This is by far the most popular area of the site. Our chat rooms provide real time interaction with your peers. This is also the place with the most and least explored options. We will leave it to you to try the more obvious options and will focus on the remaining ones that you may not see. You will find these options when you use your right mouse button.

The first menu of note is found by right clicking on your own little avatar in the members list on the right. Here you can change your avatar and your status. We have provided a selection of little images that you can use to represent you in the chat room. Everybody is free to use any avatar. There is no exclusivity to them. If you must leave the discussion but don’t want to leave the room just set your status to either Away or Busy. This lets the others know that you are not participating in the conversation. When you return you can set your status to Online so the others know that you have returned and are ready to join in the discussion.

Now right click on another member. Here you find options that relate to chatting with that member. You can choose Talk to if you want to identify them in a message as the person you are addressing. To clear the option, right click on any white space and chose To All. Your next message will no longer name the individual in the message.  If you want to have a private conversation with a member, choose the Private Chat option. The member will be notified of your request and if they accept your invitation, a separate room will open where each of you can chat independent of the main room. Nobody else will be privy to your conversation. The last option we will call to your attention is the Block User option. If you do not want to even see what another member is sending, clicking this option will prevent anything from that person from displaying in your chat window. Please read “Contact Us” for information regarding chat abuse.