When does chat happen?

Is the chat thing still only at certain times, as in the past? Is there a specfic time each day that it's availible?

Currently, we have chat sessions on Tuesday evenings, from 7-10pm ET and Thursday mornings, from 7-10am ET :)

Hmm....ok.

it's great hc!!! come on in and don't be shy:)

If I'm on and have time and can remember...lol...I will

Dave puts a "countdown" reminder on the homepage on Tuesday, so at any time you can see how long until the chatroom opens. It sure helps me remember better. But for the next 12 weeks, ya'll will have to talk about me while I'm gone - Master Gardener classes are on Tuesday evenings (gee, don't they know it's chat night at Dave's Garden???)

The chats are great-- we always have such a nice time.

And I NEVER get any housework done on Thursday mornings..... (heehee)

I logged on last Tuesday, and I felt like I'd just pulled out onto the L.A. freeway! I felt like a fool just staring at the posts with drool running down my chin, but I just couldn't keep up with the pace! I leaped in with a few comments like a kid trying to jump on the whirl-a-gig while it's moving, but I felt pretty lame.

I'm not chat room savy in any way, and I was afraid I was committing some social mis-step just being there. I really don't understand all the acronyms (right word?) either. So, somebody tell me, is it OK to log on and not post? Does that make me a lurker?

Oh, weezin - you just gotta dive in head first! Seriously yes you can sit back and watch if you want. (I personally couldn't sit on my hands all evening, but that's just me.)

Here are some tips that might help for those new to our chat room:

1. If it's scrolling by fast, adjust your font settings. It's up in the right-hand side of the screen, and if you make the font bigger it won't scroll by so fast. (I mentioned that one night, and somebody thought I was making fun of their eyesight. If they only knew how bad mine was, they'd know I would never throw bricks at that glass house.)

2. Abbreviations and acronyms - you can find lots of sites with lists of them, but some of those you'll frequently see in our chatroom are:

WB - welcome back (usually means someone has left and come back during the same chat session, or they might have gotten "da boot" or involuntarily logged off - a technical problem that occurs sometimes.)

LOL - laugh out loud

LOLOLOL - a belly laugh for sure

ROTFL or ROFL - rolling on the floor laughing

:) is a quick smile - you can create it typing ::) - and you gotta do both sets of dots, or you'll be smiling without eyes. Sometimes you'll see one of these come up after someone has posted something - they may have realized it came off sounding harsh, when they were trying to be funny. So they pop out a quick smile to let everyone know they're joking.

DH, DW - dear husband or dear wife

DS, DD - dear son, dear daughter

MIL, FIL, SIL, DIL, BIL - the inlaws (or as my brother-in-law and I call ourselves, the outlaws.) SIL can be son- or sister-in-law

TYVM - thank you very much

TTFN - ta ta for now - if you've ever watched Winnie the Pooh, you'll get that one. If not, it's just a way of saying goodbye.

((())) - or some number of parenthetical marks - it's a hug. Sometimes the person's name will be squeezed in - (((weezin))) - the more parentheses, the bigger the hug (or the more fumbly the typist) NOTE: It's bad form to give a lopsided hug, so be sure you count the number of parentheses on each side (just kidding!)

3. A final bit of chatroom etiquette: the ten second rule. When you say you're ready to leave, you should count to ten (at least) before you hit logoff. That gives folks time to say bye. Otherwise they talk about you after you leave, (not kidding!!!)

I'm sure others can come up with some other tips and acronyms to help you figure out our "system" - sorry I won't be with ya'll Tuesday :(

go_vols: Thanks! That was really helpful. I'll try the font change thing. The acronyms are really helpful, too. The sideways smile to clarify good intentions is something I wouldn't have picked up on my own. This is really useful info, and it's hard to ask for clarifications sometimes, especially on the Chat Line! I'll bet other will get benefit from your posting.

I'm the worst typist in the world - I've logged on and scurried out a couple of times. Was really hoping no one had noticed. I guess not.

Liz: Guess we need Chat Room 101 classes.

There used to be an online tutorial for those acronyms frequently used in chat rooms, maybe a Microsoft thing. I will try to find it if no one else does. Ma Vie?

How do you get into the chat room??? Please answer fast, only have 23 minutes until.

Thanks, Gloria

Gloria, there's a link in the top right corner, under the "Population sign"

Ya'll have fun!

Here ya go'.. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/9801/chat.html

only one night a week (whine) you mean i found this site on the day chat was got all excited no wonder i have not seen it all week. i feel like i just visited that cursed irish town that only only apears once every 100 years can't remember the name bummer :-(

Missed it last time, maybe I can catch it this week.

Thanks for your help go-vols and extra thanks, sis.

Gloria

Hey, I copy & pasted the info from the hyperlink website on acronyms, etc., then opened a Word doc and pasted it on. I saved it to the desktop, and when I can't figure out what something means, I just click on the doc to find the answer, then drop it to the lower toolbar for the next acronym! Maybe I won't even need to look after a while!