So you've never been in chat before? It's a great place to be, you can meet all kinds of people, have wonderful discussions. But - there are some things you should not do in chat.


- The first rule in chat is no netspeak. It says it in big bold letters at the top, so please obey it. Netspeak is very hard to read, especially when people in chat don't speak English as their first language, and that happens more than you would think.
- Please do not be rude. There is no reason for it, and you will become very unpopular very quickly. 'Just be nice.' - IrishLizzy
- Please do not demand to know personal information about people. Some people do not feel comfortable giving out such information. The internet is not entirely safe, and you need to be cautious. If someone does not want to give you're their info, don't badger them for it. You should also refrain from giving out your own information. It doesn't take much for a troll to track someone down. Better to be safe than sorry.
- A greeting would be nice when you come in the room. Just a simple 'Hi' before you start quizzing people.
- Do not try to dominate the conversation. If there is already a topic being discussed, read until you get caught up with it. You can even ask what is being discussed. People will gladly let you know. Then you may join the conversation, instead of trying to start your own, which is confusing, and somewhat rude.
- Please do not use neon colors in chat. It hurts people's eyes. Also, please do your best to find your own color. 'It's kind of an unwritten rule if someone has your color first, you change.' - Sunny
- Please do not type in caps. It is considered shouting, and it is also hard to read.

*The most important thing to remember when you are new to chat is that ALL dance.net rules still apply.

Thanks to the following people for their help in creating this post:

DanceOfTheHeart
Rosetta
IrishLizzy
Sunny
markje
guyintights
dance27

Now, isn't there some kind of color that is automatically considered to be the one you DON'T use -- and I mean beyond the neon colors... but some kind of color that people usually stay away from?

S.

^ hmmm... the only one i can think of is black, because it blends in with all of the entering/exiting/voiding messages.

Karma to you! I think this will really help the mewbies or even the people who havent been on for a while! And I think this should be a *Sticky*

I totally didn't know you could even pick your own colors in chat... is that a new thing? I haven't been in there for awhile.

^I also had no idea you could pick colors in chat on DDN... Shux, how do you do that?

Hopefully this picture helps.

Yay! danceroo - It has sticky status!

Great post danceroo, well done.

I accidentally typed all in caps the other day and I got a message telling me it is not permitted then changed my text to lower case, I was pretty impressed.

Helen xxx

Good post. I go into chat once in awhile, but I'm certainly not new to it. I've been in there lately a little more than usual, and it's true that poeple tend to come in and try to totally change the subject, or take over the already-started conversation.


Newbs, if you simply follow danceroo's post, you'll be fine, and making friends in no time.




-KP

Nice post, danceroo! There are very important rules to follow in chat so you are not banned. Well, congrats on the stickyness, but furthermore, congrats for the great post!

This is hard I never know what I can and can't write!

Ive just read the rules. thanks ,I should have read them myself before now. great its a sticky thanks for posting. christine

rules? we needs rules? okay fine.

I've been a member since September of 2005 and I have yet to be "active" in chat. I've clicked on it a couple of times... Even tried to talk once, but I got scared that I would do something wrong. (lame, huh?)

^Haha I'm with you!

But if I ever do get up the courage to chat...at least now I know I'll do it right! Thanks for the post!

i am new to dance.net and have found these tips really helpful. sometimes when you are new to stuff it takes a while to get into the swing of things, so any advice is more than appreciate! thanks!

Good to have all this information especially when you are new thanks....

Hiya, thanks to you all for the guidence I have never used a chatroom as I never knew the protocol, perhaps now when I am a full member, I will give it a go.

I forgot to mention, and spread the word, because not many people know, there is an IGNORE FUNCTION in chat and it is FANTASTIC!! LOL. It's great when there's someone being totally rude in chat and the mods aren't available to swoop in and save the day and the offender won't listen to reason. You just type /ignore and then the user name. So if you wanted to ignore me, for example, type

/ignore Tunie

and BAM! You no longer see any messages that I type in chat.

Keep in mind, the person you are ignoring can still see your messages that you type.

Also, you CAN get into trouble by the mods even if the other person starts it. Just because they're rude to you doesn't mean you can be rude to them. Two wrongs don't make a right, and an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. So it's easier to just ignore them than to get all worked up and get yourself into trouble.

And even if you do ignore someone, please do mod it so that they are aware of the problem.

To mod someone in chat, there is a button for it right between "Send" and the color box (see photo above). You type in an explanation of why you are sending a mod report, and then hit "MOD". It will then ask you to confirm your mod report before it is sent. You confirm your mod report by typing /confirm. It explains all of this when you hit the mod button, so don't worry.

Happy chatting everyone!

LittleTink9491 wrote:

I've been a member since September of 2005 and I have yet to be "active" in chat. I've clicked on it a couple of times... Even tried to talk once, but I got scared that I would do something wrong. (lame, huh?)

I've done the exact same thing!

Thanks for this - some more good advice from an experienced member for a novice!

Thanks for the useful advice,I am a new member so its good to know what not to do.

Hey! thanks for the advice, it really helped!