The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

**Bud Helms** · June 5, 2001, 07:05 AM

When I first heard of chat rooms, I though it was a great idea. Then I got on a few. Got ICQ up and going. Got AOL "Chat Buddies" or whatever it's called up and going. Visited chat rooms everywhere I went. I found them to be almost useless. Very difficult to moderate. Moderating is an absolute requirement and it needs to be done real-time. I've never seen a chat room that would let you edit a post. Talk about "Think Twice, Post Once"!! We don't all type at the same speed, so chatroom conversations are tough to keep sequenced. You have to sit in front of the keyboard for the entire conversation. It requires a lot more discipline of the posters. The only chat rooms I've ever seen that worked were heavily moderated around the clock. Bulletin boards are much, MUCH better.

But the most important advantage BBs have is the archive and search features.

June 5, 2001, 07:05 AM	#7
Bud Helms Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 1999 Location: Middle Georgia, USA Posts: 13,198	When I first heard of chat rooms, I though it was a great idea. Then I got on a few. Got ICQ up and going. Got AOL "Chat Buddies" or whatever it's called up and going. Visited chat rooms everywhere I went. I found them to be almost useless. Very difficult to moderate. Moderating is an absolute requirement and it needs to be done real-time. I've never seen a chat room that would let you edit a post. Talk about "Think Twice, Post Once"!! We don't all type at the same speed, so chatroom conversations are tough to keep sequenced. You have to sit in front of the keyboard for the entire conversation. It requires a lot more discipline of the posters. The only chat rooms I've ever seen that worked were heavily moderated around the clock. Bulletin boards are much, MUCH better. But the most important advantage BBs have is the archive and search features.