A screen will appear with the heading ‘Saints Chat’ (This screen may take a few minutes to load.)
The centre area shows the chat dialogue (messages sent and received) and the current topic for this room is shown in the title bar.
You will see your name as a Guest##### appear in the right hand column.
Other chatters are listed in this column in alphabetical order.
Your nickname will appear in bold lettering.
Some people you may see in the chat room will have a blue or red smiley face next to their nickname. This indicates an operator (host/moderator) that issues commands to control the chat room. RoomGuard-AFL and RoomService are chat programs (they don’t talk!).
The hosts in the St Kilda chat room are ‘Spelly’ (Senior Host) and ‘Bails’. ‘Civick’, a Senior Host, will also be available to offer help and friendly advice.
The St Kilda Chat Room is rated PGR - Parental Guidance Recommended.
Chat Rules: No profanity, floods, abuse, repeating, cyber sex, advertising, typing in ALL CAPS. Please listen to the channel hosts!
At the bottom of the screen is the input line (located next to the colour panel). You can send a message by typing it on this line and pressing the Enter key.
When you first join the chat room, the first thing you need to do is enter a nickname - eg. Sainturian
Simply type the nickname you want to use in the input line and hit the Enter key.
You will see your Guest status change to your chosen nickname.
For first time users: Please choose a nickname that you think no-one else will have, otherwise you will see the following message appear on the screen: ‘Sainturian is a registered nickname.' If a password is not entered you will return to ‘Guest’ status.
For those people who have registered their nickname: Please enter your password and then click on the ‘OK’ button. You will have 60 seconds to type in your password. If a password is not entered you will return to ‘Guest’ status.
To register your nickname (highly recommended) type:
/ns register
To change from one nickname to another - type:
/nick
To the left of where you type is the colour bar, you use this to change the colour of your text.
To start chatting: type your message in the input line and press the Enter key - eg. Type: ‘hi there’ and press the Enter key. You will see your typing appear in the main chat section.
Some of the acronyms we have on Chat are LOL == Laugh Out Loud, ROFL == Roll On the Floor Laughing, BRB == Be Right Back, BBL == Be Back Later, BBS == Be Back Soon, TEEHEE == A little geek laugh and A/S/L == Age Sex Location.
To have an avatar next to your name: Underneath where you type you will see three drop down columns, click on ‘Commands’ and scroll down the list to ‘Avatar Panel’. Click ‘Avatar Panel’, and then click on the avatar you would like. Click on the ‘X’ to close the ‘Conference Room Avatars’ screen.
To see people enter, leave, get kicked or banned:
Underneath where you type you will see three drop down columns. Click on ‘Commands’ and scroll down the list to ‘Session Information’, then un-tick ‘Only Show Chat’. Do not press ‘Quit Chat’ box at the bottom of this screen. To exit click on the ‘X’ to close the ‘Conference Room Settings’ screen.
To use pictures in your message:
Underneath where you type you will see three drop down columns, click on ‘Commands’ and scroll down the list to ‘Image Panel’ and select the picture you want. To exit click on the ‘X’ to close the ‘Conference Room Images’ screen.
To use an action:
Underneath where you type you will see three drop down columns, click on ‘Actions’ and scroll down the list to make a selection – eg. Click on ‘bounce’ and the following will appear on the screen ‘Sainturian bounces around the channel’.
To type an emotion: – eg. ‘Sainturian loves St Kilda’. Type in the input line:
/me loves St Kilda and press the Enter key.
To use sounds:
Underneath where you type you will see three drop down columns, click on ‘Sounds’ and scroll down the list to make a selection – eg. Click on ‘Attention’ and the following will appear on the screen ‘Sainturian wants everyones attention’.
To send a private message to someone in the room, double-click on the nickname of the person you want to message, and then type your message in the newly opened window. It is polite to ask first if the other person is happy to chat privately.
To read a memo, type:
/ms
and a control panel will appear. Both you and the chatter who receives the memo must have registered nicknames.
To send a memo type:
/ms send
Both you and the chatter who receives the memo must have registered nicknames.
To send a notice type:
/notice
Other people in the chat room will not be able to read this - only the person you have sent the notice to will be able to read it.
Chat Etiquette:
Internet chat is mostly a very enjoyable experience. This is a place to make new friends or simply talk on subjects which interest you – the St Kilda Football Club! You are expected to follow the simple guidelines as to how to present your views appropriately.
Becoming familiar with the set conventions will make your chat experience a lot easier and more enjoyable!
Talking in a chat room is like walking into a room full of strangers, so the normal social conventions apply. You wouldn't normally run in shouting, swearing and being abusive, so make sure you don't do that in the Saints chat room either!
You might try to be polite, welcome people entering the room, or introduce yourself to those already in there. You don't need to use proper punctuation or capital letters. Remember that SHOUTING in a chat room means typing in capital letters. Be careful you don't accidentally hit the Caps Lock key!
If you get carried away and break any of the rules, you may be ejected or even banned from the chat room. The chat room moderators make sure that no one is breaking the rules.
Browser requirements:
Windows 95, 98 and Me users:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher, or Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4.06 or higher.
In addition you should visit Microsoft's Windows Update site and update components relating to Java Virtual Machine (JAVA VM).
You should also apply current service pack as provided by Microsoft.
Windows NT4, Windows2000 and WindowsXP users:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher may require additional installation of Java from one of the links:
* Install Java from Microsoft (recommended)
* Install Java from Sun Microsystems
Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4.7 or higher.
In addition you should visit Microsoft's Windows Update site and update components relating to Java Virtual Machine (JAVA VM).
You should also apply current service pack as provided by Microsoft.
Mac users:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher, or
Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4.7 or higher.
Netscape 6.0 or higher (remember to install Java).
Mozilla 1.0 (remember to install Java).
You must have Mac OS Runtime for Java (MRJ) version 2.2 to run Java applets. If you have Mac OS version 8.5 through 8.6, you may need to upgrade your version of MRJ. For an upgrade, go to the Apple update download page and search for MRJ.
LINUX users:
Netscape 6.0 or higher (remember to install Java).
Mozilla 1.0 (remember to install Java).
Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4.x (not recommended).
Special notice to Netscape 6,7 and Mozilla 1.0 users: Please make sure to install the Java option. In your browser preferences enable both Java and JavaScript.
Common problems:
1. You receive JAVA or JavaScript errors while loading chat pages. Please make sure your browser is the right version as per the list above.
2. You have disabled Java in your security settings of the browser you use. Please allow Java applets.
3. You are located behind a firewall preventing Java applets. Talk to your system administrator!
