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[Return to Social Networking intro]
On days when things get intense as the Bushies' house of cards collapses like a bonked soufflé, like when "Scooter"'s getting sentenced, Gonzo's getting lambasted in Congress, or any time our stalwart Mods do their inimitable liveblogging, the server's response inevitably sllloooowwws dooowwwwwwnnnnn – too many people from too many places doing too many ^Rs to keep up. Result: – frustrated 'Pups, and that ain't pretty.
To try a group 'PupChat that doesn't impact the main server, visit this link while – and this is important – opening a 2nd window in the process. You'll find the 'PupChat environment far more spontaneous and instantaneous than our normal blog postings. There's a premium on fast typing. Accuracy... umm... not so much. :) Sure, it can get confusing when more than about 30 of us are chatting, but imho it's loads of fun. It's like "crack" compared to our normal "pot" or some such illegal simile. :) See if you don't find it, well, sorta-kinda compelling.
If you can, choose a separate window shape/size/font-size that allows you to see the last few lines of the Gabbly conversation, and still to read the normal blog – and/or pretend to do useful other work – in the main window... LOL. I prefer the vertical Gabbly format and I arrange my screen such that the window is just wide enough to view it all. Then I arrange my main browser window to one side. Fortunately I have enough "screen real estate" to fit it all in.
When you "arrive," you'll be automagically supplied with a random color, and your name will initially be "GabberNNN" where NNN is a number. Folks will soon ask you who you "really" are. You can pick a name by filling it into the NAME block, and unless that name has already been claimed by another Gabbler, you can have it.It's really crucial to open the Gabbly 'PupChat in a second window, because the Gabbly window auto-refreshes while we have to use the ^R key on the normal blog in the "main" window. If you mistakenly ^R the Gabbly browser window, you'll start with a fresh Gabbly window in its default configuration, and a new random color. You'll also drop to the end of the name list, which can be slightly amusing to others... LOL
If you would like to "reserve" your own "Gabbly Handle" from session to session, and perhaps upload your own "Avatar," go to the http://gabbly.com front page. Then you can log in – click on the "door" icon and use the username/password you set previously. Usernames are case-insensitive, meaning if you "register" S.O.S. you can login as S.o.s. – but passwords are case-sensitive.
Often, people choose shorter "Gabbly Handles" than their "usual 'PupHandle" so it will not bo too long for the Gabbly name area. E.g., my normal handle is S.O.S. from MA but in Gabbly I go by just S.O.S. (the even shorter SOS isn't accepted, because registered handles must be >=6chars).
When people post URLs, Gabbly turns them into links. Only problem is, you arrive with a Gabbly window in front. Just click on the X box in the Gabbly window and you'll see the plain URL.
Gabbly can put up a chat atop ANY URL at all. This is quite cool but in our case, we need to exercise a convention for where we meet, I think... Therefore I suggest that we 'Pups congregate at the URL given hereabouts. If we "scatter" into sub-groups at different URLs, this may not be A Good or Fun Thing. :)
In the early days of our Gabbly usage here, which was at the height of the "Scooter" Libby trial, we were sometimes so numerous that we attracted the attention of some SPAMmers, who did a pretty effective DOS (Denial-of-Service) attack on this Gabble. (I won't bore you with a description, save to say that the "normal Gabble" became unusable. In that case, we agreed on a separate, private URL atop which we would congregate – we called it our "secret Gabbly redoubt" or some such. Anyone have ideas on how we can distribute that URL, but not here in a place where lurkers can see? Perhaps use GMail or the anonymous messaging system built into the 'PupMap? Pls comment. Hearings or no, rain or shine, across the country and across the world, there's usually a bunch of 'Pups around during the United States's afternoon chatting about the latest 'PupThread "upstairs," politics in general – or whatever. Come join us! (And a BIG tnx to a fellow-'Pup – U know who U are; if you'd like me to put your 'PupHandle in, pls tell me – for discovering this extra-fast (but frankly, addictive) comms channel for us.) ... ... ... [Return to Social Networking intro] |
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