October 16 2005 EhBC Online Discussion

October 16, 2005 EhBC Online Discussion

<ModBot> This message is generated by Moderator Bot, ModBot for short. I've set an automatic message that reads as follows...
<ModBot> Welcome to or regular Sunday night discussion. Please refrain from sending "hi" and "bye" messages until after 10 pm. Also note that the discussion is being logged. If you wish to remain anonymous, you should change your nick. Tonight's discussion topic is "Dealing with Disobedience". The discussion is unmoderated. Enjoy!
<BernieRoehl> Hi everyone...
<BernieRoehl> I've got a question, unrelated to the topic at hand.
<BernieRoehl> Should we continue the Sunday night discussions?
<BernieRoehl> I notice fewer and fewer people using IRC generally, and the discussions have generally been fairly weak. We've gone through our entire topic list several times over, and I suspect people are just running out of new things to say.
<BernieRoehl> So... thoughts?
<krista-F> no...not unless you actually have people to attend and take part
<bondagebabe{G}> it has been waning for a few months now, hasn't it?
<BernieRoehl> Yeah, that's my sense of it too
<bondagebabe{G}> it's unfortunate, because when i first started in the scene, this was one of my best resources, (other than actually getting out and meeting people)
<krista-F> i thought it would pick up again once people got back into the routine after the summer .but it has not happened
<BernieRoehl> We can always try them again at some point, or maybe do them as a special-occasion thing, but trying to sustain them every week is probably not worthwhile
<BernieRoehl> I'll put a note on the website, turn off the modbot, and send out a message.
<bondagebabe{G}> too bad...it was great while it lasted....
<Justice> I think the discussions started waning when we ceased having a live moderator ... someone to cheerlead the topic ... also to keep it on track
<krista-F> agreed
<BernieRoehl> Agreed, Justice. That's why I think making it an occasional thing that we do when someone has a topic they'd like to discuss (and moderate) is the way to go
<Justice> yes, we haven't had a wealth of people volunteering to moderate
<krista-F> and actually as far as a great resource.....the pod casts are a great tool in that regard
<bondagebabe{G}> yes, except that You can't ask questions as they speak on a topic! lol
<krista-F> true...but you can get some great insight from them
<BernieRoehl> Thanks, krista-F -- I definitely plan to do more of those, and I may even organize some panel discussions for the podcast
<bondagebabe{G}> yes, i do get a lot from the podcasts, and it helps that the resources have been local, so we can ask questions to the people in them...
<Justice> ask questions now bondagebabe ... Bernie can answer them on his next podcast
<bondagebabe{G}> lol...i don't have any at the moment!
<bondagebabe{G}> but i can't wait to hear part 2 of the last one...
<BernieRoehl> Actually, I'm planning a question-and-answer aspect to the podcasts, so questions are always welcome
<krista-F> i have really enjoyed them ...
<BernieRoehl> I'm in the midst of editing Part 2 now, should have it uploaded in a day or two.
<BernieRoehl> I've updated the web page for the chats (www.ehbc.ca/irc). Any comments?
<krista-F> i have not seen them Sir
<Justice> wording looks ok to me Bernie ... if you do decide to hold a chat, you might have to list it there well in advance of the date
<BernieRoehl> Yup, will do Justice
<jewel`{F}> sending a notice out on the list would be a good way to let people know as well
<jewel`{F}> it is a shame that we did talk our selves out, i have learned a lot at the discussion in the past 4 years, met lots of intersting people too
<BernieRoehl> Yup, I'll miss them too. Who knows what the future holds, though!
<jewel`{F}> maybe being weekly they were just too frequent?
<BernieRoehl> I think that's part of the problem. That, plus lack of moderators, and the difficulty in finding really new topics. And of course the fact that fewer people seem to be actively using IRC.
<jewel`{F}> we got too used to meeting offline
<BernieRoehl> I drop by various channels, and even the ones that appear to have lots of people in them are mostly populated by people away from the keyboard.
<jewel`{F}> it has become much easier to find a munch or other event just abut every night of the week
<BernieRoehl> Hi vixie!!!
<vixie{R}> hiya Bernie
<BernieRoehl> Yes, that's the other thing jewel -- there's now so much going on in r/l compared to what there was in 1999, that the online chats just don't seem necessary anymore.
<BernieRoehl> How's vixie tonight?
<vixie{R}> tired, but well, and yourself Bernie?
<BernieRoehl> (There's no formal topic tonight... we're just deciding to stop doing the Sunday night chats)
<vixie{R}> ooooooh, how come?
<BernieRoehl> I'm great, but overwhelmed with work and play and having fun
<vixie{R}> :)
<vixie{R}> that's the best way to be Bernie
<jewel`{F}> play? fun? there are things beside work?
<BernieRoehl> The chats have sort of been petering out for a while now, and it just seemed like the right time to end them.
<vixie{R}> that's a bit sad though
<BernieRoehl> Yup, jewel`{F} -- there sure are!
<BernieRoehl> A bit sad, true, but we can always start them up again if there's a real demand, or just do them from time to time.
<vixie{R}> yep
<BernieRoehl> I've updated www.ehbc.ca/irc to announce the change
<Justice> hi shareena
<shareena> is the topic being discussed?
<shareena> hi Justice
<krista-F> no...the discussion is being discussed
<shareena> lol
<shareena> same thing
<jewel`{F}> the discussions them self are the topic of discussion at the moment
<jewel`{F}> Bernie, when You get the chance Sir, You may want to update the calendar
<BernieRoehl> To remove the discussions? Will do, jewel`{F}.
<shareena> There isn't going to be any more discussions? Or am I misunderstanding what "wrapping up" means
<`abi{A}> yes, we have handed the discussions and blanket and bottle of water and it is now officially in aftercare
<shareena> Not enough participation?
<jewel`{F}> i came in part way through like yourself shareena, but i understand that is part of it
<BernieRoehl> I'm sending an announcement to the EhBC list about it, but basically it's a combination of three things:
<BernieRoehl> Fewer people active in IRC (because of the various IM systems)
<BernieRoehl> Not enough new topics and moderators
<BernieRoehl> Nothing much to add to the old topics that we've been re-cycling
<jewel`{F}> hiya Aiyla
<Aiyla> :)
<Aiyla> just saw it in the channel list and thought i would hop in and see what was happening
<jewel`{F}> are we putting ModBot into aftercare as well?
<Justice> hi Aiyla
<Aiyla> hi Justice
<jewel`{F}> you are in the KW area, or somewhere not too fare away Aiyla?
* jewel`{F} is in London
<Aiyla> yeah im a couple hours north
<Aiyla> on Lake Huron
<jewel`{F}> cool, so bonfire party at Aiyla's next summer then
* jewel`{F} grins
<Aiyla> lol
<Aiyla> how did you know
<jewel`{F}> hmmmmmmmm
<ModBot> There are only about five minutes left in the formal part of tonight's discussion. Does anyone have any last-minute thoughts on the subject?
<jewel`{F}> wonder what is worse, the skeeters at Sm'r camp or sand fleas at a beach party
<jewel`{F}> been nice knowing you ModBot
<Aiyla> lol
* vixie{R} chuckles and wonders who will oil ModBot over time?
* Aiyla waves as she heads out for a bit BBL all good to meet you
<jewel`{F}> nite nite A/all
* BernieRoehl smiles as he carefully disassembles the faithful ModBot and puts it into storage
<ModBot> Well, that's it for the formal part of the discussion. The discussion log is now closed. It should be processed and uploaded to the www.ehbc.ca website soon. Please feel free to continue chatting informally. Have a good night, everyone!
<ModBot> Thank you to everyone who participated in the discussion.
<BernieRoehl> Hi, Jaysker{padma}