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]
