Chat Room Confusion

General
1

Thanks to Squeaker96 of Fibro Community for bringing up clarifications about the Chat Room.

Here, I would like to share her post:

"I just wanted to post something regarding the chat rooms. Especially for those

new people, I see a lot that people will come in and say something and not get a

response. Those people will then make a comment about being ignored or they

will just find somewhere else to go. I have even seen one where they said

that it was cliquey. The side bar says the members online, it does not mean that

those members are in the chat. A lot of us have the page open and are doing

other things, doing research, playing games,reading the discussion boards. I

Always forget to shut the page before I leave so it looks like I am online a

lot more than I am. It is not meant to ignore anyone or make people feel bad. If

you are having a really bad day you can always post a discussion and I

guarantee you will get responses. They may not be immediate but it will help and

more people read the discussion boards then chat. I hope this helps! I really

feel bad when people are hurting and feel rejected. No one here wants you to

feel that way and it is not intentional. "

2

This is a great reminder. I’m on the site a LOT and I leave it open at work. That said, I almost NEVER visit the chat room. I hope people will post to the discussions–and use the categories that have been designated. Especially if people need help quickly they should post that as the subject of their discussion. I’ve seen responses to discussions go up in a matter of seconds. The board moderators and VERY responsive to discussions and requests for help.

3

As a new member, I have to say that I felt really weird about jumping into chat the first time. I know it says "Main Room" on it, but still....how awkward to jump into a discussion with people you don't know and have never interacted with. That said, I did it anyway one day, and the folks that were in chat were gracious and welcoming. They understood I was new (because I told them I was :) ), and they gave me some awesome suggestions including the new member introduction thing. Now I've been typing away responding to discussions and even throwing out a few blog posts. Look at me, being all techie!

I'm so glad you posted this. It makes me sad to know that someone came on here for support and left feeling rejected. I'll make a concerted effort to pay more attention to the chat window so that it won't happen to people when I'm online. Support is such a terrific and necessary thing, and I've met some truly awe-inspiring, wonderful people on this site.