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#855 03/21/00 11:43 PM
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I am very grateful to the folks at A.W.A.D. for setting up these bulletin boards. I enjoy checking in regularly. And I hope they become so successful that someday Anu might set up a chat room. Meanwhile, does anyone know of any chat rooms where people discuss ideas & engage in witty quid-pro-quos (quids-pro-quo??), instead of merely giving each other *hugglez* or tossing out misspelled insults? Preferably non-java, since that goes by so fast it's difficult to construct a reasonably coherent post....
Thanks in advance. :-)


#856 03/22/00 10:13 PM
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I too have been sorely disappointed in the lack of cogitation evident in most chat rooms. Can Anuone help? (Spelling is deliberate)


#857 03/23/00 02:26 AM
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I also am delighted with this bulletin board, and A.W.A.D.
I used to consider myself something of a wordsmith, but not
so much of one now--some of Anu's have absolutely floored
me. I love it! It is SO nice to be able to say things and
actually have people understand! It is also lovely to see that other people are as interested in words as I am. I've been too wary to go into any chat rooms, but would probably try one here.


#858 03/31/00 10:45 PM
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Hi again Anna,

I concur with your assessment of chat rooms, but I quote the meaning of the word chat from Merriam-Webster’s 10th:

chat \chat\ chat·ted; chat·ting v. [ME chatten, short for chatteren] (15th c) 1 : CHATTER, PRATTLE 2 : to talk in an informal or familiar manner –vt chiefly British : to talk to; especially : to talk lightly, glibly, or flirtatiously with -- often used with up

Informal dialog, whether on-line or verbal, tends toward the trite and banal. The beauty of the AWAD forum is that a thoughtful bit of wordsmithing can be collocated and edited before anyone else sees it. This has the two-fold advantage of preserving my image as an intelligent fellow, and of increasing the literacy level of items I read.

Personally, I’d rather hone my scrivener’s skills composing pithy epigrams, than hacking out mindless mulch amid a background of noisy textual chatter. Chat-rooms are for adolescent one-upmanship and flirtatious inanity, not for serious conversation.



#859 04/01/00 12:19 AM
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Well, Jeff, while your point is taken, may I submit that if Dorothy Parker et al and Gertrude Stein et al could be witty at the drop of an innuendo, I suppose it's possible for some of us as well to achieve/enjoy that sort of social intercourse via the new medium, Merriam-Webster's definition of 'chat' notwithstanding. If I find such a place I will most certainly post it here. Meanwhile I continue to enjoy the educational experiences offered by these boards. :-)


#860 04/02/00 08:19 PM
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I agree with the previous discussion. I like being able to pre-view what I've written before launching my half-mature thoughts on an unsuspecting world. I also like the opportunity to edit them, even after they've been posted (usually on spotting some embarrasing error). As a not particularly strong speller I find the spell checker gives very interesting interpretations to my writing. UK = Ukraine, for example. I'm used to gritting my teeth whilst spell checkers convert my careful prose to US English (color, not colour etc) but this spell checker has a mind of its own. A small comment on an otherwise very interesting new idea.


#861 04/02/00 08:22 PM
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I've spell checked my last message - hope you like it.

I agree with the previous discussion. I like being able to pre-view what I've written before launching my halfway thoughts on an unsynchronized world. I also like the opportunity to edit them, even after they've been posted (usually on spotting some embarrass error). As a not particularly strong speller I find the spell checker gives very interesting interpretations to my writing. Ukraine Ukraine, for example. I'm used to gritty my teeth whim spell checkers convert my careful prose to US English (color, not colt etch) but this spell checker has a mind of its own. A small comment on an otherwise very interesting new idea.



#862 04/03/00 09:53 AM
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In a way, it's sad that chatrooms are as banal and limited as they are. But considering what passes for discourse among our society, perhaps it shouldn't surprise anyone. It is difficult to maintain a serious discussion about important issues when one is limited to a few lines per "utterance." For deep discourse, message boards such as this one are the way to go.

On the other hand, if done creatively, for casual banter, bon mots and wordplay, chatrooms can be entertaining and exciting. My favorite AOL chatoom is frequented by a small cohort of punsters, jokers and word-trippers from teens through quintigenarians---our common bond: playing with language and entertaining each other. Fridays feature a word game where we invent fictional, frivolous, funny (and, sometimes, bawdy) expansions for acronyms. Saturday starts with a game called "Film-Flam," a variation on punning, easier to play than to explain. Sundays we pun for an hour, then write spontaneous haiku and limericks.

So, I'd like to take this opportunity to invite those of you who subscribe to AOL to be our guest in Rogue (chat category: 'Friends') any weekend. I'd be happy to send you our chat schedule. Drop me a line at: Hallyx@aol.com.

Stop by anytime. Tell 'em I sent you.

Hallyx

"`The question is,' said Alice, `whether you CAN make words mean so many different things.'
`The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master--that's all.'"
---Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) [Through the Looking Glass]


#863 04/05/00 01:13 AM
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I would be remiss not to mention one of the most -interesting- such areas that I have come across, although, truth be told, I do not know whether it has a chat room. The message boards are very fascinating. With posts titled "Unknown Brecht," and "Technoscience and the Politics of Extrapolation," it seems like quite a score.

Given AnnaStrophic's partiality to "intelligence," the respondents' predilection for considered messages instead of live chat, and my preference for perversity, the following URL may well be worth a look:

bbs.thing.net

Happy hunting.

----(Or, again, spell checked)----

I would be remiss not to mention one of the most -interesting- such areas that I have come across, although, truth be told, I do not know whether it has a chat room. The message boards are very fascinating. With posts titled "Unknown bred," and "Ted and the Politics of Extrapolation," it seems like quite a score.

Given Anne partiality to "intelligence," the responder predilection for considered messages instead of live chat, and my preference for pervert, the following urn may well be worth a look:

be

----It's scary! The spell checker is almost Freudian in its insight (that "be" at the end? The ego if I've ever seen it!). Certainly more diagnostic than "Eliza," and the reference to Keats's work near the end was superb!----




#864 06/08/02 02:52 AM
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