We've been discussing it with the big man himself, and MaxChat V: The Empire Writes Back is in the works! We haven't got a time quite nailed down yet, but the tentative date is September 19/20th (depending on your timezone!) Start thinking about your questions now! We might even be able to take write-ins for those unable to attend. MaxChats are generally pretty crazy and a lot of fun, drawing NS users from around the world (and the various sections of the forums!) so I highly recommend trying to attend if at all possible. Who knows when we can talk Max into another one after this?
In addition, the chats used to be held in #nationstates on the Espernet IRC network. The chat has since moved, with the new info being:
Final information
Date/Time:6am Sunday, September 19 where Max is; check the chart to find the time for your area.
#nationstates - Main room
#nationstates-Q&A - secondary room and staging area.
Server: irc.gamesurge.net
Port: 6667
Web IRC client: http://www.gamesurge.net/chat/
Website: http://gamesurge.net/newuser
MaxChat Guidelines
In order to keep things from turning into an illegible zoo, we have some guidelines regarding how MaxChats are run.
- When you first sign on, make sure you're using your nation name as your nickname in the chat.
- Join both #nationstates and #nationstates-Q&A (this is done by typing in '/join #nationstates' and '/join #nationstates-Q&A' respectively.)
- Please note that #nationstates will be set +m, meaning that you cannot talk in there unless voiced. This is done to minimize confusion and enable Max to quickly see and respond to your questions. #nationstates-Q&A will be wide open for conversation and also as the staging area where you can put questions forward to be addressed in the main room.
- Please try and put forward relatively serious, on-topic questions regarding Nationstates, Max, and his work. We let some funny questions through, but Max is here to talk about his game and books, not about his opinions of influence/raiding/Security Council/etc. He owns the game, he doesn't necessarily know all the details about intra-regional politics or roleplaying organizations. This is also not the time nor place to ask Max about moderator actions or appeal them.
- When posting a question for consideration, make sure that you post it in #nationstates-Q&A in bold text. (Bold text is activated in some IRC chat clients by pressing ctrl+b)
- If your question is selected, you'll be temporarily voiced in #nationstates while your question is put forward and answered. Please remember to stay on the subject!
- Do not spam in the Q&A room. These things typically draw dozens of people (I think the record is somewhere over 100) and the chat can be hard enough to follow when it's just normal conversation!
I use mIRC for connecting to the chat, but there are plenty of IRC clients out there for PC or Mac; just ask around. There's probably web-based clients out there by now, too.
Keep an eye on this thread for updates!