and PM'd to us, and the link I've provided explains how.

Hope that helps,
Rayna

[FnordianSlip]

24 hour coverage, though nice, is unlikely, i know. but perhaps coverage during just peak chat time (which to me seems to be from 6pm to 10pm eastern time) would be manageable? it would go a long way to ensure that the chats during those times are much less likely to be intimidating to members who don't handle conflict well.

as for the chat tech-tips post, i've been chatting here a month and only discovered it last night when i went looking on the forums for some information on the topic. as you probably know, some members use the chats, but don't post to or even read the forums at all...so still - if there were some way to make a sticky notice within the chat interface, or even a link to the chat tech-tips post, it would be helpful.

[Raynaadi]

Yeah these are both things to be brought up with DocJohn. However as a moderator, I'm glad I don't have a fixed schedule about when I'm here, since its a volunteer thing and I'm here when I can be. There usually is a moderator online during peak times, just not necessarily in chat, since we're moderating the forums. We're only a few keystrokes away when we're online, so please don't hesitate to "come get us".

Yeah, I'm also glad that the chat rooms aren't 'patrolled'. If there is conflict then one can always say that one would prefer to have a conflict-free chat and invite people to join you in your own chat room if they would like that too. I think that if you have made your own chat room then you are able to kick people out if you don't want them to be in there anymore.

Alternatively... One could always put the conflicting posters on 'ignore' so one doesn't have to see the conflict. If you say that you are doing that then other posters have the choice of whether they want to do similarly or not.

[kimmydawn]

I agree that ignore is a much more effective tool in chat...working really well when used.

The main thing I would want members to remember is that chat can be saved if someone has acted out seriously there. From there, it can be sent to the administration to address.

In a sense, chat is moderated but only when needs be. I, too, wish there was a way to let each one know the tools available when entering, or be an option to view while in chat. Right now it's pretty much word of mouth...

It would be nice if there were another tab at the top, while chatting, to include "chat help" (along with rooms, settings & my profile), but I don't know if it's a capability with the software.

KD

[webbie]

I found this with a bit of trouble...

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Techie Tips for PsychCentral's Chat rooms

I've come up with a list of tips for using the chat room here. You can also go here Chat Help for more help or select "Help" at the top of your chat window.

Fun:

Chat room Avatar:

If you want to use a certain avatar whenever you log into chat, go into chat and click on the "my profile" tab. Then click the avatar button. Select the avatar you like and hover your mouse over it. A number will pop up. Now you can go back to the forum screen and up at the very top, select "your profile". Scroll down and select "edit personal information". Scroll down and find "chat room avatar". Now you can enter the number you selected, submit the changes, and your avatar will appear every time you log into chat, automatically.

Text Colors and Appearance, Smilies:

On the bottom of the chat window, there are buttons. To change your text color, click on the button with the 4 color grid. This allows you to select the colors for your name, and your chat text. (Many members ask not to use the red colored fonts, as they can trigger people with seizure and/or migraine disorders.) Also down at the bottom near the color grid, you can select to bold your font (the button with the B) or italicize your font (the button with the italic I. Some members have a hard time reading the italicized fonts). The smiley face there allows you to add smilies and other pictures into your chat text.

Theatre mask button - emote users:

This is a fun feature to be silly and also lend support. If you click on the theatre masks on the bottom of the chat window, "emotions" appear under the list of chatters. You can select the emotion you want, such as "hug". Now you can right-click the user and select "emote user". In the chat window, it will appear like this: Raynaadi gives Kimmydawn a hug. Along the same lines, by typing a colon before your text, it has a different result. For example, in the text area I type :welcomes all in chat. It will appear in a light blue color like this: Raynaadi welcomes all in chat. You can do some fun things with this feature.

Settings:

The "settings" tab on the top of the chat window allow you to customize how you view the chat. You can add sounds, choose to not view colors (I find this helpful when there's a color that is hard on my eyes, though it makes all the text black). Up at the very top, you can change the entire appearance of the chat by selecting "appearance". You can even change the font size so its easier to see. By selecting the "explore" tab, you can open up a new window to browse the forums while you chat, or even go google something. This is extremely useful if someone in chat tells you they sent you a PM, or if you want to look something up without logging out of chat. See more tips for multitasking during chat below.

You can select an "away" status if you're going to be away from chat by selecting the icon that looks like a piece of paper with a pushpin. This will post "Raynaadi is currently away" and also italicize your name in the list of chatters. When you're back, click the icon again and it will say "Raynaadi is back again" and take the italics off your name.

Users:

If a user is bothering you, you can place them on "ignore" by right clicking on their name and selecting "ignore".

You can private message a user by right clicking on their name and selecting "private message".

You can see a user's profile by right clicking on their name and selecting "user profile".

You can "emote" a user as described above.

Rooms:

The rooms tab allows you to jump to the different rooms. If you want to follow someone into the Support room for example, click on the "rooms" tab, select support, and click change room. You can also create your own room. If the support room is full, and you need to talk to someone privately, click the rooms tab and select "create room". You can name it and even protect it with a password. Just make sure to tell your friends the password! You will automatically be entered into your private room. Others can go to that room by clicking the "rooms" tab. Your room will appear there. To enter a private room, select that room and click "change room". If it is password protected, you will be prompted to enter the password.

***Just a reminder about the Support room: This room is for members in need of immediate support. Many find this room extremely helpful when they are going through something in need of immediate attention. Once the need for immediate support has been resolved, please move conversation to another room, so that Support is open for other members in need of immediate support.

You can also "see" who is in what room by clicking the eye button on the bottom of your chat window. This will make a list of rooms and members appear in your chat window.

Tips for multitasking while chatting:

You can open up a new browser window as described above with the "Explore!" button. You can also start chatting with 2 windows open with these tips:
When I first log into PC, if I have any private messages, I click on the pop up box and that gives me a second "browser window". I read the messages and then I have two windows open that are on PC. Now I can chat out of one of those windows and on the other one, read, post, check out pictures, send PM's, etc. If I don't have any PM's, I open up a second "browser window" by going all the way up to the top of my browser above the "back" button. I click file, and select "new" and then "window". You can also push the Ctrl button plus N.
When you have two windows open, you don't have to log out of chat if you want to go check out a post or the gallery or send a PM. You can also go do a google search or whatever you want! Sometimes I have up to 5 or 6 browser windows open.

Another useful tip: After I do all this to get two windows and I want to chat but no one's there, I'll log into chat and then at the top, I click the "Settings" tab, and select that the user entry/exit sound play. Hit apply and return to chat and then you browse the forums, but you'll hear when someone comes in!

Notifying the mod/admin team of a problem:

Another reason it is good to have 2 windows open is so that, just in case, there's a problem with someone in chat, you can easily go "get" a mod or admin. Now that you have two windows open, you can click the forums page and notify one of us one of two ways. The first way, is to check the "who's online" screen by hovering over forums and selecting who's online from the drop down menu. Those of us on the mod/admin team who are online will appear in green or red, and it will say "moderators" or "administrator" next to our name. You can click our name and send us a PM alerting us to a problem in chat. The other way is to scroll all the way down on the forums screen to the light blue area and find the little link that says "Send PM to all moderators". This will PM every one of us on the team.

Saving chat session:

This is a really useful tool when alerting the moderation team to a problem in chat. You can save the entire chat session, from the time that you logged in to chat. Click the little disk icon on the bottom of the chat window. This will pop up a window containing the chat session. You can now highlight the chat and press Ctrl C to copy. You can now paste the session into a PM for the moderation team by pressing Ctrl V. It is helpful to us if you are able to "point us to" the relevant postings. I usually use the asterisk (*) next to the posts before I sent the PM. It is also helpful for us to "see" who was in chat at the time, so before you save the chat session, click the eye button so we can see the list of rooms and members. You can also use this feature if you've missed something in the conversation and it has already scrolled off the screen.

***The best way to learn all the features of chat is to log in and experiment! You can either go in when no one's there, or just let the other chatters know that you're experimenting with all the features.

Learning all these "techie tips" will ease your chatting experience and make it more fun and supportive. Just remember to adhere to the guidelines, and above all, have fun, get and lend support, and enjoy the company that the chat rooms offer!

Happy Chatting!!

~Rayna

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but it was very helpful...

[Raynaadi]

For the future, this is located in a sticky post in General.

[DocClyde]

What about the past and the present?

[Raynaadi]

Super Clyde, the ever technical haha!

[DocJohn]

We take a fairly "reactive" rather than "proactive" stance in our community, and that generally means we don't take action on something unless a member complains about it. In most cases, a single member's complaint will trigger us looking into the issue (whether it's someone in chat, a post, or a PM), but if we get multiple complaints from different members about the same issue, that emphasizes the problem and seriousness to us.

I agree, it would be nice to have 24/7 coverage of the community in some more formal manner (at least as a safety blanket, if nothing else), but we're not at that point yet in terms of our ability to schedule and sustain such a system. At least one mod or admin is usually online (or will be online shortly) to take care of most issues in a fairly timely manner.

Thanks, as always, for the suggestions though, they are appreciated.

DocJohn

I guess I have trouble with the notion that multiple complaints emphasises a seriousness to the complaint.

The touble that I have is that this reinforces people complaining to each other by PM and 'mustering the troops' to complain. After a time you might end up with particular people (with particular friends) who all complain about the same posts.

Instead of the complaints being independent responses, they could have a common cause, you see. One disgruntled poster.

I've personally received PM's to the effect of 'you better stop talking about that or I'll PM the moderators and make sure that they stop you'. I take such PM's as threats and ignore them. Funny thing is that those threats tend to ring true.

As they say... Its not what you say but who you know.

Reinforce the most vocal objectors and you reinforce their vocal objections.

[Perna]

Ah, Alexandra, you imply that DocJohn hasn't a mind of his own and can't independently look at the complaints and what the posts say and judge whether they're a genuine problem or not and/or doesn't have a clue what is going on on his own board? There's 100s of "active" members and having 6-8 complain isn't necessarily going to get something censured? But I imagine any wrangling at all, whether "legit" or not is going to get a thread looked at and logically it just happens that if it is a thread/chat discussion one is "for," the "disturbance" might get it closed. So, yes, being "ganged up on" doesn't look fair in that light but one can't know what happens to the others, the ganger-uppers? I doubt that can happen too often without some censure of their actions (as opposed to a particular post/topic, a "thing" more easily let go of than one's personal way of being/actions being criticized) as such a pattern would be a disturbance of the larger group in itself? It doesn't always go "their" way, even when it looks like it does to us down here in the peanut gallery.

[gardenergirl]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
alexandra_k said:

I've personally received PM's to the effect of 'you better stop talking about that or I'll PM the moderators and make sure that they stop you'. I take such PM's as threats and ignore them. Funny thing is that those threats tend to ring true.


</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Well isn't that a lovely message? I can almost hear the next line from him or her..."You'll be sorry." And then, "Look what you made me do." Remind anyone of anything? Hmmmm...?

I'm sorry you've experienced messages like that, alexandra, especially when, as Kimmiedawn and Doc John have said, there are systems in place to report posts or behavior one finds objectionable.

gg

> you imply that DocJohn hasn't a mind of his own

No Perna. I didn't explicitly or implicitly imply that at all.
Please don't accuse me of implying something so uncharitable, thanks.

I guess I just think that unless the post is particularly accusatory / judgemental / hostile etc then I really wouldn't complain about it.

How come? Well, if I'm not particularly happy with something that someone has said, I suppose it would be more direct for me to talk to them myself. For example, if I'm worried that the poster was implying something that I didn't think was very charitable then I might say how I interpreted and ask them if that was what they intended to convey. Quite often hurts can be based on mis-understandings.

Alternatively I could complain to admin and hope that they... What? Delete the post? Delete the thread? Lock the thread? If I complain and that happens then I'm more likely to complain again next time (reinforced behaviours tend to increase in frequency). And of course intermittent schedules are the hardest to extinguish... And of course intermittent schedules have the longest extinction burst...

Something to bear in mind is all. It isn't to imply that people don't have minds of their own. The behaviourist law tends to show that people with minds of their own conform to the law. How come? Well... Attention is limited and the line of least resistence is in accordance with the law.

There are individuals (not moderators) who come to think they have immense power on the boards to decide who will be banned and who will not. Do they?

Just something to bear in mind about the current system is all.

One might wonder how much Bob's boards are going the same way with his 'report this post' feature and with his inconsistent moderating (such that gg gets a PBC for bypassing autoasterisking but muffled doesn't for doing exactly the same thing - while knowing full well what she was doing - over on writing...)

blah.

just ignore me... been having a weird few days and thought i'd spread some of the weirdness (or somethin)... blah...

i gave a talk yesterday and it went okay :-)

:-)

but i feel a little weird...

[Fuzzybear]

((( ak )))