This is where the regulars at OTF comes in. I've always figured that the chatrooms were the heart of the community. In the beginning there only were a single chatroom; Ten Forward. When the staff started to extend TF into a community by opening the D'Deridex, which was supposed to have a lower tolerance level and higher security, people started to scatter.

Additions since then are the Rotarran, Cloud City Cantina and now lastly Alder Hill. So now we have five chatrooms to choose from, of which TF, CCC and AH as far as I've seen are the most popular. Why is that?

The biggest reason are of course that these three are exposed on the OTF main page. They also have their own themes. (Rotarran and D'Deridex are both Star Trek oriented as is Ten Forward). First time a person visits OTF they log in to the chatroom that they have the most theme preference with. And this is where you get the dilemma. Familarity. Familarity is when you have someone that may prefer the theme in one chatroom but has grown found of another.

Me for an example. When I started going to OTF, as I said earlier, there were only TF to choose. Me for one have always preferred Star Wars before Star Trek, and Fantasy before Science Fiction. So how come I haven't changed my first choice to Alder Hill. Simple. Familarity, I have over the years grown fond of the layout and color scheme in TF and will therefor stay there.

To go back to the regulars. The three most popular chatrooms have their own regulars. There are also regulars that move between the rooms, considering if their usual room is empty, current occupants and so on. For the newbies at OTF these regulars are important. Why? Because they conrbute to the familarity and atmosphere that makes newbies becoming regulars over time. They also got the time, interest and ability to help newcomers with their questions.

Upsides and downsides with multiple chatrooms. The downside are that most often at least two or three rooms will be empty. The upsides are that when you scatter the chatters it's easier for newcomers (and regulars) to read the general posts and the posts addressed to them personally. When you get over eight average chatters in a room it starts to get a bit messy. At least if you chat with several of the other guests. The time it takes to write an answer you may miss one or two.

The conclusion of this article? Who knows, just a few opinions and views. One conclusion though is that color schemes and layout is jus one small part to success. The visitors make OTF.

Lt. Hampus