@bigpawedbear hey Bear. I leave that to each respondent to decide the meaning of, because ones own definition and context of choice is always relevant.

a few people have found the question a challenge, risen to it, made decisions to answer it, and then shared context. incredibly generous. there is a ton of insight, all of which is open to all to learn from.

if you'd like to do similar, or even if you'd rather share a full answer and skip the poll I assure you you'll be heard and valued too.

@Flominator I'd leave the definitions and context of choice to the answerer. I have learned, when asking about people's lived experience, to use their definitions of things.

thanks for clarifying.

@amy0223 @FreakyFwoof good one, thanks Amy.

my answer is that I appreciate when people use their own definitions in their answers, because what better way to contextualise their own experience than with meaningful definitions. I appreciate it doubly when they share those definitons, as you have done – thanks!

for everyone else, dictionaries are a great tool for the job. or I'm happy to share my own as a last resort. I consider a "chat" to be communication exchange of 3 or more total volleys.

@rnichols1 thanks!

3,370 people answered the it exactly as it has been asked within one day! 559 put it in front of people who trust them, in case they might like it as well.

a response like that is awesome, humbling, and way beyond my wildest hopes for the quantity and quality of it!

I don't know what you imagine by way of improving upon THAT, so I'll leave loftier ambitions to others. I'm still coming to grips with the huge, constructive, and positive reception my own question is having. 🙂

@Sarahw That's one of the major issues with LLMs, how they've been non-consensually forced into everything we've been used to relying on for years. Then add the electricity, the water, the noise... It's really hard to like it as an industry.

There was a brief moment when I thought the idealised version of the tech could be quite neat. But they veered off that course super early.

@falcennial

@urlyman what a compliment! Jonathan, you've made my day.

I agree with your advice. when polling stuff my rules for my conduct are:
1. it's a learning exercise, not a judgement exercise. judgement precludes honesty, so no judging in the thread.
2. trust is essential. trust others to be honest, generous, fair, curious, open, and cool.
3. we each define things our own way. the only way they get used is for us each to use them.
4. people who boost polls are lovers of learning, and I adore them! 🤌

@sunflowerinrain nothin old about it! the streamers and so forth even address each other as 'chat' meaning the group chat where people type their chatter to the group.

I'm sweeping this one under the "some people have narrow definitions of stuff" rug and leaving it there!

@Quantium40 no. my question is definitely worded correctly. it contains the right words in the right order to pose the intended meaning, in good faith, to the intended audience. it is, by definition, a perfect question so don't need worry about problems with it; none will ever exist.

if you need a dictionary for definitions that's ok, but if you have your own definitions of the words and concepts used, please use them.

speaking multiple languages is impressive! thank you for participating.

@skulesz thanks for contributing, Panni. interesting experience.

lot of extremely resourceful, highly technically capable people around this website. I fully expect somebody will have impressive advice for a good modern search experience.

@svavar personally my current definition of chat is a back and forth of 3 or more message volleys. (not 3 each, 3 total).

I would leave definitions up to the answerer's judgement though. dictionaries have useful ones so if it's a puzzle one can't put into words, a judgement call or a dictionary check are both legit ways to do it.

I find the huge diversity of people's experiences very educational.

@AdaraAstin
Yeah not a 100% sure what the question is.

Is it do I USE a LLM to chat? = Hell no

Am I forced to chat to LLMS when contacting say a bank? Yes but I tend to disengage

@AdaraAstin wisely put. it's an infrastructural problem.

like maintaining a vegan diet in a country where milk powder is a food additive in almost every food. does eating it make one "not vegan"? that question is a trick. it's an infrastructure issue. the culprits, have no right to compromise a person's identity or values by putting milk powder in their food. the victim is not in question. the abusers are.

the real question is how will we break those who abuse our resources.