I know that Emacs.SE has decent amount of traffic (given question/answer activity), but I wonder, how come the Emacs chat is so unused?
I get it's probably a question of preferences, but I just wonder why other chat room (eg: ones based on programming languages) get more activity than this one.
Beyond that though: Any way to make it more active? I also wouldn't be surprised if some Emacs.SE's users don't know about the chat existence (maybe it doesn't appear on question page for some reason?)
I'm sorry no one's followed up on this since March. I'm only here because I posted a question on Meta myself tonight...
First, speaking purely for myself, I think that SE's "chat" is awful. It is painful too look at and hurts my brain. It's some kind of "pre Web 2.0 XML enabled, Java fortified, Application Service Provider provided 'web application'" BS. If I'm going to chat about "nerd" stuff it's going to be on my work Slack, on the nerd channels, for the non-work nerd stuff. Otherwise, I'd do it on IRC; but my old-timey IRC people, I text or see IRL.
Speaking based on my general observations of the participants of emacs.SE... I think the lack of participation in "SE chat" reflects the greater Emacs community. Emacs is a tool. Most users of "tools" don't really get jazzed about the tools. They're much more excited about what they do with their tools. So it's a bit like asking why no one is on the "wrench chat". The "wrenchers" aren't in the wrench forums, they're in the "building a car" or "building a boat" or "running a shop" forums; much like an Emacs user is would be in a Python, or C++, or game dev, or machine learning forum.
Also, in my personal life experience, Emacs (and Vim) users tend to be "older". I don't just mean age-wise. There's a certain... maturity? a je ne c'est quois? I don't think we get excited about sitting around online and talking about our "stuff". My "online time" that's not work related is entertainment first, learning 2nd. So, I participate here mostly because I think I can help other users. I think I have an interesting and unique perspective on modern Emacs use, and I think a lot of "old-timers" on emacs.SE have a similar opinion in that they like emacs and that they're happy to share their experiences.
So tl:dr, don't take it personally :). There are other "forums" out there for Emacs discussion. If you want to do it on SE then orgainize! Do a code jam, or a bug squish, or a virtual Happy Hour. I think with enough notice, and the right topic you could get some great attendance from our little community. Just don't expect people to show up without reason. ;)
