Right here is the problem I have with the Chat room.

Originally Posted by Sylvester McMonkey McBean

They never will learn; no, you can't teach a Sneetch!

Originally Posted by bonsaial1

This whole exchange reminds me of a guy who complained about the low quality of articles at Bonsai Today. Then many said that he should just start writing articles for the magazine and shut up. I guess the same advice might work here also. Karma, gotta love it...

Originally Posted by Joanie

Members share their information here in several ways. The most typical is by starting a thread, or responding to a thread. Another way is to write an article, using the format that gives more freedom of space and the ability to post pictures in a formatted way. A third way is to post a link to their own website, or a page where they have put up an article. Members may also share information using a private message, or in chat.

I have received some excellent information through private messaging, which I never felt the need to put on the forum in general, nor did the information provider. The provider of the information did so because they wished to share with me, and sometimes an extended question and answer back-and-forth ensued. The sharing of information is a gift of the provider; it is a favor, done to help. If the person chooses only to share in a private message, they have their reasons, and I respect that. If they wanted to put it up publicly, they would have done so. And I am grateful for the time and effort that they took to help.

Sharing information in chat is an essential part of the chat experience. Bonds develop between the members, and they feel comfortable working with each other. Just like a small club meeting... not every demo or workshop at a club meeting has to be featured in a webpage for the rest of the world to use. Certainly it is to be wished that good information will eventually be put on the public area, especially information that might have a bearing on an already public discussion. But those people who wish to share information, have every right to share it with whomever they wish, in any form they wish. It is up to the receiver of the information to decide what to do with it.

I would encourage anyone with a willingness to share, and with information that they feel is useful, to bring it to the public forum area. However, they are doing us all a favor by sharing it, and it is their right to share it or not. Think of the chat room as being like private lessons, or as a small study group. All are invited, but only those who are able to attend will actually get the benefit.

Wouldn't it be nice if every demo, every workshop, every group or private lesson, every conversation between teacher and student were available to us all? Sure! That would be great! But it isn't going to happen, unfortunately. So we take what we can get, and keep searching for more.

Joanie

Originally Posted by Vance Wood

...no written record of the conversation, no record of the information shared, no interchange of the discussion that took place....

Originally Posted by Rock Chester

I Dont think this is 100 percent accurate. I seem to remember some time in the past where Treebay had a link to the chat dialogue. I think if something of great importance was done there a record could be published.