Fireside Interview #13 xat Luca

As the bus stopped, the glaring light of high noon welcomes and the summer rays streams through the brim of her cappello as she walks out from the bus, there a bella ragazza with her glamorous dress in floral motif and takes her sunglasses on as she blends in with the hordes of sightseers from every directions — oh that was me, by the way! Here I find myself amazed as my feet takes me around the city. From the famous and well-known landmarks to arts and ancient ruins, everything here are elegant and grand. But there’s one more reason why I’m here in this lovely place is to meet my good friend. Standing in front of the shop, dazzled by impressively built and well-architectured building, I see a gentleman in his 30’s as he walks close to me and greets…buongiorno!

Buongiorno mio buono amico, Luca! I’m glad you are my first interviewee and thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. I know you have been on xat for a very long time and I’m sure many users would want to know more about you in this interview. Please try to answer these as honestly and completely as possible.

What is your real name, where are you from, how old are you and what are you studying or working?

My name is Luca(for privacy reason I will not tell my second name), I am 36 years old, I live in Italy and I work as a building materials seller.

What words would you chose if you had to define yourself?

Well what I can say I love my job, I am a precise person and I try to always do everything to help others. I like visiting and traveling the world and I love sports in general.

 When and how did you discover xat?

It was in 2007 when an Italian xat user put the chat box in my space.

What was your first impression of xat?

I was immediately fascinated because it’s combined intuitiveness with novelty. I also found it very interesting to include a chat in the personal profile of myspace and since then I’ve started chatting regularly on an Italian chat group called Nemesi.

What is your global impression of xat now?

Well, I can say that I have seen almost xat’s beginning and I have seen many changes in these years, certainly the most incisive thing was the introduction of the powers but also the innovations made as the introduction of the application for mobile phone, ect. So I think I saw xat grow a lot.

What do you think about the xat community?

We have a community of teenagers and almost all of them are young I think they can find on xat not only make new friends and acquaintances, but also remember xat as a life experience where they can learn to talk on a virtual world always respecting others and their opinions.

Do you speak any languages other than English and Italian?

Unfortunately not, but I would like to learn others languages, I find it interesting to talk to people from different countries.

Who do you trust a lot on xat?

This is a question that even if it seems simple is actually complex. I met a lot of people in these years on xat with some or even a nice friendship. But you have to be careful because unfortunately there are also scammers and people who put their goals in front of the chat, so I think you must always be careful.

What is the best year you spent on xat?

I think it was back in 2014 when I came back on xat after some years of pause. I found my friends again right away, new interesting chat groups, new powers and also I have met old friends that was very happy that I was back again.

Have you ever met someone from xat in real life?

Yes some italian users years ago.

How long do you think you will stay on xat?

This is another complex question lol, but hopefully I would like to stay some years more again. But obviously when I will start to live with my woman maybe this will not be more possible so idk how long it will be.

 

Let’s drop it to things more funny and let me ask you the things you like or liked on xat.

What is your favourite power?

Ruby

What is your favourite chats?

Well, obviously my favourite chat groups are Aiuto, La_Stanza, Help, Assistance and then Loja.

What is your best memory on xat? When was it?

When I made friends with Davide towards the end of 2007.

Do you have any favourite event/s that you like or liked on xat?

The most funny event was the first night I have made call on skype with Davide and others Italian staff friends.

 

Now, let’s come back to serious things, especially on what you do and have done on xat.

When did you become Contributor on xat?

If I remember well it was in 2015

Did becoming a Contributor change your chatting experience on xat?

Of course, becoming a Contributor allowed me to get to know the thoughts and opinions of people from other official chats and different countries, and I found this very democratic because often the decisions made by the Contributors are decided by the majority of votes after a debate.

You are/were a wiki translator, can you tell us your views about the xat wiki?

For a short time, I was also a translator of the wiki, but then for less free time I had to resign. I personally find that the xat wiki is a very important resource for any xat user for both the information and the news that is being said.

What’s your favourite help support?

The ticket system, the volunteers are very good at helping users, our forum is another resource for information and to help people, also xat.com/Help is very useful chat to new users for their question and problems. I also try to do my best to help users.

We also know that you are the main owner of Aiuto and La_stanza, when did you become a main owner of the two official chats and tell us about your experience as the main owner of these chats?

Well it’s really a long story so I’ll be short. When I was chosen as Aiuto owner, it was around the beginning of 2008 and I remember that the admin asked me if it was possible to create an Italian lobby and so Davide and I created La_Stanza chat. Towards the end of 2009, I left xat and both chats were given to Davide who in the following years was then made a volunteer. In 2014, for nostalgic and for the request of several friends including Davide himself I went back to xat. Then many things happened, for work commitments now Davide can no longer enter on xat and now is about almost 2 years Aiuto and La_Stanza are back to my email. I have noticed in recent years a decrease in Italian users and this make me a little sad since I spent several years of my life in these chats.

How do you manage your time on xat as Contributor, a moderator on other official chats and a main owner on two official chats ?

Well, I do not deny that sometimes it is a bit challenging to be always efficient on all these fronts but I try to manage the best time I have free to give the best I can for these things.

Who is your role model?

Currently I don’t have one, RIP.

What are your opinions on the Contributor system?

I think the introduction of the contributor system was a good move by the administrator not only for the distribution of the load of choices and changes to be made but also to allow you to meet new talented people who really want to make a difference on xat.

What do you see for the future of xat?

I hope to see xat grow more in the coming years, always bringing new improvements, new powers and be more popular. Something is already out, the xat app for mobile that I usually use and also HTML5 I think it will be a great thing that will make a difference on xat.

Do you have any last word to end this interview?

I want to thank all the people who everyday give their contributions to xat especially the admin, the volunteers, contributors and wiki staffs. I hope you found my interview interesting.