Welcome to my Chat Room Portal!

The chat room you are about to enter has no borders, colors, or other distractions. It is a plain white page with my URL and a list of participants at the right, your nickname at the left below, and a place to type. The two buttons alongside determine if you will participate in the chat or express an action, such as [Hostess] "is clapping" (just type what's in quotes). Hitting your "enter" key will send your text typing into the chat interaction. You have to click on the "act" button to send an action.

If for any reason you get bumped off the chatroom (you go surfing, power surge, whatever), you will notice it when you can't post, no one responds to you, or you note a lack of chatter. Immediately click on the portal page (it stays open), re-enter a slightly different version of the nickname you used at first, and click back into the chat room. You can't use the original name because there is a slight lag in the accounting of who is present that will prevent you from using the original. Because of this lag, you may get back in the room in time to see your previous self departing! You won't see any of the original chat, but you can go on from there.

To leave the chatroom, close the window. Click on the big red X at the top right of the screen or whatever is your normal "closing window" procedure.

I operate this chatroom on the following protocol. If I am the hostess of an interview chat, I will introduce and interview my current guest. There may be a lecture, in which case, you will "listen" (unless the guest wants your comments at that time). When the Q&A session opens, you are to enter a ? if you have a question to ask, or a ! if you have a comment. You will then wait until I call upon you for your turn.

Please type "over" at the end of questions, comments, and responses. This signifies that you are finished, and I or the meeting leader will then call upon the next person. In calling on someone in line to speak, I will use GA after their name to mean "Sally, go ahead; it's your turn."

If this is a meeting, the leader will be the hostess, and call upon each person in turn who indicates they wish to speak, using the ! and ? to so indicate.

I am not having chats or interviews at present, but reserve this room for special purposes, such as meetings. Thank you.

Click here for the chat archive.