Janis Ian “live” online chat, 3:00 p.m. CENTRAL, 25 February 2006
My job was to give “voice” to each person when it was their turn to ask Janis a question. This was to avoid cross chatting and to allow everyone a chance to chat with her. When it was someone’s turn, a message “username has been given voice” would appear on the screen that everyone could see. And when the person’s turn was over, another message “username’s voice taken away” would appear.
Pat, Janis’s partner, joined the chat just as Janis finished answering rickster’s question, so she saw the message “rickster’s voice taken away” . She immediately commented “give that boy his voice back.” After Janis explained what was going on, Pat said “ok. i’m just listening.”
That to me was the funniest part of the chat.
The scariest part? We got slashdotted.
I’d tried to enter the chat room about half an hour before the chat was due to begin, and found that I couldn’t. Emails from Janis and Redjack showed that neither could they. Posts on the forum showed that a lot of the others couldn’t either, while those who were already in found their computers freezing on them.
Between Redjack and John L, webmaster of Janis’s web site, the Kyalla site was soon back online and the chat got underway, just a few minutes after the scheduled start time.
After a shaky start, I settled into my job as voice giver. There were times when the “given voice” and “voice taken” messages were slow to show on the screen. And then I found a notice on my screen that someone had sent me a private message. Who? I clicked on the link to find it.
It was Janis. In the midst of answering questions, she found time to check on me. I was so chuffed I saved a graphic of our little “chat” .
What a great anniversary present. *big grin*
If you’re curious about the questions asked and her answers, click here to read the transcript.
Thanks, Janis, for taking the time to do the chat.
