Chatroom Etiquette

 

By Mary Rosenblum

Long Ridge Web Editor (and writer)  

www.maryrosenblum.com

 

            The chat rooms are the core of the Long Ridge website.  Here you can meet other writers, talk about writing, ask for help with a stuck assignment or a story that just won’t work.  You really can’t talk about your writing with anybody but other writers.  ‘Regular’ people just don’t get it.  Bring the news of that latest rejection slip in for a little virtual tea and sympathy.  Come to rejoice over that sale.  We’ll all dance and shout with you. 

 

            Twice a week, you’ll find Forums in the auditorium, where we discuss a particular topic.  Every other week, you can chat with a professional in the writing field…an author, an editor, a publisher, an agent. 

 

            The chat room also offers you the option to create a private room.  Want to critique a story with a friend?  Create a private room.  Want to chat privately with a friend?  A  private room is your best option. 

 

            Enjoy what the chat site has to offer.  But please be courteous.  Observe some simple common sense rules about this chat room…and chat rooms in general. 

 

Be Polite

 

           Lots of people hang out on the Long Ridge website, all connected by their love of writing.   Not everyone you’re going to meet on the site will be your ‘cup of tea’.  Think of the chat room as a big block party.  Some of the folks you’ll meet there will be of like mind…cool people you want to hang out with.  Others will be…well…not your sort.  Once in awhile, you’ll run into someone who is annoying.   Remember that this IS public space and a community.  Just as you wouldn’t tell someone at that block party that he/she is a jerk, don’t do it here.  If someone bothers you…ignore them.  If they’re truly annoying and everybody ignores them…they will go away.  If you react to that person, start arguing…they have probably achieved what they want and they’ll stick around.   Use your Private Message feature to chat with your friends or suggest that you all adjourn to a private room or meet later, when Annoying Person is no longer present.

 

Party Politely

 

            If you’re a newcomer, don’t assume that you’re not welcome in an ongoing conversation in the Auditorium or Room on the site.  If the conversation is taking place in a public room, it should be public, but chat flows quickly when several people are present, and after a welcoming ‘hi’, you’re expected to jump right in.  While it’s okay to be a wall flower and just listen, don’t feel that you’re being snubbed if you don’t get nagged to join in.  Jump in.  That’s the way it works.  Ask that question.  If nobody is talking about writing right now, bring it up.  Ask about that assignment that’s bugging you.  You’ll be amazed at how helpful most of the website regulars are.  They may be goofing around, being silly, but if you ask for some input, you’ll nearly always get some helpful response.

 

            A lot of new Long Ridge students and hopeful newcomers drop into the chat rooms to say hi.  All you regulars, remember that this is a public forum for writers.  Welcome newcomers.  You were one, once.  Help newcomers out with their questions about writing and be open to conversations about it.  If you only want to role play with friends, if you’re really just there to tease each other, carrying on what is essentially a private conversation and ignoring those pesky people dropping in, take it to a private room, or the other public room if it isn’t occupied. 

 

            Remember…if your conversation isn’t open to the public, then take it out of the public space.

 

Private Means Private

 

          The private room feature means just that…someone wants privacy for a critique, games, a serious conversation, or what have you.  There is no way to ‘lock the door’ with this software, so please don’t go barging in.  If this group wanted drop in additions, they would be doing this in the Room  or the Auditorium.  If you do drop into a private room looking for an individual and that person is not there, excuse yourself and leave unless you are invited to stay. 

 

Forum and Interview Small Talk

 

            At the Forums and Professional Connection interviews, the temptation is to comment on the speaker’s comments, slip in a humorous aside, or to chat with your neighbors while waiting for the next answer to a question…especially if the guest is a slow typist on dialup and the lag is long. 

 

            Please don’t do that.  Every typed line causes the screen to scroll upward.  While that may not be a problem for you, a slow reader may not be able to keep up with the scrolling lines as everybody chats.  Don’t ruin their pleasure in the topic, even if you are bored.  If you want to chat with a couple of people while waiting for that slow typist with dial-up to get his/her comment on screen, use your Private Message feature or skip over to the Room and then come back when you’re done chatting.  Remember…every Forum and Interview is posted on the website as a transcript, so if the pace is too slow, go do something else and  read it later.

 

            The chat rooms are a way to hang out with other writers, no matter how isolated you might be geographically.  It is the heart of the Long Ridge website experience.  We have a great group of regulars, it’s a lot of fun, and if you’re stuck, depressed over a rejection, elated over a sale, or just need some help with a stuck plot…it’s a great place to be.  Create an online writers group and critique in the private rooms. 

 

            Just remember some basic rules of etiquette and we’ll all enjoy the space. 

 

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For help getting started with chat and your security settings, read the articles:  

 

Chatroom Troubleshooting

http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/st01/chat_room_activex.shtml

 

Using the Chatroom Software by Mary Beth Voelker

http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/st01/ichat_chat_room.shtml

Additional Chatroom Features by Mary Beth Voelker

http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/st01/voelker2.shtml

 

Creating a Private Room by Dorry Pease

http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/st01/entrance_to_a_private_room.shtml