The admins and staff here have worked to provide us with a variety of ways to express ourselves and communicate with each other. That is what being a community is all about and I love seeing the forum so active with people talking about so many different subjects, posting art and fiction, playing internet games etc. It's great. I know that I'm busy with school and I don't spend nearly as much time here as I'd like, but you should know that when I get a break, this is the first place I come. 'Scrawlers kick ass in more ways than I can describe.
I'm concerned though, that while the forums are getting much love, our chat room is getting neglected. Being able to talk with people across the globe in real time is an amazing thing to me. I've had access to the internet since 1992 and it should be old hat by now, yet it still blows my mind. I know there are lots of places on the internet to chat, but I want us to have our place because... Well, I guess I'm kind of an elitist pig, but I like to imagine that any place with "nightscrawlers.com" in its URL is a little bit better than all the rest of places on the internet. This is, of course, due to the fact that 'Scrawlers kick ass in more ways than I can describe.
Several of our chatroom regulars have been looking for ways to encourage activity there and I thought I'd add my ideas and support to their efforts. Like any resource it needs to be used or it will go away. No, it won't go away in the sense that it will be uninstalled or anything like that, but an empty chatroom isn't much fun - nor is it much use.
So, if you haven't visited chat I urge you to click on the link up at the top of the forums, create a chatroom username, and check it out. More than that, I would recommend that as a community, that we begin to use it like one. We are not large enough to guarantee a large crowd in chat at all hours of the day so I would suggest we begin treating it like a shared community space and announce times to gather and chat. For instance, when Nightcrawler #11 comes out in a week and completes the Winding Way arc I plan on holding a series of Chats about the arc and the series in general. I will announce the dates and times in advance so people can be prepared by signing up, learning the ropes if they need to, etc... For example:
Anyone is welcome to host a chat like this on any subject, at any time, (it doesn't have to be fancy as long as it's not inappropriate) and I will make sure the announcements are seen either by putting them in the ticker up above or by some other means."Friday, Nov. 4nd at 7pm CST - Come to Nightscrawlers Chat to discuss the final arc of the Nightcrawler Solo Book".
The community here at Nightscrawlers is one of the warmest and most diverse I've encountered (like the character that brought us together) - together we can ensure that every avenue of communication this place offers is used to strengthen the bond we already share. I would hate to see even one go away.
Thank you
-e