The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

The Live Online Staff: Hey y'all. We've pulled back the curtain. What do you want to know? Got questions, comments? Want to know how we do things? Why we do things? What we wear to work every day? Whatever. We've had lunch, we're caffeinated, and we're ready for you. So bring it. -- Lisa

Washington, D.C.: What exactly does a producer, like, do?

The Live Online Staff: The short answer: A lot. There are only five full-time employees here at Live Online and we produce between 35 and 60 hours of programming a week -- much producers we work with other sections here at washingtonpost.com and at The Post to schedule regular hosts (like Bob Levey, Carolyn Hax and Sally Squires) and special guests -- which can include Post reporters and editors (Steve Coll, Ben Bradlee and Bob Woodward to name a few) and policy experts. There are around 30 regular discussions, and the rest are special one-time guests based on news or something else that's going
on.

We make a huge effort to present balanced coverage on each issue we decide to cover. For instance, if we're covering the situation in the Mideast we might make sure to get a Palestinian spokesman and someone from the Israeli Embassy in the same day. We also work with major policy thinktanks like the Council on Foreign , the Brookings Institution and the Cato Institute to bring leading experts in the field to our readers. Keep in mind, though, that the whims of fate and people's schedules don't always allow us to host back-to-back shows on the same day. This is a much more fluid medium than TV, radio or traditional print, so sometimes we have to look at the "big picture" -- balance over a few days, weeks., etc. That's a long way of saying that we do our best to offer opposing viewpoints as close together as possible. That said, we always want to hear your ideas for guests -- and we want to hear about it if you think something's not balanced.

We also try to cover the cultural side of life in the Washington, D.C. metro area with shows like Got Plans, Pop Talk, What's Cooking and special guests like local club owners, artists, museum curators and celebrities in town -- which have lately included comedian/actor Sandra Bernhard, musician Suzanne Vega, "Sex and the City's" John Corbett, to name just a few. You can browse past special events in our Special Events Archive.

In addition to booking the guests and insuring balanced coverage, each producer is responsible for actively producing and moderating discussions on a daily basis. This means editing questions to correct grammar and spelling (hoo boy do we), controlling the question flow to guests and ensuring that no technical glitches sideline a discussion.

After the show, we archive the discussions, and so the process begins again.

Washington, D.C.: Why isn't there a photo of the Going Out Gurus on the site? They sound cute.

The Live Online Staff: They like to preserve their mystery. In fact, they wear big puppet head masks around the office. We don't even know what they look like. -- Lisa

Not all of our discussions need photos. It's about the personality, man. -- Eleanor.

Los Angeles, Calif.: Does it surprise you to get questions from far beyond D.C.?

The Live Online Staff: Not particularly, though we are extremely gratified to have such a diverse audience. Eighty percent of washingtonpost.com's audience is outside the Washington, D.C. area so our two-fold mission -- being the definitive site for residents of the Washington area and the definitive site for readers around the world to get Washington's take on the news -- is more crucial than ever. In Live Online, we take that mission seriously, so when we get questions from India, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Germany, Italy, Canada, The Philippines... and Arlington, Va., we think we're doing our job right.

Eleanor adds that when Dana Priest did a discussion about Bosnia, she got questions from people in that country asking if they were going to be bombed. - Liz

EraserheadGuy, D.C.: No gripes. Just a big, wet smooch for all of you!

The Live Online Staff: Awww. Thank you.

Question: Where are the mean ones? There are a lot of nice questions in the queue. Don't tell me you all have no complaints. -- Lisa

New York, N.Y.: Who would you say gets the most "traffic" during an hour? I'd imagine Carolyn Hax is
hugely popular.

The Live Online Staff: Here's what we know about the traffic on washingtonpost.com as a whole:

Silver Spring, Md.: Could you ask Judith Martin (aka Miss Manners) to do a Q&A?

The Live Online Staff: Isn't she great? We've been working on it for a long time, and will continue to do so. -- Lisa

Washington, D.C.: I'm sure all of you get this complaint all the time: Those ads that are programmed to
"follow" when one scrolls down the page are really annoying. I don't know if the advertiser programs
them that way, or if you do, but I speak for many when I say I wish that feature were removed.

The Live Online Staff: See, I hate to admit it, but I love those ads. From a practical standpoint, they're important for Live Online discussions. Your average article page is what, two, three, maybe four screens? No way to keep ads visible. Our discussion pages are L-O-N-G, and it's durn near impossible to keep an ad in the frame. This accomplishes that. We're a free site; we need ads to be able to put out the content that you see on washingtonpost.com. I don't like commercials on TV or the radio, but I know that regardless of whether I like them, they need to be there.

That said, I've seen a lot of comments from people who say the ad covers the text on the page. Some things to keep in mind: the ads are programmed to be on a specific part of the page, given specific factors. I.e., the page assumes the default font setting is in place. But of course, browsers vary, and so do computers. If your font is set larger than the default setting, this could create a problem. -- Lisa

Washington, D.C.: Hello Live Online staff!

I'd just like to say that you guys are doing a wonderful job. I really like Live Online-not to mention that it is one of the most imformative ways of "taking a break" from work I can find (one can only surf the net for so long before going insane!)

I think that live online chats showcase one of the best (and not yet completely used to full advantage by the population)things about the digital age-to bring together a community of people who share the same interests for instant (or close) answer/question session.

On that note, I would like to see-if this is possible- some more politically based chats. Such as, senators from a certain district, governors, etc. who "talk" with their constituents about the concerns of the community. I know that L.O. is just getting started and this may be something that is down the road but I can envision a day in the future when this site will be (hopefully) expanded greatly-to have maybe 15 or so discussions at the same time.

Also, I'd love to see some more cultural discussions-artists, authors, etc.

Thanks for all your hard work!

The Live Online Staff: Wow, thanks Mom. I'll clean the garage this evening.

Seriously, though, all feedback -- both positive and negative -- just helps us to do a better job with these discussions. So keep them coming. -- Liz

Here's a complaint: Stop being so nice to the saps who gripe about the ads on the site. Yes, I could do without a pop-under every time I get new responses during a discussion (this happens with Netscape) and could do without having the stupid banner ad follow me down the page as I scroll (this happens with Internet Explorer). But we're not paying for this, and I'm sure all of you like to receive paychecks, so money has to come from somewhere. That's what you should tell the next sap who complains about the ads.

The Live Online Staff: I love you, Mom. -- Lisa

Ballston, Va.: Yikes!

So, who's producing THIS show?!

The Live Online Staff: We're multitaskers, man. We're the cyborgs of the future. -- Lisa

Takoma Park, Md.: Please get rid of those pop-up ads!

The Live Online Staff: Here's what I know about the pop-up ads. Our pop up ads are designed to load during the interval between pages, and then allow readers to see the content they were looking for. Please send your feedback to webnews@washingtonpost.com. We're listening.

If you are all here: ...then who is helping Dirda?

The Live Online Staff: I am currently producing Dirda. We are all quite adept at multitasking. At any given time we are producing, building new pages, making calls, updating archives and taking Lisa's laundry to the cleaners.
-Meredith

Washington, D.C.: Your Post Live Online programs are outstanding. I can't think of any other way that
folks would be able to have such exchanges with the experts. Thanks!

Questions:
How are the guests -- those outside of the Post's reporters -- chosen? Can we make suggestions for
guests?

Why did the FBI keep hosting sessions that were sort of focused on recruiting -- did the FBI pay for
these?

What happened to Vernon Loeb? I know he's busy covering the Pentagon now, but I'd love to see his
"Back Channels" sessions back again!

Once you pass the questions along, do the hosts have the option to say -- no, don't post this message
because I don't want to have it appear/answer it?

Can you tell where the questions are coming from, e.g., Internet IP addresses?

The Live Online Staff: First off, thanks much for the kind words.

1. Guests are chosen in a collaborative process involving the Live Online producers, section producers here at washingtonpost.com and guidance from the folks at The Post. And, yep, your suggestions are welcome. Always feel free to e-mail the good folks at customer care: webnews@washingtonpost.com. They forward suggestions to us.


2. The FBI discussions are provided as a public service. Eleanor, who produces those discussions, might have more to say on this.


3. Vernon's show will be back soon. Stay tuned!


4. Yes, guests have an option to refuse to answer a given question, much as they would in a traditional television or radio interview. However, we make it clear to our guests before booking that we are not interested in a guest who will only field softballs. -- Liz


You raise an interesting point, though, and it's one we wrestle with regularly. We sometimes jump in with follow-up questions if we feel a guest hasn't answered a question. And we try to make sure that guests see= a variety of questions. Keep in mind, though, that one person's "tough question" is another person's insult. A good reporter can phrase a tough question in a way that isn't nasty or likely to put someone on the defensive. These shows are your chance to be the reporter. We love tough questions. But we tend to pick the ones that are fairly worded. No one likes an ambush, and it wastes both the guest's time and our readers' time. -- Lisa

Important Question: What are your favorite beers?

Oh, and what software do you use for the chats? Something custom?

The Live Online Staff: Gin. -- Meredith

Red Stripe. And Tsing Tsao. And Asahi-- Eleanor

Harpoon. -- Liz

Currently, it's Shiner Bock. Miller Hi-Life runs a close second (union brewed). -- Lisa.

And yes, the software is custom.

Washington, D.C.: Forget Sietsema. I want to know what David Segal looks like. I hear he's hot.

The Live Online Staff: Think Marty Feldman.

We, on the other hand, look like Russell Crowe (Meredith); Lucy Liu (Eleanor); Ralph Lauren (Rocci); a young Elizabeth Hurley (Liz); Carrie Ann Moss (Lisa).

Charlotte, N.C.: Here's what I just KNOW a lot of people are wondering--who in the world is EraserheadGuy? He posts to a huge number of chats, seems very bright and informed, and even though he has alluded to a job on occasion seems to have an awful lot of free time if he's participating in so many forums. So c'mon -- you must be at least as curious as we are. Someone MUST have tried to get the 411 on this guy by now. So will you share?

The Live Online Staff: Actually I have no clue who EraserheadGuy is. Nor do I know who a lot of the "usual gang" are.

We like the fact that a number of our discussions have become a community, with the same people tuning in week after week. A lot of our discussions work really well in this respect. Obviously certain topics have a bit more gravity to them and monikers are not appropriate, but it's nice to see a group atmosphere growing around the ones that do.

Washington, D.C.: Why is your programming so dull? How about trying to get more celebrities, rock stars, etc., to chat? Or do you just focus on Washington-based news?

The Live Online Staff: Sorry that we haven't dazzled you yet. You might check out the our Special Events archive to read past discussions with "Sex and the City's" John Corbett, "Y Tu Mama Tambien" director Alfonso Cuaron, musicians Suzanne Vega and Mary Chapin Carpenter, comedians Jeannine Garafolo, Sandra Bernhard, Dave Foley and David Cross...

- Liz

Outraged in Fairfax, Va.: Where's Mary of Chat House fame? What's the point of this discussion if you
don't have her here?

The Live Online Staff: I'm sure Mary appreciates your outrage, but I assure you she's not getting the shaft. Mary's main job is at the Post, and she's very busy. We're just happy to see her when we can (sniff). -- Lisa

Washington, D.C.: What are you backgrounds? TV? Print? What do old guard Posties think of such terminology as "producer" and "programming" (versus, say editor or interview)?

The Live Online Staff: We all have backgrounds in journalism. As producers, it is important that we have just as much editorial know-how as the folks who sit at the news desk. As such, our backgrounds vary from print to TV to radio to previous Internet news experience. -- Liz

Laurie...: I am proud to be an Unusual Suspect.

The Live Online Staff: We're proud of you too. -- Liz

Bowie, Md.: Where is "Somewhere, USA" and why do so many of your readers hail from that area?

The Live Online Staff: Darn good question. Some people do it deliberately. But I'll let you in on a secret: When you're submitting a question and you don't fill in the "City, State" blank, "Somewhere, USA" automatically populates that field.
-- Lisa

Rude question: I've heard tell that Meredith is actually a guy. True?

And Rocci? Male or Female? (And will Queen Rita ever spell Rocci's name the same way twice? And will she ever spell it correctly?)

The Live Online Staff: I will quash those vile rumors here and now. Yes, I am a guy. Grade school was the third ring of hell for me.

As for Rocci -- he too is male.

-Meredith

Arlington, Va.: Why don't you have Lisa de Moraes and Tom Shales on more regularly? Neither seems to be particularly shy.

The Live Online Staff: We have Lisa on as often as possible. You have to understand that she is one busy woman. Not only does she write several columns a week, but in order to write those columns she has to watch a lot of TV. A lot. Not much time leftover for Live Onlines. But, she has promised to come back. Pookie.

And we'd love to have Tom Shales. -- Liz

California: Do invited guests type their own responses? Some guests seem disinterested or
uncomfortable during the hour, judging from their short, abrupt responses. Others are far more
comfortable and elaborate nicely.

The Live Online Staff: It depends. If there is a breaking news story and the guests that we can interview have a tight schedule, we're more than happy to take dictation from them. Some guests are more comfortable behind a computer keyboard than others. We provide our guests instructions for actively answering the questions via computer or we will take dictation from the guest and type answers in for him/her.

Similarly, some guests are more comfortable with the Internet than others, so some recognize the opportunity to elaborate in a way that a traditional article might not allow. Others still view it as akin to a radio interview and give clipped responses. During the interview, whether we are taking dictation or not, we encourage these guests to elaborate. -Liz and Eleanor

Atlanta, Ga.: Meredith --

Your three-paragraph sumary of "Star Wars Episodes 4-6" was a thing of beauty. Be honest: Did you write that on the spur of the moment?

The Live Online Staff: Honesty is not my forte, but here goes. I started it about five minutes before the discussion and went back to it right before I posted it. I'm glad you liked it. It was my first time as a guest and it isn't easy writing pithy answers in such a short amount of time.

Hmmm: "previous Internet news experience". So did any of you used to work for Taco and co. over at slashdot?

The Live Online Staff: Not that I'm aware of, but I was an editor with AOL News for five years and Lisa has covered politics on the Web for four years between PoliticsNow and washingtonpost.com. -- Liz

Arlington, Va.: Great job guys. What I'd like to know is how questions queue up and how Live Online
hosts get to pick. If I ask a sensitive question of a host, he or she can ignore it right? So how do you
avoid spin-control by your hosts?

The Live Online Staff: Thanks.

After we build the page, the discussion is added to the weekly schedule and publicized on the site and off. Typically, people send in questions ahead of time. Mostly they join us at the appointed time. Like I said before, sensitive questions are good; so are tough ones. And we try to keep both in front of our guests. But we're much more likely to take seriously a question that's worded neutrally, as opposed to the ol', "so when did you stop beating your wife?" variety. If someone sidesteps a question, we can follow up or encourage them to answer certain ones. A lot of our guests really love the mean ones.

One thing we hear all the time is that guests blown away by the quality of questions and how smart our readers are. Doesn't surprise me, but I'm always thrilled to hear it. -- Lisa.

Norman, Okla.: I know you have a disclaimer that says guests and moderators have control on what
questions they answer.

But it would be nice, just once, not to see guests back out (such as Henry Kissenger did two months ago)
when they get controversial questions.

Just a mild rant. Sorry.

The Live Online Staff: Hey, if you can't rant here ....

Sometimes our guests cancel on us. Sometimes they're double booked, or they're on press tours or behind schedule or whatever. But they don't see the questions in advance. -- Lisa.

Washington, D.C.: Was Phyllis Schafly the most annoying guest ever?

The Live Online Staff: In a word, no. -- Liz

Philadelphia, Pa.: Love the Live Onlines. My day is incomplete when I don't check in on them.

I only have two issues: The constant re-designs of the washingtonpost.com pages means your "links" move to different locations on the front page. One day it's on the right-bottom part of the page, today it is on the middle-left part of the page. I know re-designs are necessary to keep the page "fresh" but couldn't they at least keep the LiveOnlines in one consistent part of the front page?

Issue 2: whenever you do a video special, I can't follow it because I'm deaf. Hopefully, sometime in the future, you'll be able to either "caption" the webcasts or provide a transcript after the session is done.

The Live Online Staff: Wow. Thanks. That's great to hear.

To your first point: the new look of the home page should be around for a while, so you should always be able to find us in the "Today's Highlights" box and the schedule a little further down the page. The idea is to create "zones" on the home page so you know where you're going and what you're looking for. In fact, if you have more questions about the new home page, our executive editor, Doug Feaver, will be online tomorrow at 2 p.m. EDT. Submit your questions in advance or wait until show time.

To your second point: It's an issue that we've considered, and we're looking into the possibility of transcripts. Thank you for calling our attention to that.

-- Lisa

Washington, D.C.: How difficult is it to actually get Tony and Mike to get inside the Chat House and start on time together?

The Live Online Staff: Feel free to ask Mary during the next Chat House. Those guys have been very generous with their time and energy for us. Given the fact that their schedules are jammed and that they are, in fact, international men of mystery, I think we need to cut them a little slack. They're workin' hard for you. I'm happy to get my daily dose of Kornheiser and Wilbon on "PTI." I got yer five good minutes right here. -- Lisa

Washington, D.C.: Do quotes/statement from by Online's special guests ever get picked up by and included in the printed Post?

The Live Online Staff: Yes. There have been several references to the online discussions in the printed Post. Among our regular hosts, Sally Squires, Bob Levey and Michelle Singletary are a few who write a column based on some questions from their Live Online discussions. There has also been a time where transcripts from a special guest have been posted in the paper as well. For instance, we had a series of discussions for the kids' science show, DragonflyTV, and the transcript was posted in the Style section of the paper.

We have also been pleasantly surprised to find that our discussions have been picked up and promoted on other sites. For instance, we were delighted to find out that "What's Cooking with Kim O'Donnel" has been promoted on the Sydney Morning Herald. -Eleanor

Big Question: I have a feature that I want, badly!

I would love to see a list of all the questions that were NOT answered posted at the end of the discussion.

Much like watching Ari evade questions at a news conference, I think there is as much value in seeing what people don't answer as what they do.

Can we please have this? Or at least a good selection of fair questions that were not answered?

The Live Online Staff: This is a feature that you're probably not going to see happen. While similar, live discussions are not press conferences. That is why we make a point of defining our discussions as "moderated" and not as "chats" or "press conferences."

The difference being that the producers have control over the flow of a discussion and the direction it takes so that guests can effectively answer a range of questions in a short amount of time. That way, we're not losing time on questions that are either repetitive or insulting -- which, by the way, are the two biggest reasons a question won't get asked.

Again, it all boils us down to putting our editorial judgment to work. -- Liz

For Liz, about Tom: I've always wanted to know, do you get dinners or lunches out at swanky restaurants when Tom is working on a review?

The Live Online Staff: I'm waiting... (Tom, you out there?). -- Liz

Washington, D.C.: Why oh why doesn't Dr Gridlock have a regular chat?

The Live Online Staff: Not everyone wants one. -- Lisa

The Live Online Staff: Where are the mean questions? It's like a big love fest in here. -- Lisa.

EraserheadGuy, D.C.: Re: My omnipresence. If Charlotte knows that I participate in a “huge” number of chats, then obviously he/she also is not keeping the nose to the grindstone.

Have you folks done a study on productivity lost through perusing LiveOnline?

The Live Online Staff: Good eye EGuy.

I can't imagine that people would actually skip out on work to log onto our discussions. I mean, you people are all on your lunch breaks when you participate right?

-Meredith

Fairfax, Va.: Lisa,

How often do you shave that lip?

The Live Online Staff: Now, see? That's what I'm talkin' about. -- Lisa.

Maryland: Does Gene make f**t noises?

Feel free to edit! Perhaps, I should have send does he make flatulence noises to spook you guys?

And, Do you huys have a gang? You could call yourselves The Producers and make a bundle promoting a musical about Nazis.

The Live Online Staff: Um, I'll ask Liz about Gene's noises. Liz? -- Lisa

I don't know about his noises, but I'd like to say for the record that I do wear pants when producing his discussions, no matter what he says. -- Liz

As for the gang part, we ride our Harleys together on the weekends and sing "Springtime for Hitler." -- Lisa (there's a reason I don't do comedy)

Washington, D.C.: I think that soccer player Ben Olson from DC United set the record recently for the longest Live Online session... he was great! Why was he's on longer than the 1 hour normal session -- because soccer players go for 90 minutes?

The Live Online Staff: Joel Achenbach once professed a desire to do an eight hour marathon show. (not it on producing that one!)

But some guests who are having a really good time want to stay on longer. As Lisa said earlier, guests are often pleasantly suprised with the great questions we get and stay engaged well past the hour time limit. -- Liz

Alexandria, Va.: You didn't answer a previous poster's question about IP addresses--I'm curious too. Can you tell what computer or connection a particular response is coming from?

The Live Online Staff: We rely on readers to supply location information. -- Lisa.

Washington, D.C.: Have you tried to line up any big-hitters from the administration -- Powell (Mr. Internet Diplomacy), Rumsfeld (Mr. Transformation), Ashcroft (Mr. ?), even "W" himself?

The Live Online Staff: Every day. -- Lisa.

Beltsville, Md.: When you host a regular show - whether Bob's, Marc's, Carolyn's, etc. - do you interact (talk, email) with them during the week, or do you only have contact during your regular hour?

I ask only because some producers and hosts seemed to have such a fluid relationship, and it's really impressive to think they can match so well only one hour a week.

The Live Online Staff: I think communication is the basis of a firm host/producer relationship. It's not surprising that either the hosts or the producers are too busy to meet each other during the week due to busy schedules. However, as producers, we do our best to call or e-mail our hosts to talk about their next discussion, scheduling changes, to brainstorm new topic ideas or just to check up on how they are doing.

However, I do think it is important to occasionally meet our hosts. It's nice to have that face-to-face time and when I do meet some of my regulars (like Abigail Trafford). The communication and relationship also helps the fluidity and better understanding of what goes on the the web side and print side of the Washington Post. -Eleanor

Forestville, Md.: mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah. I think there are enough kisses for each of you.

The Live Online Staff: Never enough, but thanks. -Meredith

Arlington, Va.: Why are you wasting your time with such a self-serving discussion? Would anyone watch an episode of the West Wing about the cameramen and key grips? Didn't think so.

The Live Online Staff: Umm, you're here, right? We're not here to talk about us, although a little of that gets through, but to solicit your feedback about the live discussions, take suggestions and answer any questions readers have about how these discussions work. We get a lot of process questions in the course of our normal discussions and since the Marc Fisher or Federal Diary Live discussion isn't the place to answer questions about this stuff, we thought we'd do this once. -- Liz

Hate Mail: I've been racking my brain, trying to think of something to criticize you guys and gals about, but I'm clueless. I think most others are too. Live Online was ahead of its time when it began, and to a degree, it still is. I do not enjoy following online chats in other forums, perhaps its because post.com is the vanguard of this programming. Or perhaps I'm just obsessed because I work in front of a computer everday.

The Live Online Staff: Awww, shucks. -- Liz

Fairfax, Va.: Do those annoying posts that begin with "I've asked you this question six times already and you've ignored me" actually catch your attention/sympathy and improve the chances of one's question being selected?

The Live Online Staff: No. We also don't care to know when your next meeting is or when you will get back from your meeting. Most of the time, we have already sent your question(s) over to the guest to answer. However, it's up to the guest to decide what he/she wants to answer. So, please -- we do not show any favoritism when we send the questions over to the guest and sending in your question FIVE times or more won't help your chances. -Eleanor

Reston, Va.: Does HTML markup make it through the submission process?

The Live Online Staff: It does. When it comes through to us, it's broken, but we can fix it. Software. It's a feature, not a quirk. -- Lisa.

Herndon, Va.: When will we be able to do searches in archived chats? It's very frustrating to have to manually search through years worth of travel or food chats.

Thanks!

The Live Online Staff: We hope to have searchable archives for you in the near future. For now, you can do an advanced search in google: type what you're looking for, then limit the search to the domain "discuss.washingtonpost.com" -- Liz

Ballston, Va.: OK, Kim O'Donnel has her chat -and- is producer of the Travel Talk, right? Any other producers eager to take on a weekly topic? Loved Merideth's "Star Wars" chats -- what other passions are the rest of you hiding?

The Live Online Staff: Kim actually worked in the Live Online department for a while so she is a pro.

Sketch comedy, samurai films and guitar -Meredith

Ska, garage music and my dogs -Liz

Edamame and coffee -Eleanor

No comment -Lisa

Washington, D.C.: First, you guys rock!

Second, how do you interact with guests that are chatting? Do they have to be at a computer, or can you do these chats by phone?

Do all of the "regulars" use computers, but some celebrities "phone-in" the chat?

If so, what are some of the difficulties with a phone chat as opposed to someone at a computer?

The Live Online Staff: First, thanks. You rock too.

Second, it depends. Some guests are more comfortable behind a computer keyboard than others. So, depending on the guest we may provide them instructions for actively answering the questions via computer or we will take dictation from the guest and type answers in for him. Similarly, some guests are more comfortable with the Internet than others, so some recognize the opportunity to elaborate in a way that a traditional article might not allow. Others still view it as akin to a radio interview and give clipped responses. We encourage these guests to elaborate. We think of Live Onlines as value-added content for our readers and as insta-FAQs on any given subject that retain a value far after the live discussion has ended. -- Liz.

Regulars type for themselves. Lots and lots of people phone in. We've done shows with members of Congress who were on their cell phones on the way to fundraisers; senators driving (you know who you are); musicians, actors or policy folks in their hotel rooms. One guest was on his cell phone while grocery shopping. Sometimes people are at home and we hear pets and kids in the background. We're happy they can share some of their time with us. Only difficulty I have is not being able to type fast enough. -- Lisa

Hey, Arlington, Va.: Yes, I would watch an interview with the camera guys and other backstage people on West Wing. It's fasinating and under-appreciated, what they do. Ditto the specifics of how an online show is produced. Guess not all of us are celebrity-obsessed and actually want to learn about stuff around us. But hey, thanks for playing.

The Live Online Staff: Just passing this along... -- Liz

Somewhere, USA: Sounds like you're hedging on whether you can tell the submitters' locations when they ask questions. Let's try it another way: Do you use or sell lists of submitters' locations for marketing purposes?

The Live Online Staff: Absolutely not, see our privacy policy.

Some of us are online all day: Those of us in the Internet biz are online all day. I can keep discussions going for hours in the corner of my computer screen, and get all my work done. Doesn't hurt that I'm co-owner.... I can get away with it and know that the boss doesn't mind.

What do y'all HATE about us? You must have gripes. What can we do to make your life easier?

The Live Online Staff: Keep in mind what we edit: We don't like questions in ALL CAPS, have multiple ellipsis (...), exclamation points (!!!) and question marks (???) and the OOOOOOOHHH or AAAAAAAH multiple-lettered words. Also, please try to include your city and state -- we edit these entries according to the Post's style for state abbreviations.

We also don't like people who say "I know you are too scared to take this question" and people who don't use caps at all.

By the way, insults will never get through. - El

Washington, D.C.: How about having some more op-ed writers, e.g., George Will, Michael Kelly (his "Presidents/Monsters" piece today was wacko), Charles Krauthammer, Richard Cohen, etc. Perhaps you've already asked them?

The Live Online Staff: Good point, this is an area of our coverage that we are working to beef up. -- Liz

Washington, D.C.: Is Lisa really 50 years old? Or is that just a rumor?

The Live Online Staff: A rumor. It just feels that way. -- Lisa.

Arlington, Va.: Producers as Hosts: Joe Heim and Fritz Hahn also produce chats (David Segal's and Eric Brace's, respectively) as well as serving as Going Out Gurus. And the Gurus take turns producing their chats.

The Live Online Staff: Righto. -- Liz

Arlington, Va.: Are any of the Going Out Gurus single?

The Live Online Staff: This falls into that "inappropriate" category. -- Lisa.

Lorton, Va.: Figures, I've always wanted to see a discussion with the editors, so it's the day I'm off site.
Ah well. So, if you're all here chatting, who's producing?

The Live Online Staff: That is what the archives are for, my friend. -- Liz

Re: "Are any of the Gurus single?": That's why we don't put our pictures online

-- The 11th Floor.

The Live Online Staff: There you go.

Somewhere, USA: What can you tell us about Marty Gallagher? I find him very interesting.

The Live Online Staff: Marty is true and pure fitness. He lives by the mantra - no pain, no gain. He doesn't believe in any magical fitness or diet pills. I also hear he has an annual outdoor barbecue for weightlifters in W. Va. For those who want to know -- Grillman is his friend. I also here he plays racketball too. Marty's wife is also a fitness guru. She can tell you how to do proper squats and "21" bicep curls. -Eleanor

Somewhere, USA:: Lost in the Back of the Room: The whole chat concept revolves around a reasonably small group of
people discussing stuff, with follow-up questions, back and forth conversation, all that. Most of your
"chats" are so popular that most people don't get their questions addressed (at least that's my experience
-- maybe it's just me). Even when I get air time there's no chance for follow-up. The only chats that are
truly chats are on topics no one cares about -- give a Smithsonian curator an hour to answer questions
about the wonders of kelp and we could probably engage in the online version of phone sex without
anyone noticing. So what's the cure for chat not really being chat?

The Live Online Staff: Yep, it can be frustrating to send in a question and not receive an answer -- or not have time to get in a follow-up. We understand that and make every effort to make sure the guests fully address valid questions. But, that said, many of our discussions receive hundreds of questions and the guests have a limited time in which to answer them, while still trying to answer them well. -- Liz

You've hit exactly on the distinction between "chats" and discussions. These are moderated Q&As -- and sometimes we just can't get to all the questions. But we try to make sure there's a representative sample in front of the guests. Bob Woodward comes on, and he always gets a million "Who's Deep Throat?" questions. Legit, certainly. But he can't answer it 100 times. So we pick one, get it on the record, get it out of the way and move the discussion on. -- Lisa.

The Live Online Staff: Thanks for all your great questions. We're out of here, but remember you can send any future comments to

The Live Online Staff: webnews@washingtonpost.com.

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