>What does this have to do with the UT Chat discussion??? You've totally gone off track; and, frankly, it's very annoying. You've become bothersome. Go away.
>
OK, I've stayed out of this up to now, but this has now reached new levels of complete non-propductivity. Since I haven't pissed off anyone in several minutes, I'm going to kick in my $0.02. Or, more specifically, what effect this issue will have when it's time to renew my PUTM.
I'm a PUTM; this means I'm stupid enough to pay for additional services that make accessing the repository of information easier. Of all the things implemented on the UT, the least productive one, and, as a paying customer, the one I'm least interested in underwriting the cost of configuring/managing/maintaining by my membership, is the Chat. It has produced several valuable resources, most specifically the study groups and Wednesday Night lecture series. Guess what? These two productive efforts did serve a useful function, and the results make the content of the wiki much more valuable. They didn't expand the UT repository of information. They did not have to run in Chat rooms on the UT - in fact, for a while, Gary Axtell did us all the favor of extending access to an IRC site for the Friday afternoon gathering.
From my POV, the UT Chat Room adds -nothing- to the value of UT for me. If it were to go away, it would have no effect on whether or not I remained a PUTM. Given a choice of Michel spending time and effort to alter the way the Chat functions, or expending an equivalent amount of time and effort enhancing functionality in the message base, FAQ or Files, I'd much prefer the effort spent on something other than the Chat.
From a practical perspective, the study groups, and the Wednesday Night presentations could be run on -any- IRC server; the same people could attend and participate, and the transcripts collected, edited and posted on the wiki (thank you, Cindy). If someone wanted to set up and manage an IRC facility for VFP and related topics, I'm sure that an entry in Links could be posted so that we could find it, and if important events (gee, like the time, date and topic of Wednesday Night presentations) were scheduled, then someone could post a News Item with a link to the event that everyone on UT could see and use to get to the right place at the right time.
And Michel could expend neurochemical energy enhancing the useful features of the UT that us dumbass PUTMs would cheerfully continue to pay our dues for, and attracts advertisers and UT Partners.
Anyone feeling a need to establish and manage a permanent IRC site for VFP and related chats would be free to set it up and maintain it the way they thought the world ought to work. They could sell ad space, or ask people to pay a membership fee if they felt that they needed compensation for their investment of time and resources, and might offer enhanced services to members. Or ask for voluntary donations to help underwrite whatever expenses they incur. Since it's their site, they set their priorities and their rules of operation. Seems like a plan.
In summary, my decision to pay to be a PUTM is not based on the existance of the Chat service. Given a choice of Michel investing time or money in enhancements to the message base, FAQ, or Files offerings, or investing in making changes to the Chat facility, Chat has the least value to me. If Chat went away, I'd still be a PUTM.
Time to stop the little flamefest, guys. Time to tell Michel what effect changing the availability or functionality of the Chat Service will have on UT's revenue stream.
>>Yours sincerely,
>Don't patronize me you wanker... I've lost my tolerance for you.
>
>Flame away. I won't dignify any further bullshit from you with a response.
