Is the chatroom the downfall of Vegifide as we know it?

I honestly believe that chat is a great idea. I come home from a stressful environment every night. I come to chat and speak with like minded people. When I'm up till one or two in the morning, and go to bed, I feel that I have a great nights sleep because I can talk to people who caring and friendly. They help me wined down at the end of the night. Its a shoulder everyone can lean on. If someone is having a bad day, they go to chat and we all get together and talk, we laugh, we learn.

I'm adding my tuppence worth here too.
The chat room,has given me nothing but joy.I have connected with so many,wonderful,funny,spirited people,who I will say,have been more friends to me,than i've ever known.
We can be funny,serious,light hearted,etc,etc,we are all getting on though,no matter what.

I personally use it,to say hi to friends,new or aquanited,to get to know them etc,etc,but i'm generally light in there,as I feel personally,that if people want to delve deeper,they will do.

We are all different & in being so,learn so much from each other that way.I love how diverse we all are!

For instance,on MySpace,I post all kinds of bulletins,as I have 140 people,of all tastes,race,religions,etc,etc.My topics can be full on,about religion,the New World Order,David Icke,Bill Hicks,etc,etc,or funny,light hearted ones.

Vegan Pixie,for example,is a good,good friend to me on MySpace,she loves the funnies,but the harder,serious topics aren't for her really.But she doesn't attack me for it?She just passes them by.As I do,to my other friends,who post topics about god etc,as it's not for me.It doesn't make me like them less?

Tolerance of others.

I nearly left this site, and if it wasnt for the chatroom i think i would have.
So i think it makes the site imo as i think its easier to get to know others in that way :)

I think there needs to be a bit of tolerance on this site of each other. Im getting really frustrated that people are moaning that some jokes that start in the chatroom sometimes appear on the boards out here...i really dont understand why this would even be an issue???????????????????????????
I havent got a clue whats going on half the time, but i dont get the arse coz i dont 'get it'.
Can i also just say that some of the threads on the boards out here bore the tits off me, but i really wouldnt make it an issue. would be very controling of me if i did.
live and let live :)

Also this is just a suggestion....maybe we should have a chatroom with different rooms, so the people that have a sense of humour can go in one, and the others can go in the other one :D
xxx

PS its ashame the other thread got deleted.

Ok "Mr Hippy Guy" Eddie! Hippy's are supposed to be funny loving people! You just seem to want to cause shit!

The chat is fun, i didn't know any vegans before i joined this site and if chat wouldn't of existed then i wouldn't have logged on as much and wouldn't have met new people and wouldn't have turned vegan! Chat is sometimes a bit of fun, and other times we can debate on it, getting an answer straight away, we can also ask for advise on it.
Also The Circumcision Thing was just a joke, maybe "us brits" Carried it on a bit, but it made me laugh, and i'm sure that it made other people laugh!

So in short! I LOVE CHAT AND ITS NOT BRINGING THIS SITE DOWN, ITS MAKING IT BETTER!!!!!!!

So yeah Eddie.... Lighten Up! :)

P.s Feel Free To Attack My Reply! :)

Dave

I've passed through the chat room a couple times and it's been a bit obscene here and there. I realize that that isn't always the case, but when it is, it strikes me as somewhat problematic, even though I know it's done playfully for the most part, and without any intent to harm or offend. Hopefully all of us realize that what we do online is not necessarily anonymous and can impact social and professional relationships and standing. But that's not the major issue, to me.

Instead, the issue is one of respect for our community, considering that how we go about things on the site right now will potentially be seen by many veg*ns and potential veg*ns in the future, as well as by those who wish to discredit us and sabotage our efforts. It seems to me that some of the inside jokes and whatnot from the chat room have spilled over into other areas of the site, like Sassafrass's poll on male circumcision. From my perspective, that's an important issue to discuss, and one I'd hope everyone here from all our varied backgrounds would feel comfortable weighing in on, whether from health professionals, academics, religious practitioners, or whoever has an idea or opinion to share. I see one aspect of the site as a tool for ethical refinement, thinking through challenging questions in community.

On the circumcision question, I would have hoped to hear from all the above mentioned groups, but as it stands, it’s doubtful that many people with more conservative views will feel comfortable with the poll and may even see that as an indication of the tone across the site. This would be a great shame if people seeking good, solid information and community were put off by such things. I see such behavior as possibly counter-productive and short-sighted and think we should strive to be a respectable community with integrity and vision. (And no, I’m not saying everything has to be serious, by any means.) And while we clearly have big hearts here, compassion is not enough. We need wisdom. Peace ya’ll.

I have noticed that there is less discussion in the blogs and Q&A's since the chat became popular, and almost no discussion in the forums any more. But this might be coincidence. I will say that if it weren't for a significant time difference between me and most of the chat users, I'd be in there every day! I think it is awesome to have a vegie only chat, something I longed for on other veg communities I have been involved with.

The problem for me is, you guys are all on it when for me it is the middle of the afternoon and by the time I get on it you are all in bed or getting up to go to work etc.

use less everything!

Eddie, to be honest I think you have created more drama on Vegifide than the chat function. I'm not trying to be rude, but I firmly believe this.

I think the potential for drama exists far more on the forums or Q&A section of the site than on the chatter. If there's a discussion and there's a misunderstanding of someone's meaning, it can be immediately rectified or talked out. On the other hand, in the other two sections I mentioned, if someone has posted an "offensive" reply to the post of someone else, by the time the person who posted this reply looks back to see that they (most likely unintentionally) caused a drama, it's likely to have been blown to a whole new level . . . as well as have three other people involved in the first place.

And I like that I have gotten to known people a lot more than what their posts in other parts of the site reflect. While we are all veg*n, that's only one aspect of our lives. There were actually people I was kinda like "ehh. . . I dunno" about before I encountered them in the chat and found out they they're actually really cool. (It's you, Kelbots, I thought you were a real weirdo before talking to you in chatter. LOL J/K)

i like knowing the chat room is there even though i've never used it. if i am up late at night, which seems to be the most popular time to chat, i am usually in a recovery chat room. HOWEVER, i like knowing you are all there if i want to laugh or need an ear......

Haha... I was going to say what Pax said. I've gotten to know people a lot better and why they answer the way the do after talking to them in chat. If anything, I think MORE people should join the chatroom! It's usually more active after 8pm (central US time). So, if you have any questions or are upset with something you read, you can just hop in there and try to understand their point of view. There's MUCH more talk in there than just things that might seem immature or offensive. Some of the time. :P

A few things I've talked about recently in chat...

* vegan cheeses
* the construction of mollymormon's outdoor shower
* gun control
* computer issues
* problems with the furries in our lives
* road trips and vacations
* veg-friendly restaurants or offerings at local restaurants
* gardening
* composting
* parenting issues
* childhood fears and experiences
* health problems
* legal issues

I wouldn't say it's *essential* (that people would stop using the site if it wasn't here), but I don't feel it should be removed from the site any more than any other feature of the site.

The chat room has made a real community of vegifide and even though i dont spend much time in there i have made some very good friends who are now much more than virtual. as V.P has mentioned i think this poll is a way to wind people up haha well done im all for a bit of passionate discussion and well.. childishness. LOVE TO ALL

Eddie are you just on here to shit stir or wat?

I suppose everyone will start arguing about the chatroom now.....im loosing the will to live.
Why is everything a debate on here?! lol

Im not sure why any one would think the chat room creates drama? If anything it helps to dispel the drama. Because people can connect in real time and really understand an others point of view.

Why would it create any more drama than any other tool here on vegifide? There is drama on the questions, drama in the blogs. Its just part of having close to a thousand people in one space. Such is life.

Getting rid of chat would create more drama I feel.