People regularly ask me how they can get “into” the TLC.

Some people ask me “What IS the TLC?” That’s sort of hard to answer. Maybe a quick way would be to ask “What IS the Matrix?”

The TLC is about participation. As many have said it’s about “coming out of the lurk”. You’ve watched content from a variety of channels but now you want to play instead of just watching others play. Where to start.

Level 1: You Want to Play (come out of the lurk)

Many people begin with the Bridges of Meaning Discord server.

Here is a link that may or may not work. These links time-out automatically. When I had a permanent link bots would infiltrate the server so now I have to manually refresh them. https://discord.gg/rCp9pmzm

If the link is bad the best way to prompt me to refresh it is to go onto my latest video, leave a comment saying the link isn’t working and I’ll post a new one in the notes on upcoming videos. Or find a friend already on the server and ask them for an invite.

One of the best ways to start is to look for the live voice/video chats available on the server. If text based chatting isn’t your thing then look for a “room” with people in it chatting together. Look especially for Tayo who is a fixture in the corner. He’ll be glad you came and welcome you.

In my experience Discord works well for people who play a lot of video games and are comfortable with the platform. Most “normies” are not. My recommendation for many “normal” people is to jump into a livestream on some of the TLC (or affiliated or intentionally unaffiliated) channels and strike up conversations with people.

For instructions on how to “jump into” one of these channels:

• Subscribe to one or all of the channels listed below that livestream regularly
• YouTube should notify you when they are livestreaming
• Go to the channel while they are livestreaming and look for “the link” in the live chat on the right hand side. Often they will “pin” the link to the top of the livestreaming livechat.
• That link should open up a program called “streamyard” on your phone or computer. Depending on the channel setting you might need to be logged into Youtube in order to participate.
• Streamyard will ask you to configure you camera and microphone on your computer or device and put in a name to go by on the stream.
• If you are on a computer Streamyard probably opened up a new browser tab for the streamyard session. You should close or mute the tab that was running the Youtube livestream otherwise you’ll get an echo because of the slight delay that YouTube is one.
• Make sure your camera is on your face. You’ll see it in streamyard. Most TLC channels won’t let you onto the livestream unless you are showing your face, especially if you’re new.
• You will be held “backstage” until the person running the stream decides to let you in. They will probably ask you to introduce yourself, tell how you found the channel and what you have to contribute to the conversation.

1. A good channel to subscribe to that regularly hosts TLC open streaming is Grail Country https://www.youtube.com/@grailcountry run by two TLC stalwarts Nate Hile and Shari Suter.

As you’ll find many of the different channels have different cultures and different perspectives. Each channel and host have their own personalities and interests. You’ll probably have to try a few to find one that best matches your interests and perspectives.

There is no set pattern to when many of these channels stream. You just have to subscribe to the channels on YouTube, watch a bit of some of their videos and YouTube will probably prompt you when they are livestreaming.

You can often find Luke Thompson https://www.youtube.com/@WhiteStoneName streaming both on Grail Country and his own channel simultaneously. Luke will often begin with some thoughts and ideas based on what he’s been thinking about and then he’ll “open it up” or “drop the link. Luke most regularly streams in morning hours in North America.

2. Another regular channel that you can jump into a stream on is by Chad “the alcoholic” or “the dad”. His channel name is “The Friday Morning Nameless” https://www.youtube.com/@thefridaymorningnameless7623

Chad very regularly livestreams, similar to the style of Luke Thompson on mornings before he goes to work. He also regularly holds “Not Estuary” streams by invitation. You’ll get a sense for what Estuary is (https://estuaryhub.com) which is an offline relative of “the TLC”.

As with many other channel level players in the TLC he streams when he feels like it and depending on his meat-space schedule/availability.

3. A key ship in the flotilla that is the TLC is the channel of General Grizwald Grim of the First Larp Ingression Protocol. https://www.youtube.com/@GrimGriz

You won’t catch a link regularly but he streams very regularly. His is a foundational channel in “the corner” in that he’s the source of a lot of memetic language that people “in the corner” like to use. He has pioneered a lot of the liturgies of the corner.

4. I mostly run my livestreams on Fridays at 10am Pacific. https://www.youtube.com/@paulvanderklay

The first Friday of the month I do a Question and Answer livestream from questions left on the Bridges of Meaning discord.

Other Fridays I am often livestreaming and will “drop the link” depending on what topic I am discussing. Because my channel is a bit larger it’s a bit tougher to find space for conversation on a livestream on my channel, although not impossible. There is more room on some of the other channels for more open conversation.

5. Clara is a recent addition to the corner. She is a PhD student at Notre Dame studying Sociology. She got introduced to the corner by “Sour Dough Neil” in a coffee shop and is studying the corner while participating in it. She will run livestreams that you can participate in. https://www.youtube.com/@clarafications

6. Mark D. Parker is also a recent addition to the corner. He’s been using YouTube to contribute to the corner and he often runs livestreams. https://www.youtube.com/@MarkDParker

7. Father Eric Seitz is a wonderful Roman Catholic priest and he regularly streams on Sunday evenings. https://www.youtube.com/@fatherbigmac He’ll stream sporadically at other hours so again, subscribe to his channel and look for YouTube to signal that he is streaming.

If you consider yourself part of the TLC and you do stream regularly or on a schedule let me know in the comment section below with the relevant information and I’ll consider adding you to the list.

8. The oldest and most reliable (in terms of frequency) channel to find “Just Chatting” on is from Jacob Faturechi. https://www.youtube.com/@faturechi

Jacob pioneered using Streamyard to “just chat” with people. He shared with me his vision for a 24/7 TLC “channel” (or really “metachannel”) where people could find TLC content all year round.

Depending on his work schedule he’ll livestream a lot and a lot of hours and it’s fairly easy to jump in and have a conversation. Ask Jacob a question and you’ll know exactly what he thinks especially about religion, politics and mental health. You can find his not-for-profit agency at https://www.fountainofcomfort.org/

Jacob also is often willing to host others who want to livestream. You’ll find other often Jewish livestreamers on his channel and they have open links to join.

9. Mark Lefebvre has a channel “Navigating Patterns” https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingPatterns and he often livestreams on Friday afternoons.

There are many other channels in the corner that create videos that are watched and discussed but these channels above are ones that regularly and reliably “drop a link” and let you come out into the conversation.

Do a Randos Converzation

Another way to “come out of the lurk” is to tell your story on a TLC channel. I started this with the “randos” conversations and you can find a large back catalogue of them on my channel. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYSXopxC8Z9uJtevXpjtLAupbvLWggN4b

I still do Randos Converzations but I don’t have the time I used to to do them. You can find more information here. https://paulvanderklay.me/2019/08/06/converzations-with-pvk/ The slots will look mostly full. I often release them on Mondays for the next Wednesday.

There are some other channels that regularly host “randos” style conversations. You may be able to contact the owner of those channels and talk them into hosting you and your story.

1. Christian Baxter has been carrying the load of a lot of conversations recently. https://www.youtube.com/@christianbaxter_yt You can find a wealth of conversations on his channel. If you want in and have a compelling story he might be able to give you some visibility.
2. Karen Wong’s Meaning Code Channel has long hosted high and low profile voices “in the corner”. https://www.youtube.com/@TheMeaningCode Her channel is very much a learning project for her so you might have to work a bit harder to convince her to give you her time but you’ll also find a lot of very interesting conversations on her channel.
3. Chad is often very open to hearing new voices. Contact him for a chance. https://www.youtube.com/@thefridaymorningnameless7623
4. Grizwald Grim may also do a Fringe Encounter if you have a good enough story. https://www.youtube.com/@GrimGriz

Level 2: Join the Flotilla

This involves not just joining livestreams and conversations but hosting them and/or creating content.

Here’s Chris did it.

Some people may be more interested in creating content and putting it out there to see what catches. Others might be more interested in hosting livestreams.

Get a streamyard account. Here is an affiliate link of mine. https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5156711990820864

You’ll have to do some setup. It would be helpful to have some presence online, some face or name recognition first, and then create a stream, best a regularly scheduled time, so that others can jump on.

Then grow it.

Chad was a good example of someone who wanted to “be a part of this” and has built his place in the TLC from the ground up. It has take skill, hard work and determination but his has become a crucial channel in “the corner”. https://www.youtube.com/@thefridaymorningnameless7623

Different people in the corner function in different ways within the corner. It is an ecosystem really more than an institution.

Try your hand at something and figure out how to make what you have to offer and indispensible part of the community.