Module Two ICQ Task

Description

Downloaded ICQ.
Found ICQ # for "Advanced Netstudies" and associated message.
Joined a chat group of students on WebCT chat to discuss chat services.

Concerns

I have used ICQ before and thought this task would be simple. Something I have learned about this unit is that it's unlike a book and paper type unit in that alot of technical stuff can go wrong eating up alot of my scheduled time.

Problems:
ICQ:
1/I couldn't download ICQ6 onto my (very old, Windows '98) computer. I downloaded ICQ2go but kept getting timed out when searching for "Advanced Netstudies" ICQ #.
Because of this and the actions I took to resolve it, it's put me even more behind than I was after the recent "big meltdown".

2/ICQ slowed things down on my pc. I'm sure it was a settings thing but i don't use it enough and am too busy to bother.

3/ ICQ stalled my computer whenever we tried to change users (we being my partner & I)

4/ I'm unable to get rid of ICQ toolbar even after uninstalling ICQ. I find it annoying to have to close it manually evertine a window opens.

WebCT: Firstly I couldn't join the chat room. I had done so on previous occasions but the rooms were empty. I'd forgotten that was before my computer was reformatted and I'd psossibly lost Java. Also WebCT looses earlier parts of the chat cycle.

Solution:
ICQ:
1/I upgraded my computer. I bought XP and installed extra memory and additional hard drive. It took some time to do but my computer isn't quite so draconian now.
Once this happened ICQ6 was downloaded and the task was a cinch.

2-4/I uninstalled ICQ as soon as the task was over. It's not something I can see myself using in the near future. I'm still unable to delete ICQ toolbar.

WebCT: I downloaded Java after seeing this suggestion on the unit DB (Thanks David...again) for solutions to access problems to chat rooms. I still got a "this applications digital signature has an error" but I continued anyway as I didn't want to be any later than I already was in joining and I accessed the room no problem.
As for the disappearing text in the chat, I initially attributed this to my digital signature problem but then others noticed it too. All I could do is start the task results below with an introduction and know to cut/paste or screen shot earlier next time.


Task Results

1.The quote for ICQ user #257853416 "Advanced Netstudies":
"This is the ICQ identity I use just for my 'advanced Internet use' students!"

2. Arrange with other students in the unit to meet up for a chat, using either ICQ, yahoo chat or webct chat. Talk about which chat service you prefer, and what forms of communication chat is most useful for.

Introduction

The beginning of this conversation was lost because it seems WebCT eats up earlier parts of the chat cycle. This is a problem because WebCT is used by students. Students require a record of their chats to best utilise the chat applet tool. That I'm explaining this rather than pasting the beginnings of the conversation is testament to that.

At the beginning of this chat cycle we were discussing favourite chat or message program.
....
Susanne Klippel>> trillian combines all theother IM's together
in one program so if you have an ICQ, msn and yahoo id like
I do you can use all three at once and beleive me it's been
a life saver during this course
Robyn Turnor>> That sounds like a good idea.
Natasha Adams>> that's one i have never tried
Irena-Mya>> sorry Susanne, whats an IM?
Kai Joldeski>> I love convenience, that sound terrific
Natasha Adams>> i might give it a go
Susanne Klippel>> instant messangers
Irena-Mya>> K..
Irena-Mya>> TA
Irena-Mya>> woops
Natasha Adams>> trillian, is it free?
Kai Joldeski>> I just scrolled up to the start of our conversation
and the very beginning isn't there,
Kai Joldeski>> I was just thinking about how we need to keep
this record for our blog
Irena-Mya>> cut and pasteKai??
Susanne Klippel>> your right you know I just tried the same thing
and I found that too
Irena-Mya>> paste it into the bog (an edited version)
maybe
Kai Joldeski>> yes, I mean't the first part has vanished
Kai Joldeski>> O well, something else to say about chatting in
the blog - the first part disappeared!
Irena-Mya>> (Kai) yeah..ok, well the conversation
is recorded maybe Cynthia can get a full cpy?
Susanne Klippel>> that's true
Susanne Klippel>> I hope that cynth can give us a copy causeI
need it for my blog as well
Irena-Mya>> so have u guys discussed what forms of
chat programs and IM's are best for what purpose?
Kai Joldeski>> and as I said before I don't like this version
of chat, you can't see who is typing and who's turn it is
next
Natasha Adams>> i lost it all too
Kai Joldeski>> it makes it difficult to follow the conversation
Irena-Mya>> I'll send u guys a copy from when I arrived
if you like?
Irena-Mya>> I've saved it
Robyn Turnor>> I took some screen shots earlier and that should
suffice. thanks
Irena-Mya>> cleva girl
Judy Pepin>> me too
Kai Joldeski>> I've still got half of it
Kai Joldeski>> I just took a paste
Kai Joldeski>> Irena-Mya to answer your question earlier
Susanne Klippel>> it wored hope that it's enough for the blog
Kai Joldeski>> we did talk about which chat we preferred
Kai Joldeski>> we all have different opinions (on what were the prefered IM & chat progs) as we all have
different needs
Judy Pepin>> seems if you navigate away from WebCT chat -- you
loose what's been said-- not liking WebCT chat.

...

(This too is a problem because if you want to check something on the curtin site while chatting, you loose the link to the chat room all together. There were many times we wanted to go back & check various things but didn't want to leave the room to do it! The dissapearance of the earlier chat also disrupted the flow of converstaion as each member discovered how much they had lost.)

...
Irena-Mya>> ok, so can I ask about IM's
Irena-Mya>> what aspects did ppl like about their
fav IM?
Judy Pepin>> one benefit of discussion forums over chat is message
threading --
Susanne Klippel>> when I tried out the screen shot in word I
came back to this chat and still had everything there maybee
when the uni server saves the conversation it reloads for
all how have navigated away rom the site for that specific
time
Irena-Mya>> o it's easier to follow (Judy)?
Irena-Mya>> where as when entering a chat u only
get what is there when u arrive
Kai Joldeski>> I like msn - the layout (and not as annoying as
ICQ) like Judy said earlier
Judy Pepin>> IM is great at my office -- i work in IT support
and we can get answers from the gurus when we have clients
on the phone
Kai Joldeski>> I didn't like the look of mIRC also, with mIRC
I was chatting with strangers and with msn I choose whom
I put in my list
Natasha Adams>> we don't have the internet at work
Natasha Adams>> i agree with that kai
Irena-Mya>> good point Judy
Judy Pepin>> it's an internal IM
Natasha Adams>> i only chat to friens on msn
Judy Pepin>> not accessible to others outside our network
Irena-Mya>> yeah, one thing i found (& I found it
with newsgroups) is ppl use what they r familiar with
Kai Joldeski>> also on mIRC the ppl have strange names, I found
the whole experience strange
Irena-Mya>> & will move on to new stuff but stick
witht the old prog as well
Irena-Mya>> like an old friend
Kai Joldeski>> I mean nicknames
Susanne Klippel>> I agree with the comment about msn and mIRC
Irena-Mya>> but how do u meet new ppl?
Susanne Klippel>> it can be a problem
Irena-Mya>> if notin a real time prog?
Kai Joldeski>> I don't mean any offence about mIRC Mya
Irena-Mya>> no!!
Irena-Mya>> I have no shares in irc!! hehe
Irena-Mya>> it is a dinasour
Kai Joldeski>> Just my experiences
Irena-Mya>> I'm just promoting healthy debate :)
Kai Joldeski>> I meet new people face to face
Irena-Mya>> because IM's have the disadvantage of
not meeting new folks
Irena-Mya>> ok
Natasha Adams>> i have changed. i used mirc and ICQ until about
10 yrs ago. didn't use anything until about 18 months ago
and since then i've use aol, skype and msn
Kai Joldeski>> and converse with friends & class friends with
im
Susanne Klippel>> when you don't get out much like me meeting
new people is really hrd
Kai Joldeski>> when you're my age with 2 kids, you meet other
mothers with their kids
Irena-Mya>> thats an interesting point on "cyber-trust"
Irena-Mya>> u know...it's a hard thing to establish
Irena-Mya>> Maybe meeting new ppl online is a pretty
new thing in society
Kai Joldeski>> Mya, I would say that meeting ppl online is definitely
a new experience for our society
Irena-Mya>> so I guess IM's and DB are more widely
used than real time chat prog's
Kai Joldeski>> Trust is the BIGGEST issue for me
Natasha Adams>> i used to enjoy meeting new people on mirc and
other similar chat programs. for some reason now i just want
to talk to friends
Judy Pepin>> yes, when you can't look someone in the eyes --
how can you tell who they really are?
Natasha Adams>> i agree
Irena-Mya>> yes
Irena-Mya>> v true
Kai Joldeski>> Judy - you said it, that's how I feel. I get a
great indication from looking face to face
Irena-Mya>> but nowadays ppl marry (!!) online contacs
Irena-Mya>> so trust is there somewhere
Irena-Mya>> or niavity
Susanne Klippel>> good point
Judy Pepin>> I believe people are different online -- less shy
and caught up in appearances, but online relationships can
be dangerous for some
Susanne Klippel>> I find it hard to make new freinds but I am
very careful not to givout too much info online
Irena-Mya>> i think Australai is a little less trusting
with it than Europe
Irena-Mya>> maybe it's a distance thing
Irena-Mya>> so u should be Susanne
Natasha Adams>> i don't give out much info online
Judy Pepin>> agree sue -- that's why i'm wary of blogging online
..
Kai Joldeski>> Definitely never give out too much on line
Natasha Adams>> i don't mind blogging but don't put much personal
info
Irena-Mya>> so was everyone here familiar with MSN,
Mirc and ICQ before this unit?
Natasha Adams>> yes
Irena-Mya>> me too
Judy Pepin>> yes
Kai Joldeski>> what is your (all you guys) experience with webCT
chat, is this your first time?
Natasha Adams>> yes
Judy Pepin>> made me realise why i quit using ICQ
Irena-Mya>> I've been in here before but it's always
empty
Susanne Klippel>> I think that since this course started my contact
list is the longest it has been for some time
Susanne Klippel>> yeh me too
Irena-Mya>> I've voiced my views on it's limits already...dont
wanna make Curtin cross :p
Kai Joldeski>> I've never had so many online 'friends'
Irena-Mya>> Why Judy?
Judy Pepin>> because ICQ is too commercialised and obsessed with
dating ... it's annoying
Kai Joldeski>> I did not understand the fascination with blogging
at all, until I started this course and have a better understanding
Kai Joldeski>> I have to say that blogs open an opportunity for
ordinary people
Kai Joldeski>> to have an opinion, to be published
Kai Joldeski>> for like minds to get together
Susanne Klippel>> yeh this is the first time that I have tried
bloging as well
Irena-Mya>> sure (Judy)
Kai Joldeski>> Sorry to cut you off Judy
Irena-Mya>> I didn't either (Kai)
Irena-Mya>> I LOVE it now
Natasha Adams>> this is the first time i have tried blogging
too
Kai Joldeski>> Didn't mean too, that's why I don't like this
webCT chat
Irena-Mya>> my computer crashed recently and the
only info I could access was my blog
Judy Pepin>> cut me off? .... not sure what you mean ...
Irena-Mya>> Thats actually quite interesting Kia
Kai Joldeski>> Also blogging gives an ordinary person the opportunity
to be a journalist - without the qualifications
Irena-Mya>> I think there is a whole other "netiquette'
with chat programs
Irena-Mya>> interuption kinda doesn't exist
Kai Joldeski>> Judy - you were talking about ICQ and I started
on about blogs
Irena-Mya>> u know what I mean?
Irena-Mya>> it requires lots of fast reading and
processing
Judy Pepin>> anyway, gotta go make supper ... been great chatting
with everyone ... let's try it again sometime soon. send
me an ICQ message -- it will be active throughout this course,
only. my skype contact is judypepin. see ya
Kai Joldeski>> Tks for coming Judy...Kj
Natasha Adams>> cya judy
Kai Joldeski>> still going on about blogging - you can become
famous overnight - if you so desire without having to be
'discovered' by hollywood
Irena-Mya>> c u Judy
Kai Joldeski>> blogging opens up so many opportunites - I never
thought about until I started delving
Susanne Klippel>> cya Judy
Kai Joldeski>> I had such a negative idea about them when I first
heard about them
Natasha Adams>> i had no idea how to create a blog until i started
this course
Irena-Mya>> me niether
Kai Joldeski>> me too Tash, Mya
Susanne Klippel>> me neither
Irena-Mya>> I even put a pic in mine the other day
Irena-Mya>> so xciting
Susanne Klippel>> I have found that blogging is quite fun since
I started this couse
Natasha Adams>> i've had some problems with mine. i can't log
in to my blog anymore so I've had to start a new one
Irena-Mya>> Tash did u loose alot of stuff?
Natasha Adams>> only module 1
Kai Joldeski>> you can become famous overnight - if you so desired-
without having to be 'discovered' by hollywood just by your
blog
Natasha Adams>> luckily i had copied it all into work and saved
it there too
Irena-Mya>> ok wow!!
Kai Joldeski>> that's what I mean by opportunities Mya
Irena-Mya>> ok
Irena-Mya>> somehow I dont think my current blog's
gonna get me discovered hehe
Natasha Adams>> neither will mine!!!
Kai Joldeski>> nor mine
Susanne Klippel>> nor mine
Kai Joldeski>> but who wants the fame - give me the money any
day
Susanne Klippel>> hehehe
Irena-Mya>> I did decide to add more info to my personal
page the other day though (fav music, films, interests) after
looking at other folks blogs
Irena-Mya>> amen Kai
Kai Joldeski>> I just thought I have changed my opinion 100%
about blogs
...
(Here I asked about ppl'ss experience with newsgroups....didn't copy and paste fast enough so WebCT ate it. The following is re: Newsgroups)
...
Natasha Adams>> i have joined a yahoo group called 'pet dogs'
or something similar and i'm getting way too many e-mails
Irena-Mya>> coz I have the problem of not wanting
to pay lip service to a group the members obviously take
seriously but I have minimal interest in
Irena-Mya>> omg!!! I'm looking for a pet one too!!
Natasha Adams>> i joined the dog one cause i have dogs
Irena-Mya>> Thats about the only thing I could sicerely
contribute to
Irena-Mya> me too
Natasha Adams>> do u want me to find what it's called?
Susanne Klippel>> I fid that all the newsgroups that I have looked
at are being swamped by cigaret adds
Irena-Mya>> r u sure u dont mind??
Susanne Klippel>> yeh just reading
Irena-Mya>> yeah, true Sue
Natasha Adams>> not at all. i'll have a look. it's american and
most people are from america
Kai Joldeski>> what reader did you use Susanne?
Irena-Mya>> thankyou
Susanne Klippel>> thunderbird
Irena-Mya>> I foun alot of nutters in the ones I
looked in
Kai Joldeski>> Susanne - I haven't heard of thunderbird
Irena-Mya>> I found newzbot to be a nightmare
Kai Joldeski>> I just used Google's
Irena-Mya>> yep
Kai Joldeski>> Yes I looked at newzbot too - hated it
Irena-Mya > I've been getting thru them
Irena-Mya>> sooooo many nutters
Irena-Mya>> one was about
Susanne Klippel>> bigpond newsgroups
Irena-Mya>> MI5 following me
Kai Joldeski>> with newzbot, they could see my IP address, I
did not like it
Kai Joldeski>> I felt exposed
Irena-Mya>> I think newsgroups are like mirc, an
older style of communication
Irena-Mya>> sure
Susanne Klippel>> but the emai and newsgroup software program
that I Use is thunderbird
Kai Joldeski>> definitely agree with you there Mya
Irena-Mya>> I found the whole thing v frustrating
Kai Joldeski>> I have to check out thunderbird and trillion after
this
Irena-Mya>> and it's the nly task thats left unfinished
Irena-Mya>> me too!!
Natasha Adams>> mya, i found it through yahoo groups and it's
called 'Petdogs-L'
Irena-Mya>> Tash u really r my hero
Kai Joldeski>> I can't remember if I finished it or just left
it out of frustration
Kai Joldeski>> You can leave a task unfinished - just explain
yourself why...
Natasha Adams>> i just hope u can find it
Susanne Klippel>> the newsgroup task is the one that I'm having
touble with too
Natasha Adams>> u should be able to search for it somehow
Irena-Mya>> yeah, I read that post...made me feel
happy inside :)
Irena-Mya>> thanksyou Tash :)))
Natasha Adams>> i haven't posted yet but have received lots of
memos
Natasha Adams>> mya, if you go to yahoo groups and type petdogs-l
in the search it comes up. i just tried it
Irena-Mya>> x c lent :)

Conclusion

Through this task I revisited ICQ after many years of not using it. I found it had become redundant for me now. It's very teen based and caters to the desperate and dateless a bit too much. It was annoyed at the ever present ICQ toolbar.
The converstaion on WebCT with the other students was great. It was excellent to talk to everyone in real time. The most interesting thing was that I've not used a live chat prog. for learning purposes before. It can become confusing and loosing the earlier bits of the chat cycle really didn't help.

Over all outcome on chat/IM programs

MSN: Rated highly by almost everyone as easy to use and least intrusive in the pc environment.
mIRC & newsgroups: Seen as "older style" communications. They were frustrating to those who hadn't used them before because the format wasn't easy to understand on initial viewing and it took too long to learn how to use them. I personally like mIRC but I've used it for over 10 years and have established contacts and groups. It's true that it's not v user friendly as after all that time, I still dont know how to utilise mIRC to it's fullest potential.

ICQ: Rated very low with almost everyone. Comments ranged from too "romance" oriented, too fiddley. For me it interferes too much within the pc environment and I hate that ICQ assume it's wanted and place it in such a prominent place and make it so hard to remove.

Trilian: A new program many of us were unfamiliar with. It manages IM's and chat programs. I haven't used it yet.

Skype: Another new mention. I downloaded it expecting a newer mIRC style prog. but was disapointed. It definitely has it's uses. From the little time I've spent with it, it appears to be focused more on cheap phone calls than an IM or chat prog.