Okay so here’s the deal. Tonight at 7pm we’ll have our first live chat of the 2010 season. I’m going to stop calling them live blog/chats because I really enjoy the whole interactive thing and I prefer it to be a chat and not just a blog…so when you read the “reader information” on the CoveritLive window and it says this is NOT a chatroom…well, they are wrong. 🙂
Last year we had some troll issues and because of them I instituted a practice where you either had to prove to me privately that you are who you say you are (your initial post is moderated so no one but me can see it) or you email me, telling me what screen name you are going to use and convince me you AREN’T a troll and I’ll give you the in to the chat. This year, I’m going to try and not have to use that, but as soon as someone I let in shows their trollish colors they will be booted.
Bottom line regarding the chats: I want them to be fun and I want them to be troll-free. Voicing frustration is acceptable because sometimes we just need a place to vent but comments like “Papi should kill himself” or anything personally derogatory about a player (or fellow chatter) won’t be accepted. I’ve never actually typed out “rules” for the chats before and it feels like something I shouldn’t have to do – I just want to warn newcomers ahead of time that there is a certain level of civility we uphold in these chats and I’d like it to stay that way.
Also…there tends to be some swearing in the chats so if you have an aversion to that it might be best to stay away. To be fair, most of it is pretty tame compared to what you get along the rest of the Internet but I think it’s fair for people to know ahead of time what you’re getting into – and now you do!
Except for your initial post, the chat won’t be moderated. This means your comments will be posted in real time (unless CoveritLive is having issues or you have a particularly slow Internet connection). Also, you have no privacy issues. I only can see whatever screen name you decide to use and no one else in chat will see more than that either.
I think I’ve covered everything! So bring your typing fingers and your optimism for a great game and meet us back here at 7pm ET!