Status of AVEN chat

[Guest]

As many of you have probably noticed, AVENchat is down right now. This is due to the license key expiring and cannot be fixed by any Admod. Only our webmasters, AVENguy and Coleslaw, can fix this issue, and given that they are both busy people and it is the holidays, this may take some time.

We ask that you have patience until the issue is resolved.

In the meantime there is an alternative chat to use: http://asexuality.altervista.org/chat/

However, this chat is not officially affiliated with AVEN in any way. Anything said in this chat can not and will not be moderated or acted upon by the Admod Team. Use this chat at your own risk.

[Jon0]

Thank you so much for the update! I've been wondering what was going on and this answered that.

[chair jockey]

This is not intended to be any official view of AVEN, because I wouldn't presume to express any such view, but it appears that the alternative chat is (1) not structured like a safe space, (2) permits greater freedom of expression, (3) is not governed by the AVEN ToS, (4) is open to non-members. There are also software differences such as an ignore fuction that applies to open chat and the fact that private chats and open chats appear interspersed in the same window. I personally enjoy it but it's possible that not everyone will.

[Robin L]

(as a sidetone, to the people who were having problems with entering the chat, it should be fixed now)

This is not intended to be any official view of AVEN, because I wouldn't presume to express any such view, but it appears that the alternative chat is (1) not structured like a safe space, (2) permits greater freedom of expression, (3) is not governed by the AVEN ToS, (4) is open to non-members. There are also software differences such as an ignore fuction that applies to open chat and the fact that private chats and open chats appear interspersed in the same window. I personally enjoy it but it's possible that not everyone will.

I am the admin of the server on which the chat is on. The main content on there is the Chinese ace site. I'm merely setting aside part of my server space for the chat.

(3) It is a backup chat. It's not intended to be a full replacement for the main chat, but rather a place where chat regulars can hang out while the chat is being repaired. If something were to happen here, the admods have the admin/mod account to the backup chat. However, one shouldn't expect as much attention as on the main chat.

(1)(2) Even if the AVEN ToS were enforced on the backup chat, the main chat itself is not a so-called "safe space". It still has quite a lot of freedom. As far as I know, AVEN as a whole is a place for discussion, not a strict safe space.

(4) That's true, but most non-members would not find the chat. I would provide accounts, but that would be too much of a hassle, as I would have to add each account by hand. As mentioned above, this is merely a backup chat.