Thursday, January 10, 2008

no more chat

Chat is very useful as a work-related tool, for discussing things with colleagues in another room without disturbing other colleagues in the same room.

However, as I am only online at work and very occasionally in the evenings to do specific tasks, I do not want to use it to spend time chatting to people at any great length. By all means send me an email or a facebook message, which I can respond to if I have time, and at whatever length I choose, but chat is invasive, and this is why I only use it for work-related purposes.

There so many blogs and websites I ought to be reading, friends to keep up with, emails and all that - it's difficult to keep up. Of the blogs I visit, I probably only read 10% of their output - and there are so many more that I would like to read, but don't have time. And at the moment I am doing research for my essay, which is overdue, and needs drastically restructuring.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

First of all, most chat programs can be turned off, or set to give a message saying that you are busy, etc. if you can't take chats at that time.

In addition, one always has free will. You control the chats - if you're unable or unwilling to respond to one, then don't. It's that simple. Or respond and say "As much as I enjoy our chats, I really can't talk... I'm busy at work" or something similar. Most people will respect your honesty and understand your situation, and they will honor your request.

But this sounds more like you are lashing out in anger at others when the person you're really angry at is yourself for not being so honest and not demonstrating some self-control.

The result being that people who might really have innocently thought they were only having a friendly conversation with someone they admire and respect and wish to get to know better (and give that someone an opportunity to get to know them better)end up feeling like a kicked dog, walking away with their tail between their legs and feeling hurt and rejected.

I'm sorry, but netiquette works both ways.

Yewtree said...

Yes, and if the conversation itself makes me end up feeling like a kicked dog, then it's not a conversation I need to be having.

Steve Hayes said...

Agreed.

One of the great advantages of e-mail is that you can read and respond when it's convenient (I'm reading this about 3:30 am) and it is not nearly as intrusive as phone calls.

Mailing lists, newsgroups and blogs are useful. Chat rooms are rarely so.

Yewtree said...

Hi Steve,

I've never been in an actual chat room in my life :)

This was to do with the use of Google Chat, MSN Messenger, etc.

I deliberately do not give out my MSN address, but I forgot that I had chat enabled on my Google account.