Board Thread:General Wiki Discussion/@comment-24376429-20140317195106/@comment-4832646-20140318170537

Noothgrush wrote: As I said yesterday, I spent my high school years in a distance learning program (that's a long story, I was a bit of a fuck up). When I left school most of my friends dropped me. I was on the internet a lot, I'm a perfect example of how forums can create tight communities. Most of those forums have dissolved but I'm still in regular contact with a majority of the people I spent so long talking to.

I've been on every side of the fence. I've modded, admined, been a user. Forums are a fertile ground to grow a community from. Don't downplay that. As far as I'm seeing, the chat is simply creating contention and division. I'll say you have a point there, but a chat can be the same way. The issue that I see is mainly the fact that contention and division is what mostly comes onto the site from the chat. What stays in the chat is the chat's good side.

Again, I see two points on each side. I still think a trial run would be the best route, where we can figure out how to contain chat drama, encourage chat-only users to assist in the site, encourage site only users to join the chat, and basically try to bind the community together while at least making the effort to make everyone happy.

Right now I'm seeing alot of this thread being "Chat should do this!" "Site should do this!" "Stop putting your drama on the main site and only use chat for site maintenance, that's what it's there for!" "Editing is our choice and chat's the only way to talk! You wanna edit, do it!" On and on and on.

If we want to cohese the site, we need to stop trying to tell everyone what to do and actually act like a community. Encourage chat-only users to assist, provide incentives. Set up a welcoming environment in chat for site-only users.

Bring back the 100-edit count (Up it and have at least some of them on articles) for applications to chat mod. Make them edit some articles and participate in more than just chat if they want to get somewhere. I'd start at 150, with 125 on articles. Stop posting dramatic shit all over the main site. If you have an update for the Chat Rules, have an update for the Site Rules. Participate in the Writer's Workshop Board.

Chat should greet new and site-only users. When one speaks, don't leave them out. None of this "clique" shit. Everyone talk together. If someone wants the subject changed, change it! Have some consideration. Chat drama? PM. Group? Multi PM. Done through chat-hacks. Site-Only users, particularly if you haven't been in chat (which most have, but there are a few who have not), need to drop the whole "Chat is useless." It can be useful if you want to use it.

That's only scratching the surface. A community is about compromise, no? Well, let's compromise.