I have (or should I say 'had') a listener who for some reason cannot fathom today's technology yet chose to take it out upon both the station and myself personally. Being that on the blogosphere, I am in the top 6000 of over 360,000 registered real blogs out there in the world, I thought I'd educate people on how NOT to present one's self to an internet radio community.
This person, whom for professional purposes, shall have their username withheld, has been disrupting my show's chatroom for weeks as a listener. Allegedly they believed that the chatroom was somehow evil or possessed and continuously singled them out as a user for which to fool with. First they claimed the chatroom would kick them out, then they claimed it was "flooding" them and ONLY them. Not even their friend who was also in the chatroom , experienced such "defects" in the system. In fact NO ONE did. This person chose to take their computers shortcomings and blame it on professional software and the station and management staff that pays for it's usage. Basically, they were complaining about FREE entertainment for which they were not equipped to use.
Today I find myself and the station removed from certain networking sites as their "friends". Since last nights fiasco I had thought of writing a letter scolding both for their actions but decided to be the bigger person and not do so...until I noticed my removal. With that, I wrote something rather simple.
The letter reads as follows:
Subject : "Thank you.
I'd like to thank both of you for disrupting my show and causing both a scene and havoc.
I cannot understand how you could not see that the problem was isolated to your equipment. No one else, not even "insert friends name here" was experiencing the problems you spoke of. To say we were "losing a listener" if we did not fix what wasn't broken save for your faulty equipment was insulting to the station and myself.
Every week you and only you, cause scenes in my chatroom for no reason other than your computer has issues even worse than Bruce Wayne's (a KMRL DJ). However I noticed you have no problem actually listening, only chatting. Until you rectify your computing problem, we thank you for your participation in the mojo radio community, and as you have made it evident, your patronage and chat participation's no longer required.
Feel free to listen if you wish. If you choose to return to chat, please be considerate of others. Return only if and when you have corrected your computer issues. Mojo chat is not nor will it be a platform for a single individual save for the actual show's host.
Thank you for your participation.
Darkstar
KMRL owner."
Following my just posting this I got a Yahoo Instant Message saying "are you happy now that you've lost two listeners?"
My reply was simple: "read your email".
For the record? Documented proof shows that no one was "flooding", spamming or booting said person from chat. The person in question was untouched all night. I thank them for drama no one needed. I can only suggest they possibly seek mental help for their paranoia issues, then suggest they purchase new computing equipment and learn a modicum of internet and chat etiquette.
As for losing listeners? Actually, I stand to gain more as people gravitate to places of little drama and with more of a family or kindred feel. Radio does not count it's listeners on it's hands, however, I do know for a fact that there are listeners that do not enter chat because they don't like other chatters and their drama. Suffice it to say, I now know my chatroom on show nights should now explode with more rather than less. Chatrooms are not the show. They are an added feature to enhance the experience and possibly alter the actual outcome of the show.
Bad chatters are a hindrance. Like weeds we hope they wither and die so the rest of our foliage may be fruitful. Goodbye weed. We no longer need you.
Wednesday Nights at 10pm EST/ 7pm Pacific...The Darkhours with DJ Darkstar. Now 100% Drama FREE!


