FAQ;
How do I change my Name, Picture and Home Page?
Click Your Name at the top of the visitor list on the right.
How can I stay safe online?
Go to
http://xat.com/safety.html for more information.
What do the colors on the visitors and friends lists mean?
Green is guest, red is offline, gold is owner, silver is moderator, blue is member, grey is ignored and brown is banned. Some xat staff accounts have a black icon.
Who's name appears higher on the visitors list?
The names that appear first on the visitors list are due to an "Order of operations". Here is the order
1. Being you: You'll always appear highest on the visitors list to yourself.
2. Marriage/BFF: People who are married/bff will always appear together on the visitors list.
3. Status: People with higher status will appear higher on the visitors list. The status from highest to lowest is: Main Owner, Owner, Moderator, Member, Guest, Banned, Offline.
4. Friends: People that you've added as friends will appear higher on the visitors list.
5. Topman: If someone has the Topman power, they will appear above everybody else in their rank (example guests with topman appear over other guests) See the Powers page for more information about powers.
6. On xat/online: Users who are "On xat" (Meaning on a page from
www.xat.com) will appear higher than people who are on an external site that contains a xat chat.
7. Registered: Users who are Registered will appear higher than users who aren't.
8. ID: People with a lower ID on the chat will appear higher on the visitors list.
Sending a Message
To send a message type it into the message entry box at the bottom of the chat box. The message will be sent to the other people in the chat room when you press the return key.
Visitor List
The visitor list is a list of people that are currently chatting in the room. Each name has a person symbol next to it and the color indicates their status. Green is online, red is off-line, gold is owner, silver is moderator, blue is member, grey is ignored and brown is banned.
When you send a message your person in the visitor / friend list will glow green to indicate you are talking. When others send messages you will be able to see their person glow as well.
Smilies
Smilies are pictures that can be added to messages. You can add smiles but either clicking the mouse on one of the default smiles above the message entry box or by using the code for the smilie. E.g. : - ) is the code for the standard yellow smilie. There are lots of additional smiles that are not part of the standard set that can be found at
http://xat.com/help?ss=5 Anytime you are on a chat page, an you want to display the full list of smilies (besides the subscriber smilies) look to the left of the chat box, above the red x is a tiny icon with four little smilies on it, clicking that icon will bring up the smilie list, then simply click on a smilie an the code for that smilie will appear in your text box. If you want the code so you can manually type in the code yourself just hover over the smilie you want the code for.
Receiving/Sending a Private Message
A private message appears in the chat window but has only been sent to one person. It is like being in a room full of people and whispering something to someone that you only want them to hear. If you see a message that has a gold padlock next to it, that person has sent you a private message that only you will see. You may wish to respond to this message by sending them a private reply.
To send a private message to another user, click on their name in either the chat or the visitor list. On the menu that pops up, click on *Private Message* and a large padlock will appear on the left side of the text box. This indicates that the next message you send will be a private message.
Starting/Responding to a Private Chat
A private chat is a conversation with only one person; it is like leaving a room full of people and finding a private room to talk in. When you are sent a private chat message a tab will appear with the senders name on it under the message window. It will flash to indicate a new message and the speech bubble will remain green to show that you have not read it yet. Click on the tab and you will be in a private chat with that person. While you are having a private chat with one person you may also see the main room and other private chats flashing and remaining green to indicate new or unread messages. You can switch between these and maintain conversations with several people at once if you want to. When you have finished with a private chat move over the tab and press the red x that appears to close it.
Have you been Kicked?
If you have been kicked out of a chat box then you will need to Sign In again if you wish to continue chatting. There will be an information message that is sent to everyone in the room they says who was kicked, who did the kicking and the reason for the kick. You will also be "Gagged" (Unable to chat) for 15 seconds after being kicked.
Have you been Banned?
If you have been banned from a chat box then you will have received a banned information message and your icon in the user list will be brown and the name will have been changed to "Banned". You will still be able to see the messages being sent but the other people in the room will not receive any message you try to send. The ban may be for a limited duration and if so you could return later. The ban may have been a warning and they may un-ban you sooner if you remain online for a while.
If you believe you have been unfairly banned you should click "Report Unfair ban" on the large window that appears upon being banned. This will send a message to the owner saying that you've been banned, why you think it's unfair (If you included text), and your email (If you included it). If the ban happened while you were online it will send a transcript of what was recently said on the main chat prior to you being banned and give the chats creator an option to de-mod the person who banned you.
People who have added you as a friend can see your Private chat.
How do I change my Name?
Enter your name in the name edit box as you want it to appear on the user list. You can use smilie codes in your name if you want to and these will be displayed on the visitors and friends lists.
How do I change my Picture?
To change your display picture choose one of the default images shown by clicking on it. Every time you choose one you will get another selection from which to choose. If you wish to look at a wider selection of images click the more… button and follow the instructions. Alternatively, you can use any picture you like but it must be uploaded somewhere on the Internet to do this. Paste the link / url into the Picture box. You can upload your own images to photobucket for use on the chat box.
The best way to upload a picture is to use
http://photobucket.com and create an account. If you do not want to register you may use
http://tinypic.com which has more limits to bandwidth and less upload options but requires no registration. Once you upload it, you must copy the Direct Link, and click your name, and place it into your Picture box (be sure to delete anything already there!
Private Message
A private message is sent to only one person and no one else can see it. To send a private message click on a person on the visitors / friends lists or the name on a message someone has sent and click Private Message. A pad lock will appear on the message entry window, type you message and press return. When the message is sent it will have a padlock next to it and only the person you selected will see it. To send another private message follow the same procedure again, to have a conversation a private chat (see below) is more useful.
Private Chat
A private chat is a one on one conversation in a separate window. To start a private chat click on a person on the visitors or friends lists or the name on a message someone has sent and click Private Chat. A tab will appear that contains just you and the person you want to start a private chat with. When you send your first message a tab will appear on their chat box which they can choose to answer or not.
Add As Friend
If you want to add someone so you can easily find them and talk to them another time you can Add as a friend. Click on that person on the visitors or friends lists or the name on a message they have sent and click Add as Friend. They will appear on the list in bold and move to the top of their category. They will also be added to your friends list accessible by clicking on your Friends tab at the bottom of the list.
When you return to the chat box at a later time you can click on your friend list and see which ones of your friends are online on any chat box, not just the one you are on. You can them private chat or private message from your chat box to theirs. If they have added you as a friend then when you view their profile you will be able to see which chat box they are on so you can go there. If you want to Un-Friend click on the person in the friend list and click Un-friend.
How many friends should I add? You can add as many friends as you like but there is no point in adding everyone you ever see, only people that there is a chance that you will want to talk to again. The more friends you have added the harder it becomes to find the ones you really want to talk to.
[edit] /f Make friend by id
If you know a person's id and want to add them as a friend you can use the /f command, example:
/f124575554 JoeBlogs
This adds 124575554 as a friend with name JoeBlogs
Ignore
If someone is bothering you or you just don’t want to talk to him or her then you can Ignore them. Click on that person on the visitors or friends lists or the name on a message they have sent and click Ignore. They will appear as grey in the list and you wont be able to see any of their message and they wont be able to start private chats with you either. The ignore is remembered, even if you use the chat box another time. If you want to Un-Ignore them and see their messages again click on the person in the list and click Un-Ignore. Please note that the ignore feature only lasts 12 hours, so when the 12 hours is up, and you are still being harassed or want to ignore them simply Re-Ignore. Also if you are a moderator or owner you will still see messages from ignored users in the main chat but you won't receive private chats or messages.
MSN and AIM invite
You can invite your MSN and AIM contacts to the chat.
ABOUT SUBSCRIPTION XATS AND POWERS:
http://util.xat.com/wiki/index.php/SubscriberGuidehttp://util.xat.com/wiki/index.php/Xatshttp://util.xat.com/wiki/index.php/PowersClick on the Friends tab, then click *Add MSN/AIM friends*.
You need to log in to your MSN or AOL account. When you are logged in your MSN and AIM friends will appear on your friends list. To private chat or invite them click on their name in the usual way.
To invite all your MSN/AIM friends click *Invite all MSN/AIM friends*
Bad Chat EttiquetteWhen using the chat box you have to abide by the terms of service
http://xat.com/terms.html but there are specific things that you might do that are considered bad etiquette and will annoy some people.
[edit] Flooding or Spamming
Flooding or spamming is typing random numbers and letters for no reason or repeatedly sending a link. This is prevented by the terms of service and is very disruptive to the chat box. People find it very annoying and if you do it you will find you are either banned or ignored by everyone in the room. Talking in CAPS, using to many smiles or audies in a way may be considered as spam or flooding. If you do either of these to much you may be ignored or even banned from the chat.
Talking in CAPS
Typing messages with CAPSLOCK on often annoys people, it is used to say that you are SHOUTING what you are saying. You can type in CAPS if you want but you should expect that people will add you to their ignore list. It is best saved for when you are really shouting something.
Too Many Smiles
Using smiles livens up messages and make the chat more fun but if you keep on sending them it can be annoying and you will soon be on everyone’s ignore list.
Too Many Audies Sound Effects
The odd sound effect can make a chat fun but if you keep on sending them it can be annoying and you will soon be on everyone’s ignore list.
Advertising
Commercial advertising is prevented by the terms and conditions but many owners and moderators are not happy with people posting links, especially over and over again, to their chat groups or myspace pages etc. If you want to do this it is best to check it if it's ok with the owner first.
Asking to be moderator, owner, member etc.
Owners of popular chats are often bombarded with requests for people to be made moderators and most will just ignore anyone who asks. If you want to be a moderator on a chat box you should chat there, make friends and try to be helpful to other people. This is the best way to become a moderator.
