One of the things newspapers are doing much better today than when I first got into this business three decades ago is engaging readers in a conversation about what they do – or, for that matter, don’t do.

Much of the reason for that is technological, of course – there was no Internet, e-mail, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter and the like back in the late 1970s.

Today, there is no end to the ways consumers can interact with newspapers and staff. A day doesn’t go by where we don’t hear from readers by phone, e-mail, online comment or forums, or other devices about something in that day’s newspaper or the paper in general.

And for an Opinion page editor, that is decidedly a good thing. That’s why over the years I have tried to communicate with readers through columns such as this one, my (much too inactive) blog, the periodic creation of reader and voter advisory committees, and our Reader Advisory Network.

Come Tuesday, I will add another one: live chat.

Two weeks ago, Damon Kiesow, our managing editor/online, played guinea pig to our first venture into live chat by hosting a “Lunch with the Editor” on Feb. 19 from noon-1 p.m. with the help of live blog software created by CoveritLive.

This was the equivalent of a “soft launch” – Damon posted the notice online about three hours before the start, so it wasn’t surprising that only a small handful of readers took him up on the opportunity.

Still, he ended up taking questions on what the reporters were working on for the next day, the popularity of our Twitter feed and whether we had a Facebook page (we do), among a few others.

On Tuesday of last week, Executive Editor Dave Solomon took his turn in the hot seat. Among the questions he responded to were the duplication of some stories between The Telegraph and The Cabinet, reporting on police activities outside of Merrimack and Nashua, and a suggestion to pursue a story related to Comcast and the December ice storm.

Next up: Me. I’ll be taking questions Tuesday from noon-1 p.m. during our third installment of “Lunch with the Editor.”

I’m hoping it will be an opportunity to answer any questions you might have about the inner workings of our Opinion section: who are the people who serve on our editorial board, how we go about reaching our editorial positions, or things you would like to see – or not see – in either the print or online versions of our Opinion section, for example.

Personally, I would prefer not to spend much time engaged in a back-and-forth on why we took the position we did on a particular issue, primarily because I’m not sure this is the best forum to do it. Besides, I’m hoping to answer as many questions as possible during that 60-minute period.

If you missed either of the first two or don’t think you’ll be free to participate in mine, no need to worry. You can read the full transcripts by going to http://chat.nashuatelegraph.com.

At the moment, we plan to make these “Lunch with the Editors” a regular Tuesday feature in that noon-1 p.m. time slot. Looking ahead, readers will have the opportunity to converse with Business Editor Ashley Smith, Lifestyle Editor Deidre Ashe, Metro Editor Jonathan Van Fleet, Sports Editor Alan Greenwood, Community News Editor Deb Cad and Encore Editor Donna Roberson.

Hope to hear from you Tuesday at noon.

Texas two-step

As you may have noted, longtime Sunday columnist Paul Sylvain bids readers farewell today, now that he has relocated permanently to his adopted Texas.

Paul’s column has appeared in that space once a month on a rotating basis for the past seven years, covering a broad selection of topics – some issue-related, some personal.

We wish him and his family well in the Lone Star State; if you would like to do the same, you can reach him at paul.sylvain@yahoo.com. I’m sure he would love to hear from you.

Nick Pappas is editorial page editor at The Telegraph. He can be reached at 594-6505 or npappas@nashuatelegraph.com.