# Pardon my ignorance.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 7, 2000, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638 "2000-06-07T06:15:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dpr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dpr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dpr)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2000, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638/1 "2000-06-07T06:15:56Z")
…but a few people have mentioned a chat room. Is this an official common ground, an invitation-only spot or just generic references? I throw my ignorant self to your mercy. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2000, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638/2 "2000-06-07T15:19:03Z")
When you find out, I’ll be lurking to find out, too. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2000, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638/3 "2000-06-07T15:22:25Z")
I’ve also seen references to this mysterious chat room. If anyone finds it, drop me a line and let me know, ok? ---
**Author:** ![Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/49beb7/32.png) [@Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falcon)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2000, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638/4 "2000-06-07T15:59:48Z")
The chat room is on Undernet, and it’s #straightdope. It’s usually busiest in the evenings. You can use IRC to get on, of if you don’t have IRC, you can use Opal’s handy chat applet, found here: [http://www.fathom.org/teemingmillions/chat.adp](http://www.fathom.org/teemingmillions/chat.adp) Just type in your name and hit ‘Connect.’ Hope this helps, and hope to see you there! ---
**Author:** ![dpr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dpr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dpr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2000, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638/5 "2000-06-09T03:27:25Z")
Thank you Falcon. Hope to see you there soon. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2000, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638/6 "2000-06-09T03:40:46Z")
Tried it but it moves too fast/slow for me. A bit too in-crowd, a bit too unixish in how it looks and handles stuff. I’m gonna stick here for now, where I can think at my own deliberate (read: plodding) pace. ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2000, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638/7 "2000-06-10T03:38:17Z")
I sympathize, \*\* dropzone, \*\* since I’d say that my own pace is rather plodding. Why not start your own ‘Plodchat’? Those snail oriented of would appreciate it, and we’d all go so slow, that anyone could jump in or out with hardly hurting themselves a bit! 😉 Whatcha think? ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2000, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638/8 "2000-06-10T03:44:47Z")
There’s a few in there right now. of course this will shortly be obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2000, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-ignorance/21638/9 "2000-06-10T06:09:07Z")
Remember chatting at 300 baud but it didn’t matter because the system ran in real time and the other guy couldn’t type so you could see his every backspace and watch him search for an unfamiliar key so it felt like you were in the Bob & Ray routine about the Slow Talkers of America or talking to a person who stutters and you don’t want to be rude but you’re pretty sure what the next word is going to be and you fight the impulse to feed him the word or finish his sentence and the conversations were always so short because it was so frustrating trying to get his and your thoughts across? You don’t? Well, that was plodchat. But we could use something similar, like a conversational thread that isn’t so big idea oriented. I think I’ll try it. Thanks for the idea, Anti!