A Chat Room?

I don't think a chat room is neccessary. I don't have time for it for one thing, although I am online at the same time as some of you. Usually Tater
I think it would be too much hassle.

Bullroarer is right. In radio, we called this kind of thing niche programming. You take a particular time that seems most convenient for the target audience and you regularly schedule the chat. It's probably best to have a theme for the evening.

In fact, on Yahoo!, you can even voice chat as you post messages. I don't know if you have the means for Entmoot to do that without using Yahoo!, which sometimes crashes and boots people.

One advantage to using a service like that is the potential to draw new individuals to THE TOLKIEN TRAIL and ENTMOOT.

(I've wondered if I couldn't host a reading that way. But you run a risk that way of rowdies bursting in.)

I can think of essentially three things you can do with Chat:

1. Have general fun nonsense.
2. Have topical discussions.
3. Have presentations (news & features) and feedback, Q&A.

Keep it simple, keep it consistent, maintain variety.

Maintaining transcripts or recordings of serious material could be maintained in an archive for later review and create a new resource for Tolkien surfers.

I would say a chatroom is completly useless, there is one at www.tolkien-movies.com and it is always empty, at least it has been the few times i checked to see what it was like. So my vote is no.

I doubt I would use it either. the only time I ever chat is when I schedule a time with a friend who lives far away. Then we get a private room and chat. Lots cheaper than long distance.

I agree with the majority... don't you think we're spending enough time here already? But scheduling chat session elsewhere (like on yahoo as Gil says) could be a good idea

Quite so! I've really got to lay off these boards! Return to a disciplined usage of the internet! But I've been having fun twiddling with webpage stuff and finding my motivation for the upcoming HOBBIT reading. (Days from now!)

But I might be up for a scheduled chat once in a while. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of uses for such a thing and perhaps the idea, like a seedling of the White Tree, will bear fruit that will not germinate and sprout for a long time.

But I do need to cut back. I hope to work on some fan fiction as well as new Tolkien recordings. I'm also supposed to be in Elbreth's email RPG. So I'll be curtailing my posts quite a bit.

(And with that, the multitudes cheered! The little hobbit bowed, and as he walked back inside his hole and closed his nice round front door, he wondered if they were cheering in anticipation of his upcoming works, or because they would see fewer of his conservative rants on the ENTMOOT!)

Well I've set up an IRC room, I don't think anyone will ever use it though . For meetings where not everyone has ICQ or AIM, it could be useful. (It would certainly make those admin chats easier! )

Heh, I have an idea: would you want to conduct this RPG on the board? That way you could participate and yet not curtail your posting!

But seriously, especially since an admin (Tater) is also part of this RPG, the idea could work. We could maybe make a forum for it and put Elbreth in charge of that forum. What do the rest of you think?

What RPG are you talking about?

whats the IRC rooms name?

Gil: ........because they would see fewer of his conservative rants on the ENTMOOT!

Well what fun would that be? Nic pic, BTW

Count me in.....maybe. MAC users have to have a special program to run IRC, and even though it only costs $15 bucks, I would probably just use the trial program.....which kicks you off every 30 minutes. And I know I couldn't just stay on for 30 minutes.

But whats wrong with mine?

Put me as a game creator please! And Gilthalion, he is pure awesome! Check out his thread at my board!

a chat room here? i'd vote no, because no one seems to be on at the same time as anyone else. i only come here at night, & there's no one around when i'm posting. & even in the threads like the no-link & the anything posts, the posts on any given day are usually hours apart. so any chatroom we'd put up would always be empty, & to have mods patrolling a deserted chatroom would be a waste of their time.

but with this group, lowered intelligence or the check-your-brain-at-the-door factor wouldn't be that much of a problem, i think. if we do have a chatroom, we should keep it semi-private, as opposed to someplace like Yahoo where spammers & porn links break in every minute or so.

aryne *

Hooom toom roomty toom booom rah toom. Toom toomty toom.







Mustn't be hasty now.

I guess, first, I need to understand this IRC thing and see how it works. Do folks conduct RPG by chat? Seems like it'd be easier, and better, by thread, like at Bullroarer's Bag End.

Hmmm. Thinking on the keyboard.... Hasty.

I guess the GamesKeepers (I never liked Dungeon Master) would have things worked out and pretty much ready to cut and paste. You would probably need one person to handle narrative and another to handle any actions requiring tables and dice rolls, etc. Sort of like color and play-by-play announcers for a football game. They would have to communicate privately between one another as the game proceded in real time. If it were big, you would almost need a producer just to keep things coordinated.

Hmmmm.

A website, using maps and text and paintings and spoiler pictures from the movies and RealAudio recordings with music and special effects, could be produced (I have no idea what Flash and Java possibilities there are). Specific URLs could be made available to players as triggered by events.

Hmmmmm.

Players would have to meet a deadline to sign up. Team space would be limited. Applicants can wait on standby, in case someone cannot reasonably make it. The chat should be viewable to the multitudes, however.

Hmmmmmm.

This would be too much work to be a weekly thing. The game should also be of limited duration, finished in one episode, in one evening. There should be a buildup and it should be a quality performance. It would be nice if enough folks could reserve seating so that advertising could be sold.

Hmmmmmmm.

Make it like a monthly global internet Survivor gameshow. Audience members hope for a shot at the RPG everyone is watching. A preliminary open chat can audition potential players through trivia rounds and a roletest (like a screentest). The advertiser gets to be on every page involved.

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

We all become fabulously wealthy! Hoorah!






Mustn't be hasty now.

I wouldn't mind a chat room, all the best sites have chat rooms, even if they are message boards.

I really wouldn't care 'cause I'm behind a firefall half the time on online(maybe more)...

That's sad you had to thought about it.... honestly, I kindda trust the people here, sad you don't.

I hardly think that means that she doesn't trust us. Maybe it is her parents that are not trusting. Or maybe the computer that she uses is located at a business. A lot of companies place their systems behind a firewall. Or maybe the dorm that she lives in is behind a firewall. You just never know..........and besides, I don't think that firewall is up to protect anyone from Entmoot, but from other more questionable sites.

I hope you're right...

Sure ignore the sapling

Make that hobbit