Published in The Australian, October 9 2003

WHEN Ninemsn announced it would be shutting down its online chat service on October 14, it was careful to add a qualification.

While site users will lose the ability to chat anonymously with each other in dozens of themed "rooms" on Ninemsn, the company will not shut down its "celebrity chats", where viewers can have questions answered by popular actors, television hosts or topic experts lucky enough to have featured on A Current Affair that week.

Interacting with the public has proven to be one of the central functions for TV program websites. As well as celebrity chats, the official sites for many of Australia's most popular shows include discussion forums, where enthusiasts can post comments or questions. And, while chat functions have been deemed too risky by Ninemsn, the forums for popular series such as McLeod's Daughters will remain in place.

According to the fans themselves, that's just as well. "The message forum at the Ninemsn website is regularly used by a lot of fans and many would likely miss their opportunity to let the network know what they think about current storylines and episodes," say sisters Skylla and Kaz, who run their own site dedicated to McLeod's Daughters, www.fans-of-mcleods.net.

Like many fan sites, the lack of "authorised" status at this site is more than made up for by a comprehensive episode guide, news and gossip about the cast -- and its own discussion board.

Over time, dedicated fans can become a resource that helps site creators avoid potential problems, as Seven has discovered with its official Home and Away site.

"While AOL|7 is happy to respond to any complaints about inappropriate content on the message boards and remove it, the loyal Home and Away message board contributors tend to let other contributors know quick smart if they are making off-topic or inappropriate posts," says Tony Sarno, content director for AOL|7.