Moving chat threads from US to Offtopic

Both of the US chats have been moved over to the Offtopic subforum today.
The mod's explanation goes something like this:

brightridge59 said: The forum is lagging pretty badly, so I didn't want to post a full breakdown right away. Basically, we all agreed to move the chats here because they aren't really necessary for the main boards. So, hey fans, welcome to the new home. 🙂

My question is—who exactly doesn't need these chats? What kind of reasoning is that, really?

As for us forum members, we clearly *do* need them, since that’s where we actually hang out. We aren't some exclusive little clique, either; we're just a group of people who gathered in the US subforum and started a chat—one that even two former US moderators participated in. Every single person from the US section has always been more than welcome in that chat.

The current US moderators don't participate in the chat themselves, so I guess that's why they "don't need" it. They've just casually—and, if I'm being honest, somewhat arrogantly—moved everything over to Offtopic.

There were regularly over 50 people active in that chat.

If this is being done strictly to reduce the load on the server, then I suppose *all* chats from *every* subforum should be moved to Offtopic. If that's truly the case, fine—everything is above board. However, if the US forum is being singled out as an exception, it really makes me wonder about the objectivity, the impartiality, and the actual motives behind the moderators' decision to act this way.

I'd appreciate it if the administrators could weigh in on this. 🙂

Gregory Garcia said:Both of the US chats have been moved over to the Offtopic subforum today.
The mod's explanation goes something like this:

My question is—who exactly doesn't need these chats? What kind of reasoning is that, really?

As for us forum members, we clearly *do* need them, since that’s where we actually hang out. We aren't some exclusive little clique, either; we're just a group of people who gathered in the US subforum and started a chat—one that even two former US moderators participated in. Every single person from the US section has always been more than welcome in that chat.

The current US moderators don't participate in the chat themselves, so I guess that's why they "don't need" it. They've just casually—and, if I'm being honest, somewhat arrogantly—moved everything over to Offtopic.

There were regularly over 50 people active in that chat.

If this is being done strictly to reduce the load on the server, then I suppose *all* chats from *every* subforum should be moved to Offtopic. If that's truly the case, fine—everything is above board. However, if the US forum is being singled out as an exception, it really makes me wonder about the objectivity, the impartiality, and the actual motives behind the moderators' decision to act this way.

I'd appreciate it if the administrators could weigh in on this. 🙂

That’s perfectly normal. 🤷

Honestly, I feel like the US subforum really doesn't need those dedicated chats. It’s as simple as that.

It’s pretty clear that we need our fellow community members, especially since they are the very heartbeat of everything we do here. We aren't some exclusive, gated clique trying to keep people out; rather, we’re just a group of folks who naturally gravitated toward the US sub-forum and decided to start a chat to keep the conversation going. In fact, two former US moderators were even part of those early discussions. Please know that any member from the US side of the forum is always more than welcome to jump into the chat whenever they feel like joining the fun.

Honestly, I’m struggling to see what difference it makes who exactly was participating in that chat. Does it truly change the substance of what was discussed? 🤔

If you find that you need them, they are right there waiting for you—exactly where they belong.

It seems like the current US moderators aren't really engaging with the chat at all lately. It honestly feels as though they don't see much value in having the conversation active there, so they’ve been quite nonchalant—bordering on arrogant, if I’m being honest—about simply pushing all the discussions over to Offtopic.

Maybe we aren't participating because we simply don't feel like it. Personally, I don't think we really need a dedicated chat feature on the US subforum. It feels like it might just add unnecessary clutter to an area that works perfectly fine as it is.?

It was actually quite impressive to see how lively that chat stayed; we regularly had over 50 people jumping in and engaging with one another at any given time.

I?

Who exactly is it that keeps encouraging these folks to stay involved and keep participating?

If the goal here is really to reduce the load on the main boards, then I honestly feel like we should just move all the casual chat threads from every single sub-forum over to Offtopic. It seems like the most logical way to keep things organized without cluttering up the more serious discussions. If everything is done with that kind of intention behind it, then I truly believe everything is perfectly fine.That being said, if the US forum is an exception to the rule, it really makes you stop and wonder about the objectivity here. It raises some serious questions regarding whether the moderators are actually being impartial, or if there are underlying motives driving this kind of behavior.

Are you really deciding that it’s okay only "if..." certain conditions are met? 😁

Personally, I don't have much of an interest in how the other moderators choose to manage the chat threads on their own sub-forums. It was a collective decision made by the US moderators to move all the chat discussions over to the Offtopic section.

Most of the people hanging out in those chat rooms don't actually contribute anything of substance to the subforum; they just seem to exist solely for the sake of chatting. Honestly, if that's all there is to it, that chat could be hosted anywhere else under the sun. It’s pretty much functioning like that right now anyway.

I’m jumping on the bandwagon with Gregory Garcia here—someone needs to explain what's going on.
The whole point of the US chat Finger of Fate was to give everyone on this forum a way to actually talk and get to know each other, which happens all the time, and honestly, isn't that exactly why the US and this specific chat even exist?
It feels like you completely missed the entire point of Kevin's original post when he first opened this thread up.

Gregory Garcia said:Both of the US chats have been moved over to the Offtopic subforum today.
The mod's explanation goes something like this:

My question is—who exactly doesn't need these chats? What kind of reasoning is that, really?

As for us forum members, we clearly *do* need them, since that’s where we actually hang out. We aren't some exclusive little clique, either; we're just a group of people who gathered in the US subforum and started a chat—one that even two former US moderators participated in. Every single person from the US section has always been more than welcome in that chat.

The current US moderators don't participate in the chat themselves, so I guess that's why they "don't need" it. They've just casually—and, if I'm being honest, somewhat arrogantly—moved everything over to Offtopic.

There were regularly over 50 people active in that chat.

If this is being done strictly to reduce the load on the server, then I suppose *all* chats from *every* subforum should be moved to Offtopic. If that's truly the case, fine—everything is above board. However, if the US forum is being singled out as an exception, it really makes me wonder about the objectivity, the impartiality, and the actual motives behind the moderators' decision to act this way.

I'd appreciate it if the administrators could weigh in on this. 🙂

All the moderators for this subforum have reached a consensus that having chats here in the States just doesn't make sense. I've included the reasoning for that decision below.

It seems our forum members need one, quite obviously, since we all rely on them. We aren't some exclusive clique; rather, we're just a group that gathered in the US sub-forum and started a chat, which even included two former US moderators. I guess any member from the US sub-forum is always welcome to join that chat.

The current US moderators aren't really participating in the chat, so I guess they feel like they don't actually need it. It seems like they’re just casually—maybe even arrogantly—pushing all the chat discussions over to Offtopic.

Well, you can certainly keep using them, but maybe just stick to the Offtopic section.

Look, you didn't start this chat. This was my idea from the beginning—I know exactly how I envisioned it—but it became immediately obvious to me that the original plan wouldn't work. I had intended for it to be more of a themed chat, specifically because certain members had been calling for meetups within their subforums. But what actually happened once the chat went live? Not a single sign of those people. It turns out they were just the ones who complain without ever actually following through. That’s why this had to evolve into a standard chat, where people can just talk about whatever they want first, and then eventually get to know each other in real life, just like any other chat on this entire forum.

There were consistently over 50 people participating in that chat.

That is exactly where the issue lies. There are over 50 people active in the chat, yet out of those 50, I guess only about five actually participate anywhere else on the forum.
I guess the US subforum is the kind of space where only a themed chat like our previous "feeling after breakup" thread could really work—you know, where people actually stepped up to comfort one another and offer support. But honestly, I suspect there isn't much of a need or even any interest in starting something like that right now.
It’s somewhat similar to how there are dedicated topical chats on ŽuD.

On these kinds of casual chats, you usually see people who don't really have any connection to the US, so I guess the question naturally comes up: what is the actual purpose of having these chats in America then? 🤷
I don't see any reason to start a revolt here. You guys can keep chatting just like you have been, provided you move it over to Offtopic.

fadedheron892 said:I’m jumping on the bandwagon with Gregory Garcia here—someone needs to explain what's going on.
The whole point of the US chat Finger of Fate was to give everyone on this forum a way to actually talk and get to know each other, which happens all the time, and honestly, isn't that exactly why the US and this specific chat even exist?
It feels like you completely missed the entire point of Kevin's original post when he first opened this thread up.

Emma, that was my idea, so please allow me to be the one who best understands how it was intended and how it actually turned out.
It ended up just like any other chat—people talk, and then after a while, they get to know one another. There really isn't any other way for it to work. You didn't invent the concept of meeting people; plenty of others have done exactly that in various chats long before you did.

Besides, the Finger of Fate chat was largely filled with spam. It was nothing but endless posts saying "good morning," "good night," "lol," and things like that. That certainly shouldn't be the purpose of the US.
At least USPSD wasn't a spammy chat, but it also doesn't serve much of a purpose on the US, so it met the same fate.

brightridge59 said:That’s perfectly normal. 🤷

Honestly, I feel like the US subforum really doesn't need those dedicated chats. It’s as simple as that.

It’s pretty clear that we need our fellow community members, especially since they are the very heartbeat of everything we do here. We aren't some exclusive, gated clique trying to keep people out; rather, we’re just a group of folks who naturally gravitated toward the US sub-forum and decided to start a chat to keep the conversation going. In fact, two former US moderators were even part of those early discussions. Please know that any member from the US side of the forum is always more than welcome to jump into the chat whenever they feel like joining the fun.

Honestly, I’m struggling to see what difference it makes who exactly was participating in that chat. Does it truly change the substance of what was discussed? 🤔

If you find that you need them, they are right there waiting for you—exactly where they belong.

It seems like the current US moderators aren't really engaging with the chat at all lately. It honestly feels as though they don't see much value in having the conversation active there, so they’ve been quite nonchalant—bordering on arrogant, if I’m being honest—about simply pushing all the discussions over to Offtopic.

Maybe we aren't participating because we simply don't feel like it. Personally, I don't think we really need a dedicated chat feature on the US subforum. It feels like it might just add unnecessary clutter to an area that works perfectly fine as it is.?

It was actually quite impressive to see how lively that chat stayed; we regularly had over 50 people jumping in and engaging with one another at any given time.

I?

Who exactly is it that keeps encouraging these folks to stay involved and keep participating?

If the goal here is really to reduce the load on the main boards, then I honestly feel like we should just move all the casual chat threads from every single sub-forum over to Offtopic. It seems like the most logical way to keep things organized without cluttering up the more serious discussions. If everything is done with that kind of intention behind it, then I truly believe everything is perfectly fine.That being said, if the US forum is an exception to the rule, it really makes you stop and wonder about the objectivity here. It raises some serious questions regarding whether the moderators are actually being impartial, or if there are underlying motives driving this kind of behavior.

Are you really deciding that it’s okay only "if..." certain conditions are met? 😁

Personally, I don't have much of an interest in how the other moderators choose to manage the chat threads on their own sub-forums. It was a collective decision made by the US moderators to move all the chat discussions over to the Offtopic section.

Most of the people hanging out in those chat rooms don't actually contribute anything of substance to the subforum; they just seem to exist solely for the sake of chatting. Honestly, if that's all there is to it, that chat could be hosted anywhere else under the sun. It’s pretty much functioning like that right now anyway.

Why didn't you lead with that? Everything makes perfect sense now.🙏
Long live nepotism, cronyism... and cloning.🙏

fadedheron892 said:I’m jumping on the bandwagon with Gregory Garcia here—someone needs to explain what's going on.
The whole point of the US chat Finger of Fate was to give everyone on this forum a way to actually talk and get to know each other, which happens all the time, and honestly, isn't that exactly why the US and this specific chat even exist?
It feels like you completely missed the entire point of Kevin's original post when he first opened this thread up.

Same here. I’m looking for a convincing explanation like everyone else, not some bureaucratic nonsense.

mistywolf17 Look, we’re all on board with getting this chat back to its original purpose, so why are you guys already throwing in the towel on our and your chat?

mistywolf17 said:All the moderators for this subforum have reached a consensus that having chats here in the States just doesn't make sense. I've included the reasoning for that decision below.

It seems our forum members need one, quite obviously, since we all rely on them. We aren't some exclusive clique; rather, we're just a group that gathered in the US sub-forum and started a chat, which even included two former US moderators. I guess any member from the US sub-forum is always welcome to join that chat.

The current US moderators aren't really participating in the chat, so I guess they feel like they don't actually need it. It seems like they’re just casually—maybe even arrogantly—pushing all the chat discussions over to Offtopic.

Well, you can certainly keep using them, but maybe just stick to the Offtopic section.

Look, you didn't start this chat. This was my idea from the beginning—I know exactly how I envisioned it—but it became immediately obvious to me that the original plan wouldn't work. I had intended for it to be more of a themed chat, specifically because certain members had been calling for meetups within their subforums. But what actually happened once the chat went live? Not a single sign of those people. It turns out they were just the ones who complain without ever actually following through. That’s why this had to evolve into a standard chat, where people can just talk about whatever they want first, and then eventually get to know each other in real life, just like any other chat on this entire forum.

There were consistently over 50 people participating in that chat.

That is exactly where the issue lies. There are over 50 people active in the chat, yet out of those 50, I guess only about five actually participate anywhere else on the forum.
I guess the US subforum is the kind of space where only a themed chat like our previous "feeling after breakup" thread could really work—you know, where people actually stepped up to comfort one another and offer support. But honestly, I suspect there isn't much of a need or even any interest in starting something like that right now.
It’s somewhat similar to how there are dedicated topical chats on ŽuD.

On these kinds of casual chats, you usually see people who don't really have any connection to the US, so I guess the question naturally comes up: what is the actual purpose of having these chats in America then? 🤷
I don't see any reason to start a revolt here. You guys can keep chatting just like you have been, provided you move it over to Offtopic.

Emma, that was my idea, so please allow me to be the one who best understands how it was intended and how it actually turned out.
It ended up just like any other chat—people talk, and then after a while, they get to know one another. There really isn't any other way for it to work. You didn't invent the concept of meeting people; plenty of others have done exactly that in various chats long before you did.

Besides, the Finger of Fate chat was largely filled with spam. It was nothing but endless posts saying "good morning," "good night," "lol," and things like that. That certainly shouldn't be the purpose of the US.
At least USPSD wasn't a spammy chat, but it also doesn't serve much of a purpose on the US, so it met the same fate.

Fair point, but the real question is whether someone browsing the US subforum—who might actually be interested in joining a chat like this—is even going to realize there's a US chat tucked away in the Offtopic section?

fadedheron892 said:mistywolf17 Look, we’re all on board with getting this chat back to its original purpose, so why are you guys already throwing in the towel on our and your chat?

The chat could never have been strictly topical to begin with. Just read what I wrote earlier. People had to be allowed to chat about anything, because nobody was interested in coordinating hangouts right away. So, my conclusion is that it simply can't function as a topical chat. It just doesn't work that way.
That being said, of course you all support that idea. I saw how much you wanted it. I’ve been following you lately because there were so many posts in the chat. From what I could see, it seemed like you just wanted to drive certain people away because they don't intend to meet up in real life. Which, honestly, is kind of ridiculous. It happened because, just like in any other chat, not everyone gets along, so people end up kicking each other out. I'm quite familiar with that dynamic.
So, I think I’ve explained the situation more than thoroughly. These chats on the US subforum really don't make sense; as far as I'm concerned, they belong on Offtopic.

Amanda James27 said:Fair point, but the real question is whether someone browsing the US subforum—who might actually be interested in joining a chat like this—is even going to realize there's a US chat tucked away in the Offtopic section?

I don't quite follow your question. If someone wants to chat, they should just head straight to a dedicated chatting subforum like DiK or Offtopic. They don't necessarily need to come to the US section just to chat.

Can someone please walk me through the logic here? Why is it that the Lonely hearts subforum doesn't need social chats, yet every other subforum does?
Saying "because we decided so" is, quite frankly, a pretty ridiculous explanation.

I'm actually curious to see what one of the admins is going to say after I sent them a message

brightridge59 said:That’s perfectly normal. 🤷

Honestly, I feel like the US subforum really doesn't need those dedicated chats. It’s as simple as that.

It’s pretty clear that we need our fellow community members, especially since they are the very heartbeat of everything we do here. We aren't some exclusive, gated clique trying to keep people out; rather, we’re just a group of folks who naturally gravitated toward the US sub-forum and decided to start a chat to keep the conversation going. In fact, two former US moderators were even part of those early discussions. Please know that any member from the US side of the forum is always more than welcome to jump into the chat whenever they feel like joining the fun.

Honestly, I’m struggling to see what difference it makes who exactly was participating in that chat. Does it truly change the substance of what was discussed? 🤔

If you find that you need them, they are right there waiting for you—exactly where they belong.

It seems like the current US moderators aren't really engaging with the chat at all lately. It honestly feels as though they don't see much value in having the conversation active there, so they’ve been quite nonchalant—bordering on arrogant, if I’m being honest—about simply pushing all the discussions over to Offtopic.

Maybe we aren't participating because we simply don't feel like it. Personally, I don't think we really need a dedicated chat feature on the US subforum. It feels like it might just add unnecessary clutter to an area that works perfectly fine as it is.?

It was actually quite impressive to see how lively that chat stayed; we regularly had over 50 people jumping in and engaging with one another at any given time.

I?

Who exactly is it that keeps encouraging these folks to stay involved and keep participating?

If the goal here is really to reduce the load on the main boards, then I honestly feel like we should just move all the casual chat threads from every single sub-forum over to Offtopic. It seems like the most logical way to keep things organized without cluttering up the more serious discussions. If everything is done with that kind of intention behind it, then I truly believe everything is perfectly fine.That being said, if the US forum is an exception to the rule, it really makes you stop and wonder about the objectivity here. It raises some serious questions regarding whether the moderators are actually being impartial, or if there are underlying motives driving this kind of behavior.

Are you really deciding that it’s okay only "if..." certain conditions are met? 😁

Personally, I don't have much of an interest in how the other moderators choose to manage the chat threads on their own sub-forums. It was a collective decision made by the US moderators to move all the chat discussions over to the Offtopic section.

Most of the people hanging out in those chat rooms don't actually contribute anything of substance to the subforum; they just seem to exist solely for the sake of chatting. Honestly, if that's all there is to it, that chat could be hosted anywhere else under the sun. It’s pretty much functioning like that right now anyway.

Correction to what micek said—the quality of the US chat has been seriously tanked... by a bunch of chatty idiots. This should have been dealt with way back in the ninth inning.
Don't act like you know what's happening if you aren't actually in the chat... if you were, you'd see it’s actually one of the best places to hang out... where people actually talk in full sentences, deconstruct love, build friendships... and deal with those ego-driven types who caused the quality drop in the first place by making everything nonsensical.
But damn... this isn't how you do it... you can't just push your own agenda without an ounce of respect. I would have respected you and your decisions way more—no matter how questionable they were—if you had just hopped into the chat and let us know what was planned. That's the bare minimum level of respect expected from someone with your moderator authority. But hey, props to you for this... it’s not easy showing respect to others when you can just play the part of the big, powerful, and righteous queen here on the forum...

Look, I’m all for moving these threads around, but let’s not dump them into Offtopic. People here are actually building connections, they aren't just posting random nonsense. In my book, they belong over in DiK. That's my call.

Jessica Watson4 said:Can someone please walk me through the logic here? Why is it that the Lonely hearts subforum doesn't need social chats, yet every other subforum does?
Saying "because we decided so" is, quite frankly, a pretty ridiculous explanation.

I guess you should just read through my previous posts. If it still doesn't make sense after that, then I'm sorry, but I can't help you.

Brandon Castillo4 said:Look, I’m all for moving these threads around, but let’s not dump them into Offtopic. People here are actually building connections, they aren't just posting random nonsense. In my book, they belong over in DiK. That's my call.

The thing is, they don't allow chats on DiK because basically every thread there turns into a chat anyway.

swiftfalcon43 said:I'm actually curious to see what one of the admins is going to say after I sent them a message

Well, you might as well have sent it. Maybe send it to another one too, just to be safe. I doubt they would have even noticed this thread without you.

mistywolf17, you clearly haven't even bothered to read the Finger of Fate chat, which handled way more heavy-hitting topics than USPSD ever could (and I don't have anything against USPSD, for the record).
And all this talk about someone getting kicked out is just nonsense; the whole point of the chat was for people to hang out, and if someone wanted to avoid that, they had plenty of other chats to jump into, besides, we were just kicking out spammers, so what's the big deal?

But even a total idiot like Mujo can see that this is nothing more than a blatant display of moderator power since you guys have zero intention or desire to actually "fix" the chat back to how it was originally meant to be.

brightridge59 said:That’s perfectly normal. 🤷

Honestly, I feel like the US subforum really doesn't need those dedicated chats. It’s as simple as that.

It’s pretty clear that we need our fellow community members, especially since they are the very heartbeat of everything we do here. We aren't some exclusive, gated clique trying to keep people out; rather, we’re just a group of folks who naturally gravitated toward the US sub-forum and decided to start a chat to keep the conversation going. In fact, two former US moderators were even part of those early discussions. Please know that any member from the US side of the forum is always more than welcome to jump into the chat whenever they feel like joining the fun.

Honestly, I’m struggling to see what difference it makes who exactly was participating in that chat. Does it truly change the substance of what was discussed? 🤔

If you find that you need them, they are right there waiting for you—exactly where they belong.

It seems like the current US moderators aren't really engaging with the chat at all lately. It honestly feels as though they don't see much value in having the conversation active there, so they’ve been quite nonchalant—bordering on arrogant, if I’m being honest—about simply pushing all the discussions over to Offtopic.

Maybe we aren't participating because we simply don't feel like it. Personally, I don't think we really need a dedicated chat feature on the US subforum. It feels like it might just add unnecessary clutter to an area that works perfectly fine as it is.?

It was actually quite impressive to see how lively that chat stayed; we regularly had over 50 people jumping in and engaging with one another at any given time.

I?

Who exactly is it that keeps encouraging these folks to stay involved and keep participating?

If the goal here is really to reduce the load on the main boards, then I honestly feel like we should just move all the casual chat threads from every single sub-forum over to Offtopic. It seems like the most logical way to keep things organized without cluttering up the more serious discussions. If everything is done with that kind of intention behind it, then I truly believe everything is perfectly fine.That being said, if the US forum is an exception to the rule, it really makes you stop and wonder about the objectivity here. It raises some serious questions regarding whether the moderators are actually being impartial, or if there are underlying motives driving this kind of behavior.

Are you really deciding that it’s okay only "if..." certain conditions are met? 😁

Personally, I don't have much of an interest in how the other moderators choose to manage the chat threads on their own sub-forums. It was a collective decision made by the US moderators to move all the chat discussions over to the Offtopic section.

Most of the people hanging out in those chat rooms don't actually contribute anything of substance to the subforum; they just seem to exist solely for the sake of chatting. Honestly, if that's all there is to it, that chat could be hosted anywhere else under the sun. It’s pretty much functioning like that right now anyway.

What kind of explanation is that? What else does he need, just another thread to complain and whine in? The US section is actually the first one among all subforums that really needs a chat for socializing and meeting people. On all the others, you just participate through threads and replies. So you're saying a single chat in Recreation makes more sense than one on the US board? 😕

Personally, I don't really care how other moderators handle chat threads on their own boards. The decision was made collectively by the US moderators to move the chats over to Offtopic.

Instead of actually doing your jobs and moderating chats when they drift off track, you're choosing the easiest way out—just pass the problem onto someone else.

Most of the people in those chats don't contribute anything to the subforum at all, except for chatting. So that chat can be anywhere else. Just like it is now.

Cleaning house, I guess. And funny timing on the move, too—doing it on a Sunday when the fewest users are online to keep the noise down.

Brandon Castillo4 said:Look, I’m all for moving these threads around, but let’s not dump them into Offtopic. People here are actually building connections, they aren't just posting random nonsense. In my book, they belong over in DiK. That's my call.

Brandon Castillo4, you really should've been on the chat when we were out there actually supporting people, helping them through their stuff, breaking the ice, and getting everyone to hang out and join the crew.
We tackled a ton of heavy, serious topics, but then the second we tried to clear out the spam, everything got shut down because some people couldn't stop whining and acting salty.

mistywolf17 said:I guess you should just read through my previous posts. If it still doesn't make sense after that, then I'm sorry, but I can't help you.

The thing is, they don't allow chats on DiK because basically every thread there turns into a chat anyway.

Well, you might as well have sent it. Maybe send it to another one too, just to be safe. I doubt they would have even noticed this thread without you.

Seriously, the logic being used here is just straight-up ridiculous—it’s like something out of Monty Python. 🤣
Take a second to actually process my question and give me a real answer, because saying "this is how I imagined the chat, but it turned out differently, people complained, and I just don't feel like moderating it" is a total non-answer.
It's especially wild considering the subforum description literally includes the word "lonely."🤦

mistywolf17 said:The chat could never have been strictly topical to begin with. Just read what I wrote earlier. People had to be allowed to chat about anything, because nobody was interested in coordinating hangouts right away. So, my conclusion is that it simply can't function as a topical chat. It just doesn't work that way.
That being said, of course you all support that idea. I saw how much you wanted it. I’ve been following you lately because there were so many posts in the chat. From what I could see, it seemed like you just wanted to drive certain people away because they don't intend to meet up in real life. Which, honestly, is kind of ridiculous. It happened because, just like in any other chat, not everyone gets along, so people end up kicking each other out. I'm quite familiar with that dynamic.
So, I think I’ve explained the situation more than thoroughly. These chats on the US subforum really don't make sense; as far as I'm concerned, they belong on Offtopic.

I don't quite follow your question. If someone wants to chat, they should just head straight to a dedicated chatting subforum like DiK or Offtopic. They don't necessarily need to come to the US section just to chat.

mistywolf17...you, of all people, who used to hang out in the chat while ignoring the rest of us via private messages on Nexmo that you could have easily sent on PP...you can't claim we were trying to kick anyone out just because they weren't "down" to hang out. What we actually wasted our energy on was explaining things to the newbies coming in...trying to make it clear that US-ovac isn't a place for people with zero brain cells. Seriously, when you have a constant flood of unrefined nonsense being pumped out with smiley faces, it completely kills the whole vibe of actually meeting and getting to know people...which, if I'm being honest...happened almost every single week. So...the chat definitely served a purpose. You guys shut down a chat with over 30 people, some of the crew showed up at the meetup...and those are the people we actually met🙏. Some of them, who live closer to the Oakland area, even kept hanging out with us.
What I'm saying is...I met more people at the meetup than I ever did at some random forum party. So, do the math.😁

mistywolf17 said:All the moderators for this subforum have reached a consensus that having chats here in the States just doesn't make sense. I've included the reasoning for that decision below.

It seems our forum members need one, quite obviously, since we all rely on them. We aren't some exclusive clique; rather, we're just a group that gathered in the US sub-forum and started a chat, which even included two former US moderators. I guess any member from the US sub-forum is always welcome to join that chat.

The current US moderators aren't really participating in the chat, so I guess they feel like they don't actually need it. It seems like they’re just casually—maybe even arrogantly—pushing all the chat discussions over to Offtopic.

Well, you can certainly keep using them, but maybe just stick to the Offtopic section.

Look, you didn't start this chat. This was my idea from the beginning—I know exactly how I envisioned it—but it became immediately obvious to me that the original plan wouldn't work. I had intended for it to be more of a themed chat, specifically because certain members had been calling for meetups within their subforums. But what actually happened once the chat went live? Not a single sign of those people. It turns out they were just the ones who complain without ever actually following through. That’s why this had to evolve into a standard chat, where people can just talk about whatever they want first, and then eventually get to know each other in real life, just like any other chat on this entire forum.

There were consistently over 50 people participating in that chat.

That is exactly where the issue lies. There are over 50 people active in the chat, yet out of those 50, I guess only about five actually participate anywhere else on the forum.
I guess the US subforum is the kind of space where only a themed chat like our previous "feeling after breakup" thread could really work—you know, where people actually stepped up to comfort one another and offer support. But honestly, I suspect there isn't much of a need or even any interest in starting something like that right now.
It’s somewhat similar to how there are dedicated topical chats on ŽuD.

On these kinds of casual chats, you usually see people who don't really have any connection to the US, so I guess the question naturally comes up: what is the actual purpose of having these chats in America then? 🤷
I don't see any reason to start a revolt here. You guys can keep chatting just like you have been, provided you move it over to Offtopic.

Emma, that was my idea, so please allow me to be the one who best understands how it was intended and how it actually turned out.
It ended up just like any other chat—people talk, and then after a while, they get to know one another. There really isn't any other way for it to work. You didn't invent the concept of meeting people; plenty of others have done exactly that in various chats long before you did.

Besides, the Finger of Fate chat was largely filled with spam. It was nothing but endless posts saying "good morning," "good night," "lol," and things like that. That certainly shouldn't be the purpose of the US.
At least USPSD wasn't a spammy chat, but it also doesn't serve much of a purpose on the US, so it met the same fate.

So what's actually wrong here? Do you even realize how boring those meetups were? There weren't even enough to equal all the other forum chats combined. People travel from miles away just to meet up. Now tell me the chat isn't fulfilling its purpose.