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> reg pics
Chat Hosts of BLCHHosting meant -
- Snerts!
- cool Host-grade Powertools (aka PT's)
- hours and hours of training and retraining
- hours of "paperwork"
a spiffy "Thwapper"
a uniform designed according to the wearer's personal desires
- always being helpful, cheerful, and courteous =D
- working around aol's latest unannounced bug or glitchy greets
- reasoning with unreasonable people, every shift
- accusations of being an aol program <smirk>
- turning your IM's off!
- keeping just one IM on with an off-duty hosty or two ;)
- a luxury state-of-the-art chair armed with a red ejection button
Respect My Authority!! - even though we were forbidden to admit it =X
- trying to talk all your friends into being a host
- receiving 1 vinyl CD case in gratitude for your loyal years of service
- the occasional long shifts without a reg in sight :/
- and most importantly, you Adored your Regs!
. . . . . .Well... let's see ...
As a host, aol had us each take an oath of secrecy, I suppose to better carry out our duties, but it also served to cover aol's poor decisions and lack of regard toward it's own community of volunteers. In other words, I shouldn't really tell all =X
But on the other hand ...
There isn't much that wasn't known, at least by the average chatroom Regular (or Reg). The power to "GAG" for instance was pretty obvious to anyone. Niether did it take a rocket scientist to figure when a particular reg left a chatroom moments before a certain host appeared that it was the same person, but these were the extremes.
Let me emphasize hosts/CL's were Volunteers - we were not paid for being on the frontlines of aol (BLCH Main and BLCH 1 were the top two rooms listed on People Connection - every snert in aol passed through our revolving doors), making the chatrooms a better, popular place. Instead we got all the cookies we could eat (ty Kat). If you stuck around long enough you might even be rewarded witha vinyl cd carrying case =D
To be a host, you generally had to have a way with fellow chatters, and an ability to calmly handle rude people politely. Actually, I think patience with aol was a more important characteristic to have than being friendly. An addiction to being online helped too <g> Oh, and you also were eleigible to submit your application to aol after having your account for 6 months at least, with no black marks... Then you waited about a month to hear back. I applied in December 1997 and was accepted in Jan 1998.
All in all, I have fond memories of my first few months (mostly from training at the same time with friends like Kat and TJ, co-hosting with other Hosts for a room full of regs), before aol implemented many changes, which eventually cost us most all our hosts. Some time after I retired in July 2000 (leaving KitKat as sole hosty) it was decided by aol that the entire of People Connection (which the BLCH rooms were part of) would be un-hosted. And the BLCH's were the first rooms on the People Connection list that most chatters, and snerts, passed through.
Fewer Hosts = More Snerts
More Snerts = Less Regs
Less Regs = Dwindling source for future hosts
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BLCH-1 HOST SCHEDULE
/ December 1997
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|||||||
| Sun. | Mon. | Tues. | Wed. | Thurs. | Fri. | Sat. | |
|
5 pm
|
-- | -- | -- | Oreo | -- | -- | -- |
|
6
pm
|
-- | Most | Poopsy | Yap | -- | Tee | -- |
|
7
pm
|
-- | Yap | Poopsy | Yap | Poopsy | Yap | -- |
|
8
pm
|
Silver | Yap | Dizz | Smiley | Poopsy | Yap | DE |
|
9
pm
|
-- | Quin | Jas | Tee | Silver | Quin | Laina |
|
10
pm
|
Buddha | Quin | Hoony | Tee | TnS | Poopsy | -- |
|
11
pm
|
Buddha | Tee | Hoony | Klin | -- | Poopsy | -- |
|
Mid.
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | Kuffs |
|
1
am
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | Kuffs |
|
BLCH-1 HOST SCHEDULE
/ January 1999
|
|||||||
| Sun. | Mon. | Tues. | Wed. | Thurs. | Fri. | Sat. | |
|
10 am
|
-- | -- | Fog | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
11
am
|
-- | -- | Fog | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
7
pm
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
8
pm
|
-- | Quin | -- | -- | Shadw | -- | -- |
|
9
pm
|
-- | Quin | -- | -- | Shadw | -- | -- |
|
10
pm
|
KitKat | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | KitKat |
|
11
pm
|
KitKat | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | KitKat |
|
Mid.
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | Fog | -- | -- |
|
1
am
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | Fog | -- | -- |
. . . . . .
The names I have listed at right appeared in BLCH1 during 1997-2000. BLCH main always had more hosts and some of these were generous enough to host our room. All hosts deserved our respect, regardless of which room was their homeroom (please nod your head in agreement).Out of respect for some individuals' wishes, I won't list the playnames or actual names of these hosts -- with a few exceptions <g>
. . . . . .
The below lists what little I personally know about a few of these volunteers - CL's - hosts.
Host KitKat / Host PCCL KitKat / Sage CL Meow / Host EMV Pinhead
1998-Present
As of the time I write this (Feb. 2005) There is only one stubburn ex-BLCH host that is still actively hosting - and that would be Kat (formerly Host KitKat). After the "death" of BLCH1 she moved on to aol's Sage chats as Sage CL Meow. And today she's now known as Host EMV Pinhead in aol - Cinema Chat on Friday nights 6-8pm CT.
Host Freeky / Sage CL Frky / Lin LSR
1998-2004
Linda has turned from the dark side and no longer is working for aol. After Sage hosting she'd moved on to other online challenges (you may not know it, but you've probably already seen some of her work featured on the AOL Welcome Screen).You can contact her through the addy given on her brand new witty web blog at: http://www.groovynoodles.com/blog/. A hardcore blogger, and free of aol's restrictions, Linda's looking for paybacks!
Guide KSV / HOST Guide KEV / HOST EDU Kevin
1999?-2002
Kevin retired from active duty in late 2001 or early 2002.
Host Fog
199?-?
Pat was among the last to host in BLCH 1.
Host Shadw / HOST PCCL Shadw
1998-2000
Todd followed in Host Silver's footsteps. In December 1997 he applied after much arm twisting, was accepted the following January, and trained under Host Silver. Later he inherited the editorship of the Good Times Gazette, which in turn meant dropping his Sunday night hosting slot. Shadw's favorite part was cohosting with Silver, Hoony and finally KitKat. He retired (with mix feelings, he has to admit) in July 2000 to make time for his newborn son!
Host Punkn
1999
Mali joined the darkside in January and hosted over in BLCH Main.
Host Med
1998 or '99
Patrick briefly appeared for a shift (I think it was Winter '98) and decided that was enough for him <g>
Host Quin
?-1999
Quinnalt
Host Silver
?-1998
Laura not only hosted, but mentored new hostlings, including Shadw. She was among the last of the earlier old regs to retire. She was also the editor for the BLCH 1 Good Times Gazette.
Host Dizz
?-1998
Deb was both host and mentor, including KitKat's.
Host Tre
?-1998
BLCH Rooms Hosts Boss, and a dern good one!
Host Poopsy / Host Poopsi
?-1998
Michelle was probably the ideal chat host. Incidentally, she married Host Yap.
Host Atom
Host DE
Host Hoony
Host Jas
Host Smiley
Host Tee
Host Yap
all retired in 1998
In March 1998, aol reorganized "everything" involved in hosting. We lost a lot of our hosts that year.
HostAbbey
Host Atom
HostBuddha
HostNeeki
Host Laina
most all retired in 1998-99
All were BLCH Main hosts who had regularly scheduled shifts hosting in BLCH1. We forgave 'em for belonging to the wrong room ;)~
. . . . . .
Host Webpages by former BLCH-rooms hosts
http://www.observers.net/host_atom.html
An Interview with the former Host Atom (Atom was highly liked by chatroom communities, as were the many other CL's (Community Leaders) who volunteered as hosts in AOL's BLCH and BLCH1 chatrooms. The sudden loss of these volunteers had doomed these communities).New Page
http://hometown.aol.com/hostemvpinhead/
Kat's Host EMV Pinhead's Page
Guide KSV / HOST Guide KEV / HOST EDU Kevin
HostAbbey
Host Atom
HostBuddha
HostDE
HostDizz
HostFog
HostFreeky / Sage CL Frky / Lin LSR
HostHoony
HostJas
Host KitKat / Host PCCL KitKat / Host SAGE Meow / Host EMV Pinhead
HostNeeki
HostPoopsy / HostPoopsi
HostQuin
HostSilver
HostShadw / Host PCCL Shadw
HostSmiley
Host Laina
Host Punkn
HostTee
HostYap
Host Med
