Chat Tips

This area is for tips on using our chat room, and do not include specific instructions relating to Terms of Service & Guidelines.

Please read the Terms of Service and Guidelines before using the room.

• How much Personal Info should I give out?
• The Monitor
• Report Trouble
• Why is the Chat room moderated?
• How do I Log-in?
• How do I Log-out?
• Problems Logging-in
• How do I log into another room?
• How do I activate Private Chat?
• Why does “bumping” occur?
• What can I do if there is a “trouble-maker” in Chat?
• What if my user name is not accepted?
• What is the Life and the Truth Room?
• Why are some names in the room not “chatting”?
• Why is there a password?
• Various keystroke symbols
• Abbreviations Explanation

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PERSONAL INFO: It is wise to not give out personal information such as location, email address, phone number or even your real first and last name to any chat user until you are entirely convinced that the person is “safe”. Since we do not carry a registration of all users, please be very wise in this matter and use your discretion. Never give out the personal information of another user.

THE MONITOR: Occasionally, there is a monitor in the room. The monitor is there for your protection and to deal with various situations that come up in chat according to the stated purpose of the room. Please respect all requests made by the monitor.

REPORT TROUBLE/HARASSMENT BUTTON: There is a link on the top bar (Report Trouble) of the chat login page that connects to a form where you can report any trouble in the room. An administrator will come to the room as soon as possible to expel the person causing trouble. Please be aware that the room is not monitored 100% of the time, nor is there a moderator always available to come to the room. If a moderator does not come, please click “Ignore User.” You can use this for several people.

MODERATED: The room is open from 7 AM to 2 AM Eastern time. It is not fully moderated. At scheduled times the room has a Host, Hostess, co-host or Moderator. Moderators, hosts and hostesses often stop by during open chat as well. This allows for administrative control of the room in making transcripts, dealing with troublemakers, and helping the discussion stay on track.

LOGGING IN: Type in your chosen nickname, and click connect. You will be taken to the chat room. Type in the bar at the bottom of the chat window, and you are chatting!

LOGGING OUT: You will see a toolbar area below the type bar area where your messages are typed. Click on the red arrows on the far right to log-off. (They will turn green.) To log back in, click on the arrows again.

PROBLEMS LOGGIN IN: Please be aware that your browser requires Updated Java (software that runs our chat room) to enable you to use our room. If you do not have this software, your browser may display an empty box on your screen and may prompt you to download the software. If you wish to use the chatroom, please choose “yes” when asked if you want to download either of the above. The download will take anywhere from a few minutes (on a fast cable or office connection) to several hours (on an older modem).

Also, check to see that you have updated your Windows version, your browser (Explorer or Netscape) and try closing all other programs when you chat, in order to conserve RAM memory. If you continue to have difficulty in logging in, you may want to try rebooting your computer to make more RAM memory available.

LOGGING-IN TO THE OTHER ROOMS: To log-in to the Life, click on the link that displays that name. A new window should open up that indicates which room you are in. Enter a user name and click connect. Note: The Truth room may only be open at designated times.

PRIVATE CHAT: For safety purposes, general use of the private chat feature is currently disabled. Hosts, monitors and administrators in the room may use PC to address an individual chatter as needed. Please respect any request made of you by an administrator using private chat. You will be unable to respond in PC to the administrator. If a response or explanation is needed, you may use the chat-feedback form to contact the site administration.

BUMPING: Bumping (or getting unknowingly, unwillingly kicked off chat) seems to be the result of traffic on the internet. The more traffic, the more likely there is to be small pauses in a connection. Even a small pause, can break your connection and thus boot you out of chat. Also, if you click on any link from the chat room, you will be booted out, so your server can connect you to that link.

TROUBLEMAKERS: Occasionally, we have troublemakers in the room. If a Moderator is not present, select the name of the person and check “ignore” user box. That way, you can still chat, but you cannot see anything they say. Remember, they can see everything you say. This will work for multiple users if you select each user name, and click “ignore”. (To “un-ignore”, click their name and “allow”—the ignore button changes to say “ignore” or “allow” depending on what you have selected for a user)

USER NAME: If your user name is not accepted it could be too long, used by someone else at the time you are attempting to log in OR protected by a password. Other than that, most user names are accepted.

WHAT IS THE LIFE & THE TRUTH:
The Life is for men and women, and has various sessions with an emphasis on Spirituality. While The Truth room is for prayer and other scheduled sessions. And only open at designated times. Please refer to the calendar under each room for a schedule of sessions for the current month.

SOME NAMES NOT CHATTING: Many users come to the room and do not join in. They are often new and are just observing. Sometimes, if they do not log off properly, their name still appears, but they are not present. Observers are always welcome. Feel free to invite them to participate, but do not “badger” them to do so.

PASSWORD: The password option only works for administrators.

CHAT ABBREVIATIONS:
AFK - away from keyboard
BBL - be back later
BRB - be right back
BTW - by the way
CC - carbon copy
CUL8R - see you later
FAQ - frequently asked question
FWIW - for what it’s worth
FYI - for your information
IMHO - in my humble opinion
IMO - in my opinion
IOW - in other words
LOL - laughing out loud
OTOH - on the other hand
PMJI - pardon me for jumping in
RE - regarding
ROFL - rolling on the floor laughing
TIA - Thanks in advance
TTFN - tata for now
WRT - with respect to
YMMV - Your mileage may vary (you may get different results)

ICON KEYSTROKES AND WHAT THEY MEAN:
: -) colon, hyphen, right parenthesis = smile
semi-colon, hypen, right parenthesis =wink
: -( colon, hyphen, left parenthesis = frown
colon, hypen, capital D= laughing
:’-O colon, apostrophe, hypen, capital O = crying
colon, hyphen, lowercase o =surprised
: -O colon, hyphen, capital O = very surprised
:-* colon, hyphen, asterisk = a kiss for you
colon, hyphen, capital P= sticking out your tongue