FTL Chatroom

Yes

8 (80%)

No

2 (20%)

Total Members Voted: 8

[orion]

I think they add value to the room as a whole.

[Rillion]

They do join the chat room as time and interest affords, but it's really hard to chat and put on a radio show at the same time. 

[AL the Inconspicuous]

I'd like that too, but their time / mental "cycles" are just too valuable to fraternize with the peanut gallery during the show itself.  Plus real-time chat isn't ideal for everyone - it distracts from hearing the actual show during the live hours, different people have time to participate at different times, chat logs aren't routinely exported and thus end up in the memory hole, and so forth.

I do think that FTL should continue to expand itself from just being a radio show to being more of a multimedia experience, which already is the case with Mark's podcast-only interview add-on, related blogs and YouTube videos, and so on - even this very forum (if it wasn't overrun by idiots like me).  What I would like is for Ian & Mark to give this forum a more serious purpose, like by integrating it into the show more.  Perhaps they could do an "online thread of the night" feature where they promote the forum by discussing one noteworthy new thread.

[orion]

I think even just idling is good enough. How many times has Ian/Mark not known something that we in the chat have been screaming?

[AL the Inconspicuous]

A host not knowing something offhand does not do as much damage to the radio show (and only encourages more callers) as the host who says "hang on a minute, radio audience, I have to read what they're saying in chat (chuckle, that Libman guy always cracks me up)". 

[anarchir]

As nice as it'd be to let them know stuff thru chat, they'd better not distract themselves.