I was a bit baffled by that "backchannel" thing too.

I don't know what Rebecca meant by it, and I almost never look at Bitches.

The definition of "backchannel", for me, is something that happens off-board. In email, in IM clients, on the phone.

I'm not sure if it's backchannel if it happens on someone's blog or LiveJournal.

"Damn that John H is annoying me!" on a blog, especially if it's a blog that's linked from here or talked about here, doesn't seem like backchannel, because it's not a private conversation. [Note: just an example.]

It seems from context that "backchannel" was being used in Bitches to mean "talk elsewhere on Buffistas.org" which is confusing.

No. Two different things.

1. Faux- backchannel. Talking in a thread like it is indeed backchannel, when it's just as public as anywhere else.

2. Meta about backchannel -- exchanges of "insent" "insent" "insent"

Anyway, I might try and drag this back on-topic in a way by saying -- we don't want to legislate on this or add it to FAQs or ettiquette guides, right? Nobody's come here to say "people should get officially told off for numberslutting", right?

So this thread isn't the right place for it.

So is our policy something like:

If some aspect of board culture, in-joke or catchphrase or whatever, makes you annoyed, but not to the point where you want anything officially done about it, we think it's best to bring it up politely in the thread where it's occurring.

?

Meta about backchannel -- exchanges of "insent" "insent" "insent"

Oh yeah, I could see how that could get very distracting. And make people paranoid.

I don't know about policy or not, but that is certainly the most effective way of dealing with it.

The thing about saying insent though, is that I rarely keep more than one window up. I would like to know if someone sent me something, and I want them to know I sent them something.

One has to say insent to Burrell, because she'll go days without checking her email.

t hangs head sheepishly

It's too true. But you have my other email address, and that one I check far more often, almost daily.

I would like to know if someone sent me something, and I want them to know I sent them something.

You don't get a beep or an icon flashing or whatever from your email client?

I must say, if it was like this:

John H: [something I think is funny] -- isn't that funny, everyone?

Buffista A: Hey Buffista B -- insent.

Buffista C: Hey Buffista D -- insent.

Buffista E: Hey Buffista F -- insent.

John H: anyone..?

I would be freaking out.

Web mail doesn't beep.

almost daily.

That's a lot of checking. NOT.

Signed,
Computer picks up her e-mail 24/7