AstroBoy Online Forums

Update: EyeOdyssey will be hosting this Skype meeting on Saturday, October 17th. I unfortunately will not be able to host due to real-life obligations.
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Date: Third or fourth weekend of October

Time: 3 PM Eastern Time to 6 PM or 7 PM Eastern Time (To convert those times into your own time zone, click this link.)

Poll voting ended: Monday, October 12th (was originally Thursday, October 15th)

The date with the most votes will be the date that the Skype meeting happens. If more than one date gets the same amount of votes, the earliest date will be the date that the Skype meeting happens.

If you wish to receive reminders for this Skype meeting or future Skype meetings, send me a PM.
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Please read these rules and FAQ if you want to participate in this Skype meeting:


What do we do during a Skype meeting?

• Interested members gather together at an appointed date and time during a voice-only Skype call with instant messaging and talk for a few hours about random topics, including Astro Boy. It's a laid back online get-together where you can verbally chat with fellow members and get to know them a little bit. Interested members can also join through IM only if they can't use voice chat or choose to not use voice chat.

Can I use video chat during this Skype meeting?

• No. You must use voice chat for this Skype meeting. I don't allow video chat because it costs money to use it during group calls on Skype and most members feel more comfortable using voice chat.
  
  If you deliberately use video chat, you will be kicked out of the Skype meeting. You only get one warning.

What rules should I follow for this Skype meeting?

Here are the main ones that I stress the most:

• You must respect your fellow members during the Skype Meeting. Discuss topics in a civil manner with each other.

• No political or religious discussion.

• You must Skype from a quiet area or area with very little background noise. You will be allowed two warnings to get rid of the background noise or go to a quieter area. If you fail to do either of these, you will be kicked out of the Skype meeting.
  
  The main reason I stress this rule is because it's very distracting to hear background noise while verbally discussing topics.
  
  Along this same line, please use headphones or a headset for this Skype meeting if you can. We do not want to hear our own voices through someone else's call.

How do I participate in this Skype meeting?

• Vote in the poll for one or more days in which you know, or feel like you know, you will be able to participate in this Skype meeting.

• Then, make a reply in this thread saying that you are interested in participating.

• If you haven't already, you must PM me your Skype name if you wish to participate. I will add your Skype name to my list of contacts.

• On the day of the Skype meeting, indicate that you're online on Skype, and I'll send you a message on Skype to confirm that you are ready to be called and added to the group call. You may also send me a message on Skype indicating that you're online and ready to be called. Once you confirm, I'll call you to add you to the Skype call.
  
  DO NOT CALL ME ON SKYPE TO ENTER THE SKYPE MEETING. You will not be put into the same Skype call as everyone else. I'll call you to add you to the correct group call.

How many people usually participate in ABO Skype meetings?

• Usually 2 to 7 people. The most we've ever had was 12 people during the very first ABO Skype meeting. The call kept crashing, but the hosts for that meeting kept it going pretty well. I'll take as many members that want to participate as I can though (the most that can be allowed is 25 according to Skype)!

• If Skype keeps crashing during our Skype meeting, I may change the group call into IM only. I may bring voice chat back later if I feel like it may work correctly.

Can I join the Skype meeting after the time it begins?

• Absolutely! If you can't join until an hour or two into the Skype meeting, I will still let you in. You may also leave the Skype meeting at any time if you have other obligations.

Any further questions about this Skype Meeting?

• Ask them in this thread! Otherwise, use this thread to discuss this Skype meeting!

I will try to join in this time, I think I missed out on the last one (maybe it was the impromptu Skype meeting I missed).

YUSSSSSSS I'm joining in!!!

You must Skype from a quiet area or area with very little background noise. You will be allowed two warnings to get rid of the background noise or go to a quieter area. If you fail to do either of these, you will be kicked out of the Skype meeting.

Guess that means not taking the phone into the bathroom when nature calls (Although EyeOdssey thought that was funny :lol

"Earthshine" wrote:I will try to join in this time, I think I missed out on the last one (maybe it was the impromptu Skype meeting I missed).

I know for sure that you attended the June Skype meeting, which was the last one I hosted. You had to leave early though if I remember correctly.

Also, the last impromptu Skype meeting I hosted was back in May. I decided to stop hosting those, though I'm considering doing another New Year's Eve impromptu Skype meeting like last year. Haven't decided yet on that.

"Tetsuwan Penguin" wrote:

You must Skype from a quiet area or area with very little background noise. You will be allowed two warnings to get rid of the background noise or go to a quieter area. If you fail to do either of these, you will be kicked out of the Skype meeting.

Guess that means not taking the phone into the bathroom when nature calls (Although EyeOdssey thought that was funny :lol

That would be very much appreciated.

"Shiyonasan" wrote:[QUOTE=Earthshine;235961]I will try to join in this time, I think I missed out on the last one (maybe it was the impromptu Skype meeting I missed).

I know for sure that you attended the June Skype meeting, which was the last one I hosted. You had to leave early though if I remember correctly.

Also, the last impromptu Skype meeting I hosted was back in May. I decided to stop hosting those, though I'm considering doing another New Year's Eve impromptu Skype meeting like last year. Haven't decided yet on that.

"Tetsuwan Penguin" wrote:

You must Skype from a quiet area or area with very little background noise. You will be allowed two warnings to get rid of the background noise or go to a quieter area. If you fail to do either of these, you will be kicked out of the Skype meeting.

Guess that means not taking the phone into the bathroom when nature calls (Although EyeOdssey thought that was funny :lol

That would be very much appreciated. [/QUOTE]

I thought it was muted!

Well guys, real life gets in the way sometimes. C'est la vie.

It looks like Saturday, October 24th will be the winning date, but today, I've committed to going to an important event at 5 PM Eastern Time on that day. That would be two hours into the Skype meeting with the current rules I've set up, which I feel wouldn't be long enough.

If October 24th does end up winning, I will have to make some changes to make this Skype meeting happen. I've thought this through and have come up with 5 alternatives.


Which alternative would you most want to happen, should October 24th win the most votes?

1: I bump back the Skype meeting three hours to 12 PM Eastern Time and have it last until 3 PM or 4 PM Eastern Time.

2: I bump back the Skype meeting two hours to 1 PM Eastern Time and have it last until 4 PM Eastern Time.

3: We hold the Skype meeting on October 17th instead since it has the second-most votes. The times would be the same as listed in the first post of this thread.

4: I add on one more weekend to the poll (October 31 and November 1). I might have to create a new thread if you guys choose this.

5: Hold the Skype meeting at the regular time, but only have it last one hour. It would last from 3 PM Eastern Time to 4 PM Eastern Time.

I personally am in favor of bumping it to October 17th as it has the second most votes, that way we will be uninterrupted and can chat without worry or having it cut short.

"Earthshine" wrote:I personally am in favor of bumping it to October 17th as it has the second most votes, that way we will be uninterrupted and can chat without worry or having it cut short.

It looks like most everyone has at least checked this thread since my last post in this thread, even if they didn't reply, so I assume they agree with you.

With that said, I'm going to close the poll and declare October 17th the date for this Skype meeting.

I feel a little bad for Fafner, since that was the only date he didn't vote on, but believe me; I would've held this on October 24th if I could have.

If anyone else wants to attend this Skype meeting, you still may. Just reply to this thread and/or send me a private message.

Next time I want a specific date, I will check everything except that date
Anyway... It's not as if I were the most talkative out there Saturday, I will be busy most of the afternoon, and most of the evening. I might come to say hi if I find an internet access, but that's far from certain.

In completely unrelated news, due to recent changes in my schedule, I will be unavailable the 24th. I will go to a place where the Internet doesn't exist; no hotspot, no cybercafe, an authentic cyber blackhole. If you ask people there what the Internet is, they might very well ask if it's edible. So... when fate strikes there is nothing that can be done