The
two HPANWO Radio live programmes, The HPANWO Show and The Gas Spanner, include
a livechat service to allow listeners to talk to myself and each other during
the broadcasts. This service is twofold. There is a public chatbox powered by
Tlk.io, see: https://tlk.io/hpanwo#_=_. This is free
for anybody to join and say whatever they like. There is no membership system;
you just put a name in the box and start typing. This system is ideal for new
people who have just discovered HPANWO Radio and do not know anybody else in
its community; also for people who might want to give information or ask
questions anonymously, which might be appropriate in some circumstances. The
obvious problem is that this system can be abused by trolls and I will always
remove any material that is openly destructive and hateful. Sometimes angry arguments
can break out between members, and this is tricky because a lack of membership
means there is no block function; but I believe it is not my place to intervene
if both parties are being equally aggressive. During last night's live HPANWO
Show a person joined the livechat calling themselves "L Monster" and
several other usernames as they came and went from the box during the evening.
This person quickly identified herself as a former friend of mine with whom I
had fallen out several years ago. She then went on to interact in a friendly
manner with some of the other posters. I myself only spoke with her briefly
when she asked if I minded if she used the chatbox. I replied in the
affirmative and explained the policy of the Tlk.io chat that I've outlined
above. However, I personally felt very uncomfortable with her presence there
and so did several other members. A long time ago somebody advized me in
private to delete "L Monster's" posts as soon as she makes them. This
is tempting, but in my view it would definitely cross over the line into
censorship, and I will never resort to that. I don't believe I have the right to
ban somebody from using the chatbox just because I personally dislike them. Apart
from answering "L Monster's" housekeeping questions I decided the
best defence was to ignore her; and I offer this advice to any other members
who object to the presence of somebody they don't personally like in the
livechat. There is another another solution. As I've said above there are two tiers to the
HPANWO Radio livechat; the other is our Discord server, see: https://discord.com/channels/887345047534710795/1308161974302937139.
This is a completely private server that is strictly limited to my invitations
only and cannot even be seen by non-members. I never make the offer to somebody
to join unless I know exactly who they are. Once in the server, members can
block people they don't personally get on with. For this reason I ask every
regular HPANWO Radio listener who has been a member of our community for a long
time and is acquainted with me personally, please to join the HPANWO Radio
Discord. That way we all have a place we can gather if the public livechat
becomes unbearable. Thank you.
