May 11 2004
Station Identification
Whole Wheat Radio has made such a strong impression on me that I’ve even begun to sing about it. While taking a crack at “You Are My Sunshine” the other night, I had a little left over rhythm and recorded a WWR theme song and station identification. I’m not much for writing lyrics, but listening to me scramble for the next line, truly making it up as I go, can be somewhat entertaining, I suppose. Either way, I got a feeling this one’s going to be a collector’s item some day.
You know, “Whatchamacallit” isn’t the actual name of the thing. Anyway…
I was on the WWR chat today, and I could tell that most of the people on it have been there for awhile, they all know each other, and I’ll bet “chatting” is something they’ve been doing for years, not just with each other, but in general. I didn’t fit in.
I’ve never gotten the hang of “chat room” ettiquette and customs. It’s not the kind of writing I adapt well to. Some people think “virtual writing” is the same as writing on paper (or at least something that will be read on paper), but it’s not.
I’m not saying one’s better than the other, just that they seem to be two different things to me.
Comments, opinions?
It doesn’t take long to pick it up, however I’ve never known anyone to shun people who actually type out the full words. I think it pisses people off when your sentences are too long though. There are several shortcuts for words or sentences, but I’ve seen just as many people type, “be right back” as I’ve seen type “brb”.
My opinion: your participation in the conversation is far more important than your netiquette.
I don’t participate in chats unless asked, and then I just consider it like a conversation, not worrying about acronyms and bullshit. If I don’t understand what someone wrote (usually an acronym), I ask.
I thought about adding a live chat feature to this site, but I’d want to add it to the menu on the right and there’s not much room for it. I thought about doing it only because it’d be neat to develop, I think.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a Steel White Table message board. I prefer that over chats. Makes you, or at least me, put more thought into what you’re writing, making sure to get it right, making sure the grammar is correct, etc. Having to respond to chat posts immediately, I’m more likely to come off like a dick.
I don’t think I get enough traffic to add a message board. That’s what the guestbook is for, on the top right of the menu. Maybe I should name it “Message Board” and add topic threading to it (so you can easily see who’s replying to what).
I agree with Keith.
And I just noticed the guestbook. Just called it a message board. That’ll do it.
Thanks for the incredible station IDs! Yes, they’ll be collector’s items someday…albeit weird collectors.
I just erased a big long stupid comment about the Whole Wheat Radio chat and chatting in general. Now I’ll probably just write another one.
I agree with what’s been written here … I’ve never been a big fan of chats, particularly the IRC type of rapid-fire chats. At Whole Wheat it sort of evolved (original system design didn’t have a chat or plans for one) from a place to post links of interest to a community blab board. It’s given listeners a way to connect beyond just the music if they want to. And since the entire chat is archived online, it’s a sort of living Whole Wheat history. (It’s fascinating to me to go back a year in the chat and see what was being said on that particular day.) But I’d be the first to admit that I’m usually more entertained watching other people chat than participating. I think that’s why I included the dumb-bots … to add a level of random silliness for entertainment value.
I usually prefer writing in a non-chat forum as Keith said, but there are times, like now, when I’ve read and re-read what I just wrote, looking to compose a good closing paragraph and I realize I’ve spent
2030 minutes writing the entry, checking it, making sure I spelled wierd right … and knowing that I still look like a dick … that’s when I appreciate being able to throw out a half-formed idiotic thought in chat hoping that no one will notice and even if they do I know that it’ll scroll off screen soon. :-)Jim, first off, you’re welcome. I guess you could say you’re an inspiration.
Second, for a guy posting around 4 in morning (in Alaska), that’s one remarkably coherent post. It’s 11:45am where I am (7:15am in Alaska, I think), and I’m still running on about 30% brain power, which might go up to maybe 50% by lunch time when I have to teach. I think my brain peaks somewhere between 6:00pm and 8:30pm. Then quickly drops back down to near-zero. Yup. That’s some fasinating stuff I’m talking about here.
Anyway, I’m doing the same damn thing Jim mentioned, spending too much time writing a message, re-reading it and blah —- would you believe I began writing this message 15 minutes ago.
That’s it, I’m going to Moe’s!
20 seconds per message tops, then move on. Life’s too short or blah blah something or other, time’s up.
Optimism is the content of small men in high places.
– F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Crack Up”