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CHAT FAQ
What Is It?
- Channel - chat room, usually discussed as #xxxxx where xxxxx is
the name of the room, i.e. #msgs is the Montana State Genealogical Society's
chat room name.
- Nick - nickname, the name a person uses when in a chat room, what you see
listed on the right side of your chat screen.
- Op - a channel operator, the person who makes sure everything is running
smoothly in the chat room. You will see a "@" symbol in front
of their nickname.
Nicknames
When you access a chat server, in order to identify you from everyone else, you
have to choose a "nickname." Some things to think about when
choosing a nickname:
- Gender - You may not want your nickname to be obviously feminine in gender.
Female nicknames tend to eventually attract harrassment. This may never happen
to you but forewarned is forearmed.
- High Use Name - If you pick "Jane," chances are someone is
already using it or has registered it. Ways to get around this are by adding
a number or keyboard character to the beginning or end of the name - such as
Jane4 or Jane!. You can also come up with something distinctive like a name
from your favorite novel or something that expresses your personality - such
as PeterPan or BrightEyes.
- Registration - Many servers provide you the option to register
your nickname. On the server we are using, type the following to register
your nickname once you know it is not registered by someone else.
/msg nickserv register [password] [e-mail]
Don't forget to replace [password] with a password of your choice and [e-mail]
with your e-mail address.
Expressing Yourself
While talking in a chat room, it is sometimes easier to abbreviate commonly
used expressions instead of typing them out. Here are a few to get you started.
| bbiab |
be back in a bit |
| bbl |
be back later |
| brb |
be right back |
| cu |
see you |
| g |
grin |
| gbg |
great big grin |
| ic |
I see |
| k |
okay |
| lol |
laughing out loud |
| np |
no problem |
| rotfl |
rolling on the floor laughing |
| ttfn |
ta ta for now |
| ttyl |
talk to you later |
| wb |
welcome back |
For more complete lists of abbreviations, visit:
Forwarned is Forarmed
IRC is a lot of fun! Being careful is important too. There are people
out there that may pick on you if your nickname is too feminine. Some enjoy
coming into a channel and taking it over just for the thrill of it. These
things may never happen to you - and I sincerely hope they don't - but
there is always that chance.
What to do to avoid or deal with an hostile act?
- Ignore it. Hopefully, they will get bored and go away.
- If you can't ignore it, leave the channel.
- To find help, type this and you will probably find someone available.
/join #help
Chat Links
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