I can't get into Chat - how do I work around this problem?
When you encounter trouble getting into a Delphi Forums Chat room, there are several things you can do to work around the problem. Here is what you can try, in order:
- Wait 2-3 extra minutes to see if the Chat screen loads. Sometimes it takes longer than usual for the Java applet to load completely.
- Click the 'Refresh' or 'Reload' button on your browser.
- Quit out of your browser and restart it.
- Log off of the Internet and restart your computer.
- Close all other programs other than your browser, especially if you have 16 MB of RAM or less installed in your computer.
- If you are using Netscape Navigator, add the following text:
-start_java to the end your Netscape shortcut properties. This will cause Java to load when you launch the browser, instead of waiting to load it at the moment it is needed.
- If your browser is not the newest version of its kind, consider upgrading (most browsers are free to download).
- Download a clean version of Sun Java from their website, if you're still having trouble.
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Why don't my chats show on the Delphi Forums Chat Listings?
Your chats will not show on the Delphi Forums main listing if you haven't indexed your Forum, the Forum is private, or it is categorized as adult-oriented. If you would like to prevent your chats from showing up in the main chat index, go to your Forum Control Center and select "Forum Chat" from the "Forum Properties" menu. Next to each room name, you can check or uncheck the "List/Publish" box. Click on Update.
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How can I get more people into my chat room?
Schedule regular chats and invite friends using your message board. Use catchy chat room names that draw people to your room. When you are in a chat room, be sure to post a message in the Forum. You can also post your chat schedule on your Forum start page.
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How do I keep my Chat room from disappearing when the last person leaves?
Set up Persistent rooms in your Forum Chat controls. There are two options, "Enabled" which will allow you to create Persistent rooms, and "Enabled with Dynamic Rooms", which will allow you to have both Persistent (permanent) and Dynamic (temporary) rooms. When the last person leaves a Persistent room, the room stays in place, but disappears from the active chat listing. When the last person leaves a Dynamic room, the room disappears from all listings, and from your Chat page.
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How do I moderate a chat?
Anyone with a Wizard, Assistant Moderator, or Chat Moderator flag will see the moderation controls and will be able to moderate a chat. To see the moderator controls, click on a membername, and a pop up box will appear. Slide down to the action you want, and click. Text commands are also available for all commands. The most commonly used text commands are listed at the bottom of this page.
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How can I make someone a Chat moderator?
In your Forum Control Center, select "Set Privileges" from the "Forum Membership" menu. Then, use the search form to find the membername of the person you want to make a Chat Moderator. Click on the membername and check the box next to "Chat Moderator," and click the "Apply" button.
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How do I handle troublemakers in my Chat room?
Anyone with a Wizard, Assistant Moderator, or Chat Moderator flag will
see the moderation controls when they click on a user's name. Moderators
will see selections marked "Whois," "Gag," "Ungag," "Kick," and "Kick
and Ban." Use these controls by selecting a user from the chat
participant list to the right of the main chat window and clicking on
the name. "Whois" reveals the true membername of any chatter using a
nickname, as well as the last time they spoke. "Gag" will make a
chatter's comments invisible to other participants in the chat room. The
user's name will appear with a line through it. "Ungag" removes the
"Gag" function from the membername. "Kick" throws a user out of the
room for a limited period of time, "Kick and Ban" throws the user out
of the room, and bans them from re-entering chat until they are
unbanned. Issuing a "Gag" in Chat will not change the member's Forum
privileges.
Use the /showrn command when you're in chat. This will show the
membername and any nickname being used for all members at all times.
You'll be able to spot troublemakers more easily, if you can tell
who the member really is.
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How can I get a transcript or log of a Delphi Forums Chat?
Logging can be done only in Persistent (permanent) rooms. To start the log, type /log on. To stop the log, type /log off. W, A, and C flags can start a log, but only W and A flags can retrieve the chat transcript from the Control Center. Look in "Forum Chat" at the top, for "View Chat Transcripts." Logs are kept for 1 week, and are automatically deleted after that.
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Is Delphi Forums Chat compatible with IRC (Internet Relay Chat)?
No, not at this time.
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Can I play sound files in a Delphi Forums Chat room?
No, there is no sound capability in Delphi Forums Chat. However, Jabber users can enable sound notifications of chat room activity. See the Jabber FAQ pages for more about this special feature for paying members.
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Are there Java Chat compatibility issues?
We are aware of compatibility problems with Delphi Forums' Java Chat service and some browsers. If you're having trouble with the chat loading, the best solution has been to download a clean copy of Sun's Java from their website.
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I can't use Java Chat, where's the HTML version?
HTML chat is no longer used on Delphi, we are now supporting only the Java Chat version of PChat2, and Jabber, an open source protocol chat for paying members. To learn more about Jabber, please see our Jabber FAQ pages.
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How can I change the size of the Chat window or the text within the Chat window?
Grab the sides of the chat window with your cursor, and drag them to the desired size. To change the text size inside the window, go to any message board, and at the bottom of the right hand message frame, you'll see controls for making the text size smaller or larger. This size will carry over to the chat room, but will affect your text only, not that of your members. This feature is available to all members.
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Can I change the colors of the text in Chat?
Yes, if you're a paid member, you can change the colors of your chat text using Cascading Style Sheets. Visit the Styles Center to learn how. This will change the text for your entire Forum. Starter Forums have no color controls. Jabber users have greater controls over colors in any chat room. See the Jabber FAQ pages for more about this special DelphiPlus feature.
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How can I keep my chat room from being used except when I want to use it?
You can leave your Chat room disabled (you'll find this option in your Control Center), then enable it only when you want to. You can also use the /close command from inside a room to prevent anyone else from entering, and once the last person leaves the room, it closes down and is deleted. Caution: if you use the /close command, any chat logs will be deleted.
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Can I set a password for my chat room?
This functionality does not exist, but it may be developed in the future.
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Where can I find a list of text commands that can be used in the chat rooms?
- /act - shows actions
- /close - the correct way to delete a permanent room - mod command.
- /gag membername- prevents member's messages from showing -mod command.
- /ignore membername - prevents member's messages from showing - member command
- /kick membername - kicks member out of room
- /lockout membername- locks member out of room
- /log - shows whether a room is being logged. Available to all
- /log on - turns on logging - mod command
- /log off - turns off logging - mod command
- /me = /act Just another IRC version.
- /motd - Message of the Day. An internet greeting message.
- /nick nickname - changes your nickname in chat (DelphiPlus members only).
- /notice - similar to private messages
- /part - disconnects you from the chat server
- /privmsg membername - sends a separate pop up window to member for private conversations
- /quit - use to leave the chat room
- /roll - rolls dice
- /showrn - shows nicks and membernames together. Use once to turn on, again, to turn off.
- /sendurl - sends a pop up of any webpage - mod command
- /showurl - sends a pop up of any webpage. Same as /sendurl - mod command
- /topic - sets (for moderator) or displays (for other members) the topic of conversation in the room
- /unclose - reverses the /close command for a chat room, restores it to active status on the server - mod command
- /unignore membername - remove someone from your ignore list
- /whisper membername - sends a private message inline on the chat screen
- /whois nickname - shows the real membername
