We’ve had mixed results with the TC-OF chat room (http://www.tc-of.net/chats.htm), which anyone is welcome to use, and I am sure we could recruit some people to “chat” on EFTC’s. It takes a fair amount of discipline – almost a “Roger” “Over” “10-4” kind of thing – ways of signalling when one speaker has completed a thought, so another can begin. Or ways of coping when several bits of conversation overlap, as is inevitable given the time-delays, and the different time that people take to think and type. We save and circulate “chats” to everyone afterwards. It also seems to work best if there is an agreed start/stop time. The ending-time can be re-negotiated, if need be; but it does provide a useful boundary.
It has helped to have a ‘master of ceremonies’; a kind of chair, or referent point, especially in terms of keeping track of time, and drawing attention to any ‘rules’ or agreements people might have made at the start of a session. It might be worth considering a Quaker-style minute-taker at the end of some kinds of chat, to summarise what was said, and bring it all to a close. For exploring the New Zealand or similar situations it could be ideal; and you could rope in observers (ATC, for example).
One thing we haven’t done on TC-OF, but it seems to me Chat would be suited to, is a formal interview, with a designated interviewer, and an interviewee; with everyone else watching and reading until the floor is thrown open. Most chat software seems to have a facility for having a side-chat with only one person at a time (like a private line); so that the ‘audience’ could feed questions and thoughts to the interviewer as the interview went on, without distracting or interrupting the interviewee. A bit like what happens on the radio, where the presenter has a speaker in his ear, and information is being fed in, without disturbing the interviewee or listener.
Given the accessibility of the Google translator, I wonder whether it might not be possible to conduct a kind of conversation in several languages at once, putting bits of discussion through GoogleTranslator for a kind of simultaneous translation. It would take more discipline, and more time and patience; and perhaps best used as a kind of back-up when certainty failed. But there is the potential for opening things up a bit. The potential also exists for a chat to take place in Italian, for example, be saved, and then run through GoogleTranslator for the benefit of English, German or French speakers, say: It would be a rough approximation, but could give the gist.
Best,
Craig
-----Original
Message-----
From: Therapeutic
Communities [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Anthony Slater
Sent: 10 November 2005 19:33
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Discussion list chat
room
Hi,
I’ve been trying to figure out how to use the “chat room,” without much success. I was thinking that perhaps I could encourage some of our community members to have a go. As you will guess, I’m at the lower subterranean level when it comes to this sort of thing.
a) Any helpful hints would be appreciated.
b) If they want to have a try, will someone “chat” with them?
c) I’m not too sure how confident they would be about writing in English.
Anthony Slater,
Director: Phoenix Haga.
President: European Federation of Therapeutic Communities.
c/o Phoenix Haga, N - 1850 Mysen, Norway.
Tel: + 47 69 89 82 50.
Fax: + 47 69 89 82 51.
e-post: [log in to unmask]
http://www.eftc-europe.com