...and it'll stay closed, unless we start seeing some immediate changes in behaviour.
Folks, DD has been looking over the chat transcripts for a while now, and she has become increasingly unhappy with what she's been referring to as "a real falling-off in the general tone of discourse."
This is sad, since our chat area has for a long time been a surprisingly friendly and generally well-behaved place. Bear in mind, please, that these forums and their chat are meant (by DD) and expected (by both our younger members and their increasingly vigilant parents) to be a clean and safe place for everyone to hang out. And for a good while, it's been so.
Unfortunately, standards have been slipping. The language is getting significantly rougher than the crap-or-damn level which the ToS states is what we're aiming for. The sexual innuendo is getting more frequent. The general tone of interaction is going, frankly, into the toilet. And the worst offenders know exactly what they're doing, and laugh about going on with the business of getting away with it.
No longer.
DD pays extra for the size of chat area we maintain. Her reaction, after looking over the last couple of weeks' worth of transcripts, was, "I'm paying extra for this??? No one seems to particularly care about that, to judge by the way they're behaving. No one even seems to be enjoying the chat all that much. I think we should close the area down."
This is an option the ramifications of which DD and the mod staff will be discussing for a while yet. But for the time being, we think it makes sense to honor DD's wishes while we continue to consider our options. So as of 8 AM (BST) on August 24th, the chat room will no longer be open for unsupervised use.
For the time being, it will only be open (a) for scheduled chats with DD, (b) when a moderator has time to spare to hang around in the chat room, or (c) when members have requested a moderator to open the room for an hour or two at a time, and that moderator has time to be present. We will continue to discuss with DD what needs to happen to get the "quality of discourse" in chat back up to something like an interesting level. (I mean, people, do you guys ever... you know... consider occasionally talking about the books in chat? Or is it all genitalia, vague backbiting and discussions of how to get around NetNanny?)
How long will this situation continue? At first guess, I'd say at least until DD can be convinced that forum members are willing to start acting like guests who respect the wishes of someone whose online home they're frequenting. This may take a while, considering the mood DD's in at the moment as regards this subject.
Those of you who have been in chat recently, and may think that your behaviour has contributed to the present situation... this would probably be the time to privately message DD and let her know you're committed to starting to behave yourselves.
The ball's in your court now.
Folks, DD has been looking over the chat transcripts for a while now, and she has become increasingly unhappy with what she's been referring to as "a real falling-off in the general tone of discourse."
This is sad, since our chat area has for a long time been a surprisingly friendly and generally well-behaved place. Bear in mind, please, that these forums and their chat are meant (by DD) and expected (by both our younger members and their increasingly vigilant parents) to be a clean and safe place for everyone to hang out. And for a good while, it's been so.
Unfortunately, standards have been slipping. The language is getting significantly rougher than the crap-or-damn level which the ToS states is what we're aiming for. The sexual innuendo is getting more frequent. The general tone of interaction is going, frankly, into the toilet. And the worst offenders know exactly what they're doing, and laugh about going on with the business of getting away with it.
No longer.
DD pays extra for the size of chat area we maintain. Her reaction, after looking over the last couple of weeks' worth of transcripts, was, "I'm paying extra for this??? No one seems to particularly care about that, to judge by the way they're behaving. No one even seems to be enjoying the chat all that much. I think we should close the area down."
This is an option the ramifications of which DD and the mod staff will be discussing for a while yet. But for the time being, we think it makes sense to honor DD's wishes while we continue to consider our options. So as of 8 AM (BST) on August 24th, the chat room will no longer be open for unsupervised use.
For the time being, it will only be open (a) for scheduled chats with DD, (b) when a moderator has time to spare to hang around in the chat room, or (c) when members have requested a moderator to open the room for an hour or two at a time, and that moderator has time to be present. We will continue to discuss with DD what needs to happen to get the "quality of discourse" in chat back up to something like an interesting level. (I mean, people, do you guys ever... you know... consider occasionally talking about the books in chat? Or is it all genitalia, vague backbiting and discussions of how to get around NetNanny?)
How long will this situation continue? At first guess, I'd say at least until DD can be convinced that forum members are willing to start acting like guests who respect the wishes of someone whose online home they're frequenting. This may take a while, considering the mood DD's in at the moment as regards this subject.
Those of you who have been in chat recently, and may think that your behaviour has contributed to the present situation... this would probably be the time to privately message DD and let her know you're committed to starting to behave yourselves.
The ball's in your court now.
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