Board Thread:General Wiki Discussion/@comment-24376429-20140317195106/@comment-4832646-20140318155222

AlcohollicA wrote: One of the main things irking me right now is how people are saying things like, "chat is how I have friends on here." That's fine. However, as the front page of this wiki states, "we're a literature wikia". With that in mind, feel free to associate, etc. with other members, but I think that writing pastas, editing pages, and maintaing the site overall comes first. And chat acts generally as a distraction for members and is often host to petty drama and useless discussion. Feel free to talk with people, but do it somewhere else (IRC, etc.). Also, chat as of now should be removed, but it may be better to have it if it was used for site maitenance or something of that nature. You have a point. But, think about this. Should we limit ourselves specifically to that, with no actual friendly conversation, just talking about editing, writing, and maintenance? I'll put it this way: If I wanted to join a book club, I would've joined a book club. You have to remember what these people signed up for. I myself? I edit on occasion, when I'm not suffering disastorous headaches.

(>Inb4 "On occasion, so you only contribute then?) No, I delete pages that fail to pass QS and I have comments and forum posts all over.

You see, I used to think chat should be shut down, and the trial might, yes, do some good. But permanently doing so is slightly extreme. It's like saying "Anyone and everyone is welcome, provided you contribute and edit and do things this way, but if you're here to socialize, get the fuck out." You see, there is something missing out of that. You have to remember: At the very least, some of these people are our readers. The audience sitting out while we perform on stage. You could be chasing away readers of the genre.

On the other hand, eventually it would quell the drama, but it's extreme to permanently bar it and then only use it if it involves editing or maintenance. We may not be America, but we are a community. Communities tend not to do well if they are strickened to simple things like that.

Keep in mind, I'm not saying this site should be just absolute fun, no rules. But the opposite extreme isn't going to help us grow. Let's not further decrease our reputation by saying to our regular members that if they aren't here to socialize, they're banished.

A trial run would be the best. Also, again, remember who we have as a community; we're not a bunch of 30-50 year olds in a senior center. We're a bunch of teenagers, with a few adults, such as myself, Skelly, Nick, Guy, and a couple others, but mostly 13-16 year olds, with a couple 17 year olds here and there. That's what makes up our community, and no matter how you stricken the rules, they're gonna slide off-topic to something else if they have the loyalty to stay in the site.

Now, I think that a good solution would be at best a trial run shutdown, while figuring out a way to keep chat in chat, without spilling it on to the main site. But without strickening up and trying to force productivity, which we can't do.