Discussion Topic - Chat Rooms Revisited -READ CHANGES!!!

One of the sporadic WDT (Weekly Discussion Topics) when this board wasn't very active follows - it's two responses have been reposted as responses to this thread. I'd like to see more input as to what people want, need, and would like to see in a chat room.

Almost all of us in this medium have tried one medium or another for chatting. As some people say - take what you need and leave the rest.

Well, if you could do that with every chat room you had been in, what would be your ideal chatroom? What kind of BDSM atmosphere would you find? What rules, guidelines, or unwritten codes would be followed, what would be ignored?

I will try to put my response down later this week.
The original post is included below.
~Robyn


WDT - What you look for in a meeting place
by Robyn ~The Arctic Bitch~
I was recently in a chat room styled to be "BDSM" and found little else other than self styled "subs" wearing self styled "Dom/mes'" handles...and idle chit chat.

I asked about the room, and was told "please don't judge our lifestyle until you've learned about it." I pointed out that I am very familiar with the lifestyle, but that I could not judge the ROOM...when there was no lifestyle chat being held.

One person responded very wisely, and said that just b/c the people there were involved in BDSM did not mean that their room should be a constant school room, nor did it mean they would always be discussing BDSM.

Now, that was a good point...and I took it to heart. Not about the room in question, of course...because I had been there frequently, tried to get conversations started, had held cyber scenes there, and I've rarely seen and been a part of discussions, learning, or sharing of the ~styled~ topic of conversation of the room in all that time.
HOWEVER - the comment did get me to thinking. And so I ask of you...

What do you look for in a BDSM styled chat room? Do you expect BDSM conversation every time you enter? Is it just a place to hang out, no emphasis on BDSM, but you know the others there profess an interest in BDSM? Do you expect to see scening? If so...is it background noise, or is it the focus of attention (those that understand to show respect, anyways) while it is going on? Do you expect to learn when you attend, or teach if no one there is offering advice or experience on a subject you need/want to learn about?
Originally Posted on Aug 4, 2001, 2:10 PM