Community Answers

Issue 4

Welcome to the fourth issue of conduit. We hope you enjoy each issue, and that you find valuable information, as well as things that add a touch of light relief to your day.

We have enjoyed bringing conduit to you, and are pleased with the response we have received. Thank you so much for your continued support!

In this issue of conduit:

1) Featured Question and Answer: "How Many Chatters Is Too Many?"

2) Your Community Answer: "If you were a moderator, how many people do you think you should/could handle in a chat room?"

3) Community Wire: Recommended reading -- the most recent report on communities and how they bridge the distance.

4) Community Voice: "What they might have said...."?

Featured Question and Answer

We received this great question from a subscriber who is preparing for a celebrity chat. The question was posed as follows;

For hosted chats how many people can comfortably fit into a room at one time - particularly for something like a celebrity chat where demand may be high?

To view our recommendations, please visit "How Many Chatters Is Too Many?".

Please do not forget to visit our searchable archive for past questions and answers.

Your Community Answer

We are looking for your feedback on this issues' poll; "If you were a moderator, how many people do you think you should/could handle in a chat room?"

The responses to each poll have been tremendous and we look forward to your vote!

Community Wire
Communities Bridging the Distance

On October 31, 2001 the Pew Internet & American Life Project (www.pewinternet.org) released a rather comprehensive report regarding online communities, the percentage of Americans that access them and how they help to bridge the distance while encouraging community participation.

The organization surveyed 1,697 Internet users and in summary found that 90 million Americans (84%) have used the Internet to make contact with others or receive information from a particular group via online communication. The study supports the concept that more people are becoming active participants in online communication with individuals from different parts of the world, ethnic and religious groups, different economic backgrounds and ages. The report also suggests that online communities are assisting in the increase of participation within an individual's local community.

Despite what has been said about the Internet creating a reason for people to stay within their own four walls, it is heartening to have proof to support what online community developers have believed in for so long. Online communities do play an important role in our communication efforts, daily interaction and the need to establish quality relations with others globally and within our local areas.

If you have some time over the weekend, print out a copy of the report. This 28 page document is a definite "must read".

If you wish to submit an article or comment to be featured within conduit's CommunityWire, please do so by using our online submission form.

Community Voice

"What they might have said...."?

Have you ever wondered what might have been said by some notorious and not so notorious figures had they been online? We did, and here's what we came up with... send your suggestions and we'll post them in a later issue of conduit.

You can surf to some of the sites all the time, and you can surf to all of the sites some of the time, but you can't surf to all of the sites all the time.
- Abraham Lincoln

A small click of a mouse, but a giant leap for my browser.
- Neil Armstrong

I am just going outside and may be AFK for some time.
- Captain Oates of Scott's Antarctic Expedition

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new web sites but in having new browsers.
- Marcel Proust

If it weren't for electricity we'd all be surfing by candlelight
- George Gobel

Never... has so much been posted by so many moderators to so few.
- Winston Churchill

To me, online community is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and everything's done in abbreviations.
- Jack Handey

Either that desktop wallpaper goes, or I do.
- Oscar Wilde

You can contribute to communityanswers.com and gain valuable insights by asking a question right now: