> Yep, this is another "forum and chat stink nowadays" post. This time it has a more personal ring to it. I don't like what's happening with the state of things here at RinkWorks...[the rest all relevant but snipped for reasons of brevity]

Phew. Quite a thread, this one. Looks like I may as well weigh in with my own humble little opinion...

I've been in Chat a couple of times, and I'm afraid to say that I really didn't like it. Now and again (a Stupid Day a while back was great fun) it can be good, but for the most part I find it pretty wearing. This is because, mainly, I'm not great with chatrooms, full stop. I like using MSN Messenger (what's the fascination with AIM anyway?) because I am talking to people I *already* know well, and I've had some great conversations on there, but chatrooms...not really.

I'd like to point out at this juncture that the Forum is a whole different kettle of fish. Having long, detailed debates, with enough time to go off and think of something half-decent to say, is a lot of fun, and I've had some great moral and political debates on here. *thinks back* Well, a couple, anyway. The point is, I find most message forums (and particularly this one) very rewarding to join in with, but chatrooms aren't anything like as much fun.

This, in itself, wouldn't be a problem, except that Chat is, or has been, an absolutely integral part of the site. There are frequent Forum references to recent chats, and all of the main events and special days seem to be announced through chats with Sam. That's why I'd be unsure about coming to, say, a RinkUnion - no-one here knows me personally, and I would feel very left out. It's tricky to know someone personally from Forum posts, unless they post huge numbers of times. The obvious example here is Howard, who has contributed so much the Forum that I often feel very humbled. *bows* And he wouldn't lie to us. Anyway, that's the problem that has led me to sometimes feel a lot like knivetsil; my RW presence is very lopsided, and I feel that I'm missing out on a lot. Specifically, a lack of a Chat presence means that I don't send or receive memos, so it's tricky to exchange less formal comments with others.

Basically, it wouldn't affect me a lot if RinkChat disappeared. On the other hand, it doesn't affect me at all if it stays, and a lot of people would be very sad to see it go, so I say, let's keep it.

I'm not sure whether that got across properly. Just remember that RinkWorks is very special, one of a kind, and is extremely important to a lot of people.

Si-"My habit of always posting while tired doesn't help"-gi