Thursday , November 6th, 2003
8 PM Eastern Standard Time / 5pm Pacific till whenever!
Come chat about any and all things Greyhawk, or whatever else is on your
mind (within reason of course, it is a Greyhawk chat after all) in the
world of gaming.
We're there all night, so don't let being late scare you off!
As usual, the chat takes place on the Psionics.net irc server, and there
are two basic options for those wishing to come by:
Point your irc client to:
Server: chat.psionics.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #greytalk
Irc clients are advanced chat programs, such as mirc, pirch, trillian,
etc. Visit http://www.psionics.net/downloads.html if you don't have an
irc client and would like to download one for free.
If you don't have an irc client, Psionics.net and Canonfire.com have
joined forces to make the chats accesible to you! Visit
http://www.psionics.net/chat/java/chat1.html to use the handy Java
interface.
Once the applet loads, just replace -guest- with your desired nickname
for the chat and select -greytalk- from the drop down channel menu. Then
click the -Connect Now!- button and voila, you're chattin in Greychat!
Look forward to seeing everyone there
I have been recently visiting Greychat and have noticed a weekly attendance of anywhere from six to twelve posters, but fewer than six of those posters actually contribute to the discussion. I'd like to make a few observations regarding the discussions, if I may.
First off, many of the posters are freinds and often share inside jokes and anecdotes, something that raises the mood but alienates those who might be visiting the discussion for the first time. Moreover, comments about wives, families, girlfriends, and jobs may be interesting to those in the know, but they do little for those outside the inner circle.
Another thing I have noticed is that the discussion tends to get quite esoteric in a short amount of time, another factor that frightens away new posters that might only have a surface knowledge of Greyhawk.
It's all well and fine to be a Greyhawk scholar with prodigous knowledge at your beck and call, but what good is it if that knowledge isn't used to educate and teach newcomers about the game? Quibbling endlessly about the revision of a particular deity's alignment is hardly attractive for beginners. There are loads of other examples, but that's basically the jist of what I've seen so far.
Another thought: How can newcomers be better initiated to Greychat? I'm sure that there are some things that can be done to change the nature of the discussion. For example, assigning a moderator who keeps the discusssion from degenerating into a debate on semantics might be good. What about a focused discussion, one with a topic chosen in advance and posted on various websites? How about an alloted amount of time for each subject that participants may choose in advance?
The mood of Greychat is laid back and fun, but it seems to me that rambling three hour discussions on the finer aspects of Pholtus are not likely to attract many newcomers. Sure they are fun for the old school folks, but it's hard to insinuate yourself into that discussion if you only recently bought a copy of the LGG.
I'm not trying to make Greychat an uncomfortable place for the old-timers who have made the weekly discusssion what it is, but I'm asking for the regulars to take a step back and try to see it from the perspective of a newcomer. I think certain changes can be made that will attract a larger audience and make Greychat more diverse for everyone.
Anyway, that's it. I'm looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow night. Perhaps some of these suggestions will be raised during the conversation.
My only suggestion is to start up another chat channel. Something that would compliment Greytalk rather than replace it. A moderated channel for more 'civil' Greyhawk discussion that also welcomes newbies.
I'd be willing to start one (I've tried before but simply never had the support needed to make it succeed) if others would work with me to make it work. Surprisingly enough, I make a good op. It's when I'm left to do whatever I want that I run amok :D
Perhaps in the first hour or so, you can list a few subjects in the chatroom description line. As people enter, they can request to add to the list. Newcomes, you should probably direct your requests to GLH or Pluffet_Smedger.
I'll try to drop in tonight but have a writers' workshop to host in an hour.
Hasta la proxima!
I'd be willing to support, even help moderate, another chatsite if enough people feel that it's warrented, but it would be good to hear from the other regulars before such a decision is made.
Personally, I like Greychat but find that I can only participate in about ten to fifteen percent of the conversations, and I consider myself to be a middle of the road Greyhawk fan when it comes to my setting knowledge.
Again, this isn't a request to "dumb it down" but merely to make a good conversation even better by tightening the format, setting specific goals, and creating an atmosphere in which anyone would feel welcome.
I heard you attended the 'chat this week and conversed with the regulars. I look forward to seeing what develops. Your suggestions are on the agenda for our next staff meeting.
Thanks for speaking up.
Take good care.
Someone will chime in and it could even start a new topic altogether. Newbies well we were all newbies at one time. i never found Greytalk to be unfriendly to newbies. Especially when they let everyone know they are a newbie.
So the only question that really needs to be answered are what questions the newbies have. I like these questions because they bring all sorts of ideas to the surface. The reasons I like new people so much is that they offer a fresh set of ideas that may not have been discussed before.
People who are long time greytalker's have developed friendships and this is to be expected. But I don't think this prevent's anyone for asking what questions they want. If your extremely new or just getting back into the game asking questions like what's changed since the 83 boxed set is fine. But it will take more then the greytalk forum to answer that broad of a question.
So I hope to see some more new faces soon.
And yes, they will answer questions if you ask. There was pronounced alacrity to answer questions when I was there.
Of course the discussions strayed to talk about computers and work, but that's okay. We got to know each other a little better. So I had no problem with that. The host occasionally cracked the +5 Whip of Back to Topic Discussion.. And Argon is right, if someone wanted to talk about something else, they'd just say it.
In conclusion, (sounds so formal, lol) I liked the Greytalk Chat. It seems fine the way it was, to me. I look forward to attending more. So thanks to the host and all of the attendees.
It was decided that either Monday or Tuesday would be the best time slot (5pm-whenever, PST), and that topics for the upcoming sessions could be posted on Canonfire (or even this messageboard).
That said, I should say that I agree with what other comments posted since my initial remarks; I do think the Greychat crowd is friendly and receptive to new people, I just thought a bit more structure would tighten the format to everyone's benefit.
Anyway, I think the additional session will be a week from this coming Monday (or Tuesday), which should give people a bit of notice. If no one objects, I'll start a sister thread on this board to keep people abreast of the sessions as they come up (unless Chatdemon beats me to it, which he most likely will).
Originally posted by Blomble Snoutenherder
unless Chatdemon beats me to it, which he most likely will.
Chatdemon is now Greyhack. Although I haven't seen why? Any comment Rich?
I don't want to get into details, but chatdemon, suffice to say, was a joke nickname I was forced to use way back when when I lost a prior nick, and it kind of stuck, it's time for a change.
Also, I've kind of become the primary liaison (for good or ill) between canonfire and a lot of greyhawk outlets, so I think a greyhawk-ish nickname is advantageous in that regard.
) who was likewise a newbie to the chats and the GH community a few short years ago.- Be persistant, this is the most important advice I can give anyone. Keep dropping by and you'll get to know the crowd and the inside jokes and off topic banter will become understandable to you. Also, if you have a question or topic you want discussed, keep asking! I don't mean over and over for an hour, but whenever the conversation lulls, throw out your idea again, eventually, someone will bite and discuss it.
- Don't take the flaming seriously, or feel the need to jump into that aspect of the chat prematurely. As has been pointed out, a lot of the regulars have been online pals for years, and like most groups of friends, there's a certain amount of friendly trash talking. For the most part, it's all in jest. Being a jerk to try and fit in isn't likely to earn you any friends though, you just have to get a feel for the crowd and work your way into the "gang" before you start with the mudslinging, it's all in good fun, don't let it give you the idea we're all a bunch of jerks.
- Remember that GreyTalk is a sort of bastion for non-Living Greyhawk fans, and that some of us have pretty strong negative opinions about aspects of that campaign. Noone really enjoys the LG bashing fests, so it's good to let some of the comments slide and just accept that we all have different tastes in how we play GH.
- Likewise, we're not an exclusively 3rd edition/d20 community, and some of us, myself for one, don't take kindly to senseless edition bashing.
- There are few, if any, sacred cows, every work, by every author, gets 'dissed' at one point or another, if your love of a certain product or author is strong, try and ignore the bashing, it will make your experience a lot more enjoyable.
These are just guidelines, and don't always apply, but I think keeping them as rules of thumb when joining the chat will go a long way towards helping you feel welcome.
As hinted at earlier, we (the staff of Canonfire/GreyTalk) did field a lot of discussion this last week about the points raised here, and have a couple possible changes we're considering making, including:
- Topic tight, moderator chats on "off nights" to cater to specific issues or subjects the fans want to discuss. The basic idea is that you can apply for a night to host the channel in discussion of your topic, and we'll help promote and run the event. Anyone is welcome to bring any GH related topic to the table.
- A monthly "Greyhawk for Newbies" chat, focused on the recent LGJ (and LG web installments, when those begin) and including some time for open Q&A with the authors and other fans. These would also be moderator, topic focused events, aimed at bringing new faces into the Canonfire/Greytalk community by hosting timely discussion of relevant subjects in an atmosphere free of the "old boy's club" feel that does often pervade the thursday chats/
- Thursdays though will remain unchanged, they are a established tradition going back to 1995 that are more of a weekly open chat for greyhawk fans. We are somewhat 'chummy', but asking anyone who wasn't around when Gary Holian got the ball rolling will reveal that we are open to new blood, just hang around a few weeks and keep my prior suggestions in mind and you'll be part of the "thursday group" in no time.
The CF/GT staff will be discussing these ideas, and others, in more depth at our staff chat meeting this week, after which we will open an announcement and feedback thread in our forum to polish off the decisions and get the ball rolling, I'll post an announcement here when we do so yall can go have your say and see what we're up to. In the meantime, if you have any specific complaints, criticisms, comments or suggestions that you, for whatever reason, don't wish to raise in this thread, please feel free to email us at [email]editors@canonfire.com[/email] We are always open to feedback from the fans who use our site, forums, chats and discussion lists.
Thanks again for the feedback and support of CF/GT. Without yall, the site is pointless.
Originally posted by Greyhack
Here's a couple handy tips for getting involved and having fun at greytalk chat, from someone (me
Yeah, I only joined a couple of years ago myself and certainly haven't got the breadth and depth of knowledge of a so called 'old timer'.
I think a lot of that perception comes from the fact that many of the Greytalkers are very creative people and to create something in Greyhawk one tends to do their research on whatever area they're creating something for so after awhile you get to know certain areas very well.
I mean... if I wanted to know something about Keoland, I'd ask Samwise or Greyhack. If I wanted to know something about the Great Kingdom or the Marklands, I'd ask Montand or myself ( :D ). If I wanted to know about the Pale, I should ask the Theocrat. Tizoc is usually a pretty good source of info on just about any part of the Flanaess. Mainly 'cause those are the areas each of these people are most interested in and tend to do creative work on.
About the only useless bugger in the whole bunch is Gary Holian :D
Originally posted by Delglath
Penguin... are you FancyPenguin?
The one and only...
There was a time I was the new guy in the chat room. I let the in jokes go over my head, asking for explanations little by little, tossed in comments here and there, and eventually started spouting off like everyone else. Especially after I realized none of them were all that much better than me in trivial knowledge and out of thin air interpretations.
Show up, don't expect everyone (or even anyone) to provide answers on demand or otherwise change their behavior, and just yak away. If someone disagrees with you, don't worry about it. And remember, we are gamers. And we are just as bad as your home group, and probably worse. :P
Originally posted by Coldpenguin625
The one and only...
Well, I'll be darned. I didn't know that. How ya doin'? Fancy seein' you here...