One of our community members took it upon himself to put together a top five list of tips for being a part of our live community. You’ll see new people come into the chat room all the time, demanding a “show”, or telling me to hurry up and “DO SOMETHING ALREADY”. What you have to realize is my live stream isn’t about always putting on a show. I am simply streaming my life. If I am busy working, I am probably not paying attention to the camera or the chat. I do interact with everyone as much as I possibly can, though. Keep in mind that I’m human! I have a life outside my stream, just like you do. Here are Zeph’s tips to all of you:

• You don’t need to sit there and watch the stream the entire time. Sometimes Chris’ stream works as a nice “radio station” of sorts, and just listening throughout your day can be quite entertaining or informative. As long as you have a generally good internet connection, you should be able to do regular browsing of the internet at the same time.
• Use an IRC client for the chat. Although the Flash IRC under the stream window is good, it does not have the functionality of a regular IRC client. There are plenty of different clients for each operating system, some free, some not. I personally use mIRC in Windows, and Konversation in Linux. There are also Colloquy and Linkinus for Macs. There are plenty more out there, try them all and see what you feel comfortable with. The IRC server is WyldRyde.
• Be respectful in the chat. The channel Mods greatly prefer users to keep a level of etiquette while using the chat room. This does not mean you cannot have fun, but be friendly about it. Keep the caps lock off, as it is considered rude, and viewed as yelling. Do not spam the chat room, and do not keep repeating the same question over and over again. This will only make people think less of you. Above all, do not ask for voice for the chat. This will only set you further away from being a trusted user.
• Don’t just direct your questions to Chris. There are plenty of technologically inclined people in the #Chris chat room. First you should try “Googling” about your question. If you do not get any good results, or do not think you understand what the results are telling you, ask us in the chat room. There is likely some one that can help you, and there are plenty that are willing to.
• Finally, please understand that Chris is a busy man. People need to make a living, and Chris is no exception. When he is not helping the tech community, he often has many things to deal with that pertain to his work. Just remember that Chris has his own life, and cannot be looking at the chat twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. If Chris does not respond to you in chat, do not complain. If Chris is away from his desk, don’t worry, he’ll be back.

Those are all excellent tips, Zeph. A few other things to make note of here:

1. Be sure you are familiar with the WyldRyde Network Rules. My channel is one of hundreds on the network. You not only have to follow my channel rules, but those of the network as well.
2. WyldRyde also has a nice FAQ page to help you understand how things work on IRC, and WyldRyde in particular.
3. Feel free to sign up for a free account on the WyldRyde forums. Once you do, you’ll have access to the area set aside just for us.

Most importantly, make yourself familiar with our channel rules and guidelines. Being a part of the live community is a lot of fun, and can be very rewarding. However, being a member isn’t a given right… it’s a privilege.

How Can You be a Good Member of our Live Community?