Hey - is it acceptable to message hosts on topic or other things (with the caveat that all messages are to be polite, respectful , courteous, etc)? I see that it seems possible to do this, but I want to make sure that it’s acceptable within the standards of the community before reaching out.
Thanks!
[UPDATE] I’ve gotten the consensus I was looking for. Thank you all for helping me out.
First, you must get on your knees and send various offerings to get their attention 
Just kidding.
They set up this forum, and they participate. I see nothing wrong with it.
My question to you in regards to messaging would be why are you sending a direct message to a host as oppose to a new article and tagging that host by name? Would allow them to be notified but allows the community to interact with the convo as well?
I don’t see anything wrong with doing it myself, just more of a question of what are you hoping to get out of doing so?
For me - it’s the idea of more personal communication with an intent to gain a more informed perspective. I don’t want to clog up the main forums with topics that are really more short conversational things where I’m hoping for the insight of a particular individual and not a larger discussion.
Only one way to find out…try it. My guess it would depend on the host. Some are more attentive to the board than others.
You could @ them on a comment to ask them first. Otherwise I assume they’re as busy as anyone else.
Remember that this is a public forum. Each of them already have personal means of contact. Unless you expect your conversation to prove valuable to a given forum’s community, all I see you doing is trying to draw them into public statements where their whole job is already to prepare for making them. You may luck out and inspire them to spare personal time to comment on the record in a slightly informal way like this, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. I’m guessing you’re better off contacting them directly, in most cases such as what you seem to seek.
So - the general consensus I’m getting is that it really isn’t appropriate to reach out via private message.
Thank you all - appreciate it.
Well I would argue this is the teacher student phenomenon. You remember your teachers from school, for example, because you saw one teacher per subject per year. The teacher may not remember you, because they saw hundreds of students per subject per year. The hosts are in a similar position… there are thousands of people who may watch an episode and feel a connection to one host, but there is no way that the host can have a meaningful connection with thousands of people.
On the other hand, if you are offering them something useful, say content for a show, you could share that… but then you’d need to expect that content not to remain private if it were to be used on a show.
I don’t think they’d disdain a pleasant interaction, but I think it just boils down to “who has the time” when they’re busy moving on from yesterday’s work to planning tomorrows content.
What do you mean by this? Nobody else should be DMing anyone because we are busy? Or they’re just as busy as anyone (regular people lol) else so it’s cool to DM them?
They’re as busy as anyone, just like a Twitter DM, you do not know if or when they are available.
Oh I see I thought you meant it as “they’re busy so don’t do it”
I can only speak for myself, obviously, but I’m personally OK with folks reaching out directly. I think some of the posts in this thread do bring up a good point, though: If you’re looking to have a conversation that would benefit everyone if it were posted publicly, it may be better to opt for the public topic. If it’s something else, a private message may be your best bet.
In my experience, the only time this has been an issue is when someone reaches out with the expectation that they’ll receive one or more responses. There are often many messages across many online platforms I’m combing through each week. Sending a message isn’t a bother (again, speaking for myself here), but sending increasingly frustrated follow-up messages quickly becomes one.
That’s probably not uncommon either. This seems like pretty logical and level headed expectations.
I feel like I’m hearing that regardless of whether or not you reach out - it’s not really appropriate to expect a dialogue of more than a single response. I completely get that, and understand how the lives of the hosts are extremely busy and do not have the time to get involved in lengthy one-on-one discussions.
Just to be clear - it wasn’t my goal or intent in posing this question to get into a lengthy back-and-forth in DMs. My goal was more of a short-dialogue to help inform my perspective and short up a deficiency in my point of view. But I also understand that not everyone reaches out with that intent.
Thanks @mikahsargent for giving me an idea of how you approach this situation. Much appreciated.
The TWiT Hosts count on you as their audience - I seriously doubt they would mind communicating with you, time permitting
Speaking for myself I’m far more likely to respond to a public query here, where everyone can benefit from the answer, than a private message. I get way too many private questions already and can’t possibly answer them all. Also I don’t like repeating myself.
Read the FAQ in my email signature for my stock answers.
Welcome Back!
We missed you.
Can’t wait to hear about the trip.