Chats, Chats, and more Chats
You could easily spend an hour going though all the current chat sites, see many duplicate pics, read many cross-posted comments, and you would have probably wasted your time.
Newest on the roster is (within the past week), Jim Southwick’s n7js HAMSTREAMS http://www.hamstreams.com/ with 10 picture slots and a chat. Jim seemed sure that all ten slots would go ‘to the first takers’ quickly. But there are reports of folks being turned down for picture slots, and as of this writing, there are still two slots available. Lower on the page is HAMSTREAMS ‘one stop chat center’ containing the HamStreams chat, followed by duplicates of w6ezv Greg Sousa’s chat, then Steve Wingate’s k6txh chat. (Though Jim Southwick has protested mightily that HIS site ‘will not be ruled by ham politics’ – notice that HamFanz chat is not there, though I would not have given permission had I been asked. There are also ‘reports’ that Jim felt ‘pressured’ into doing this site. If that is not politics, what is?). I am hoping that this site will eventually stream a LOT of audio, something Jim is so very good at doing.
Almost in the same 24 hours, Greg Souse w6ezv, set up a site and a chat at http://webpages.charter.net/burbank_station/. Unfortunately, all HE did was COPY the defunct 3840aa or Sawyers LateNightHams page. After several days, he has not yet bothered (or figured out how?) to delete all the dead links. (did he get Sawyer’s permission for this ‘copy’?).
Which takes us to 3840aa which was turned into LateNightHams by Sawyer, we assume at Art Bells request, so his ‘phone patch’ callers would have a place to gather and converse. (Here’s what some of the Little Peeps think of the phone patch: http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/22/1450734/2008.04.02_LittlePeepsChatRooms.mp3) There was MUCH brouhaha over the sudden demise of LateNiteHams site. With Art Bell saying that it was Sawyer (who on 3.27.08 posted this statement on the closed site, “This is not fun for me anymore, So I'm done with latenighthams.com. 'Sawyer' ”. Art Bell sent me copies of the emails Sawyer sent to him regarding closing the site. Sawyer himself verified that he had sent the emails to Art Bell. Oddly enough though, neither Sawyer nor Greg Sousa replied when asked for further comments. While I do not doubt for a moment, that Sawyer chose to take down LateNiteHams (Sawyer is not known for his ‘staying power’); I also do not doubt that there is a ‘story’ behind this ‘story’, that we are not hearing. This does not even touch on some of the ‘comments’ posted on the LateNightHams chat before it closed by SOMEONE with the nic ‘Art’; comments such as: 1) Art Thu 16:35 ...This chat, like on air has turned to poison my guess is it's days are about up. Bye”, and 2) Art Thu 20:49 ...This chat and that site are going down because of people like Greg, Billy, Wingnut and yes Gene who could not help but put stuff up about Wingnut. Bye”
This brings us to the ‘NEW’ LateNiteHams web site and chat. I really do hope it comes off as planned! If they exclude the trouble makers (and you know who you are!), put artie’s ego on hold, get chat software that requires a valid email addie, set up some basic rules, and ‘monitor’ but don’t ‘censor’ it, I think it could be ‘fun’, especially for SWL’s (though they probably will not let moi in!). Isn’t fun what it’s supposed to be about???
