I have always thought of a chat room as sort of a large party with anywhere from 20 to 100 or so people might be in attendance from time to time.

My experience at these types of gatherings has been that people tend to break up in groups of varying sizes and each group discusses various topics that are of interest to them.

As you move about the room you can usually find a group that is discussing a topic that interest you and when you do you should step right in and join the conversation. It is also not unheard of to move about and join in the discussions with several different groups. Of course you physically have to move your body from one group to another in order to this.

The topics of conversation can vary greatly with each group. You sort of owe it to yourself to find a topic that you like and feel comfortable with and then join in the chatting. Isn't that the way it should be?

Of course even at real-space parties there are always those "real-space creeps" that are the equivalent to our "bottom-feeders" and "cyber-creeps". They should not be tolerated at face-to-face gatherings and they should not be tolerated in the chat rooms.

That being said, it seems to me that there is a tendency at sometimes for individuals to get irritated when others in the group turn to discussing serious subjects. I have to admit that am some-what hard pressed to understand this reaction. Within the bounds of common decency, it seems to me that we all should be free to discuss any topic that we care to. Could I be wrong in feeling this way?

Where do adults on the net go to carry on adult conservations if not to the chat rooms? It really shouldn't have to be all "fluff" and no real "stuff". What's wrong with a mixture of both?

My experience on the chat lines has been that you can find at least five or more different conversations (usually more) going on at any given time. That is as it should be. If you don't care to participate in one of the conversations that tends to be a bit more serious or because you simply have no interest in or do not care for the subject matter, then by all means join one of the other conversations. And the good part is that you don't even have to get up out of your chair and move to another computer, just join in the conversation that interest you.

I first began chatting in 50+ back in October of 95. In all he time since then I have never seen one person tell another they couldn't join in their conversation. Just the opposite, most chatters make you feel very welcome when you join in.