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Using
ConferenceRoom Chat
The
instructions below apply to the WebBoard Java chat client. The commands
will also apply to any IRC client. The most commonly used IRC clients
are mIRC
for Windows (obtainable from Tucows)
and IRCLE (obtainable from ircle.com)
for Macs.
What
is ConferenceRoom Chat?
The standard
for real-time chat on the Internet is Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
WebBoard includes a fully functional IRC server and client, ConferenceRoom
Professional from WebMaster, Inc. In general, IRC supports a variety
of chat client programs with a wide range of features.
The ConferenceRoom client that comes with WebBoard is a Java applet
that starts in your browser. It enters you automatically in the
chat room you select from the Chat Rooms list. Using the Java client,
you can send public and private messages to the other members in
the room (also called a channel). You can also change your nickname,
find out more about others in the room, and change the current topic
(if allowed by the channel operator).
In addition,
you can join a ConferenceRoom chat using any other IRC-compliant
client such as PIRCH or mIRC. These clients offer more features
including sound, file transfers, logging, connections to multiple
IRC servers or chat rooms at the same time, and much more.
Floating
the Chat Client
You can have
the Java chat client run in a separate window, which leaves your
browser free for other use, such as viewing URLs posted during the
discussion.
To chat in
a separate window, follow these steps:
1. To float
the window, simply click the Float link on the page that contains
the chat client.
2. To return
the chat window to its original position in your browser, click
its close button. Running separately, the chat window stays open
until you close your browser.
Changing
Your Nickname
When you enter
a chat room, WebBoard automatically uses your real name or login
name as your ConferenceRoom nickname.
To change your
nickname during a chat session, do the following:
1. Enter the
following command in the input field at the bottom of the chat client:
/nick new_nickname
where new_nickname
is what you want to be known by. Note that the nickname can't
have spaces. Use underscores instead of spaces, if you like.
2. Press Return.
If someone else
is using that nickname, a message appears in the left column telling
you it is in use. Enter another name, as described in step 1.
Nicknames
must be unique across all chat rooms, so even though the name
doesn't
show up in your current rooms list, it means someone else chatting on this WebBoard
site is using that name.
If no one else
is using the name, a message is sent to the room that your name
has changed, and your new nickname appears in the users list. Your
new nickname is good until you change it or leave the chat room.
Sending
a Message
Whenever you
have something to add to the chat conversation, you can send a message.
Simply type your message in the input field and press Return. The
input field scrolls so you can enter a longer message. Your message
appears to everyone else in the chat room, in the scrolling message
frame.
Using
Commands
With commands,
you can change your nickname, send messages about what you are feeling
or doing, set a topic for discussion, and find out about other users.
All commands begin with a /, such as /nick. Some commands have only
one argument (such as new_nickname), while others require more arguments,
such as another user's nickname or a chat room name. To issue
a command, you type it in the input box and press Return.
Whispering
to Other Users in the Room
Sometimes when
you are in a group conversation, you want to say something just
to one other person. You can do this in a chat room by whispering
to a specific person. You send a message to that person, and no
one else in the room sees it. That person can also whisper back,
if he wants to. Your whispers are shown in blue to distinguish them
from other parts of the conversation. To whisper to someone, follow
these steps:
1. Click the
user's nickname in the User list. A red box around the user's
name indicates you are whispering. As long as that user is selected,
all your messages are sent only to that user and not to the whole
room. If that person wants to whisper back, he or she must select
your nickname from the user list on his or her client.
2. To stop whispering,
click the user's name again to remove the red box. Now any
messages you type are shown to the whole room.
Sending
Messages to Other Users or Rooms
ConferenceRoom
has two commands for sending messages to specific users or rooms.
The users can be in the same chat room you are in or in another
room at your WebBoard site (even across different boards). The room
can be the current one or another one at this site. Being able to
send messages to other users and rooms is handy.
The two commands produce slightly different results, which differ
depending on the recipient's client software. The two commands
have similar syntax, as follows:
/msg
nickname message
This command
requires the nickname of another user and a message, for example:
/msg
Fred are you around?
If Fred is in
any chat room, he receives the message. In the Java client, the
message appears as a whisper. In a PIRCH client, this command opens
a separate, private chat window through which he can communicate
with you.
/notice
#eatingout Come join our discussion of restaurants in #cooking!
Everyone in
the other chat room sees the message. In the Java client, the message
appears in a different color from the normal conversation text.
Including
Nonverbal Comments
ConferenceRoom
chat supports two commands to let you insert nonverbal comments
to the conversation. These are also called action comments, since
you normally use them to express an action rather than a verbal
response. These commands both work the same and produce the same
results, as follows:
/action action message
for example:
/action
is falling off the chair laughing
which produces
the following message (action is replaced by the user's nickname):
Skippy
is falling off the chair laughing
The second command
works the same way, but might be a bit easier to remember:
/me
action message
for example:
/me
shrugs her shoulders
which produces
the following message (me is replaced by the user's nickname,
Helen):
Helen
shrugs her shoulders
In the Java
client, an action message is displayed in a different color and
starts with an asterisk (*).
Finding
Information About Other Users
You can quickly
get information about other users who are currently in chat. This
information can be helpful for tracking where someone comes from,
what their real (or login) name is, and what ConferenceRoom privileges
they have. There are two commands for finding this information,
as follows:
/who
This command
shows you information about a specific user or all current chat
users:
/who
[nickname]
For example:
/who
gives information
about all users, including their real login names and their domain
names.
/who
Sue
gives information
about the user Sue, including her real login name and domain name.
/whois
This command
gives you more detailed information about a specific user and requires
a nickname:
/whois
nickname
For example:
/whois
Sue
gives the same
information as the /who command as well as what rooms she is in
and how long it has been since she communicated with the server.
Leaving
a Chat Room
You can leave
a chat room at any time and keep your chat client open. To do so,
enter this command:
/part
You will be
removed from the chat room, but the client stays open so you can
easily rejoin the same or another chat room.
Leaving
Chat
To completely
leave ConferenceRoom chat, simply click the Close button on the
chat client or enter the following command:
/quit
This ends your
chat session and returns the Java client to its login status. You
can reenter the same chat room at any time by clicking Connect.
If you want
to leave a goodbye message type, e.g.,
/quit
see you next week!
More
information from New
IRC Users.com
Further
Tutorials
How to participate via email
Beginner's
intro to the WebBoard Community
How
to include hyperlinks in your posts
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