What they say vs. what they mean

I happened to wander through a website that I visit periodically and discovered that a chat was being held tonight.  My worst problem with chats is that I get started doing something else and promptly forget until the chat is either in session or has finished!  So, I THOUGHT it said that all of these authors would be there and I have read books by several of them so I thought I'd stick my nose into the chatroom...and then I only saw about 10 names listed.  None of which I recognized as an author.  So I left and looked again at the notice for the chat to make sure I was in the right place.  Then I returned to the chatroom.  Well, one author showed up and was actually delightful but none of the names that I recognized were present.  Further investigation reveals that the authors are "invited" but that doesn't mean they will actually be there.  I will have to learn how to interpret these things better.  I did enjoy the chat and I will be looking at the future schedule but I think it might be better if they actually say that the author MIGHT be present.  Just a thought.