Short Interview #2 xat Nathan

Hello Nathan! Would you like to be my next interviewee?

I’m going to ask you a few questions about your private life!

What is your real name, where are you from, and how old are you?

My first name is Nathan, but I won’t reveal my last name, as it borders on personal information. I am from the USA somewhere in California where the timezone here is PST, and I am 19 years old.

Tell me about yourself.

I am someone who is reliable, dependent, and plays by the rules. I am a fast typer of approximately 90 WPM and above. I believe in keeping it real and following through with my commitments and promises I make to myself and others, meaning if I say I’m going to do something, I tend to follow through with it, and I feel bad if I cannot. I’ve never had a real life job yet, but I plan to get one this summer. Currently I’m in my first year second semester of community college.

How many languages do you speak?

I only speak one language, and that is English. I understand a little bit of Spanish as well, but not enough for me to be listed as able to speak it. I’ve taken one year of Spanish in my junior year of high school, but I didn’t want to continue on with it.

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

Reliable, dependable, helpful. I’m also kind of shy too, mainly in the real world, as I’m introverted, so talking to and meeting new people can be kind of difficult for me.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Usually when I complete all of my homework and chores, I like to watch videos on YouTube, some TV, and even play some video games. My favorite kinds of games are Mario adventures and RPGs. I also like to walk my dog after a good meal, as that’s good exercise. And of course, we can’t forget about the fact that I like to help out on xat when I am able to. 🙂

What are you studying?

Not sure what my major is, but for now it’s just for general education.

For how long have you been on xat and how did you discover it?

The first chat I ever joined was Markeyruiz97 chat on a now-dead site called Pouetpu-games where you could create your own custom Mario levels based on the original games. The first time I came across xat was by accident on November 22, 2012 when I saw a mysterious chatbox on someone’s profile. About a month later, I decided to create my own Mario-themed chat and register for xat. I was nervous at first upon registering, as I first registered 4 days BEFORE my 14th birthday and the terms said I had to be 14 years old or older to use xat.

How did you get interested in xat?

Someone from the OceanProject bot team came to my old chat and introduced me to what was known as a chat bot. It was then that I lost interest in Pouetpu-games and wanted to commit my time to helping out the OceanProject chat. Occasionally I would visit and explore other chats on xats exploring other topics such as games, help with xat, etc. After about 2 years of helping with OceanProject, my curiosity piqued and I decided to dedicate my time to helping on officials.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Living in my own place and maintaining a good job. If xat outlives me, I may no longer be dedicated to helping out with it anymore, but I will always remember it as a thing of my past.

Who do you trust a lot on xat?

Hmm, that’s a tough one, as I’ve made friends with plenty of people on xat. There really isn’t anyone that stands out to me in terms of who I trust the most. I’m generally trusting of people, maybe even TOO trusting, as I’ve fallen to scams and lost my powers approximately 2 or 3 times in my xat life. If someone disrespects me, then I have no respect for them either.

Let’s talk about the xat community!

Who’s your favorite volunteer?

Even though he’s fairly new, I’d say my favorite volunteer is Sydno. He’s always been there for me when I was struggling with xat and had some questions and advice in which he knew the answer. He’s very reliable, and was also the one who gave me the orientation of when I first became a contributor.

What is your favorite wiki page?

I don’t really have a “favorite” wiki page in particular, but I keep the errors page open to the side when I’m online on xat so I can refer to it when someone asks about an error.

What is your favorite power?

What stands out to me the most is the “me” power, because it allows me to make my xatspace look nicer with HTML & CSS, and it works even without days!

How did you start getting involved in the official chats?

The first official chat I helped out at was Game chat in June 2016, and eventually got promoted to staff 3 months later. Then I wanted to expand some more, so I dedicated my time to even more official chats to which I help to this day. I’m still fairly active in the OceanProject chat, but I’ve been a staff member there for an ongoing 3 and a half years and I am kind of losing interest in that too in favor of being a xat helper now.

What do you think about xat.com now?

I still think of it as a good place to chat. However, I am concerned with its lack of advertisements which results in less traffic. I refuse to believe that xat is “dead” or “dying.” Something I really wish to fix is the fact that everyone should be treated fairly, as I am against bias, as well as the speed in which tickets get answered.

If you had one user to thank about your nomination, who would it be?

Maverick! When I first got contributor, I got it while I was on hiatus around Thanksgiving 2017, and when I visited before I officially returned, I came back to random “Congratulations” and I was confused because I wasn’t yet added as a contributor on the forum until about half a month later. He told me he helped to vote me into the group, as I’m sure he knows what good I do on xat.

When did you become contributor?

Listed on the wiki in November 2017, and officially added on the forum in early December 2017.

Was it a goal to reach?

Honestly, it was something I never even expected! I’m proud to be part of this team because of the help I provide in officials, and it’s nice to voice my opinion on topics that could potentially impact the future of xat.

What is your favorite chat?

I have 2: Game and Help! As I’ve stated before, my only language is English, so it’s easier for me to mod English-only rooms such as Social, Help, and xat_test. Even though Game is mostly dead in terms of activity, I still like to help and be active there to gameban people, play games, and start gameraces. I also really like Help because of my enthusiasm to help out people with their xat-related problems in a decent amount of traffic.

Do you have any special message to end this interview?

Yes. If you find something you’re good at, stick with it! Persevere! Your hard work will pay off someday and people will notice you. Also, be sure to keep and honor the commitments and promises you’ve made with yourself and others. It shows what good of a character you are and how good you are as a person in general!