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Pamster
10-03-2006, 09:21 AM
Flashchat Tutorial (http://brain.hastypastry.net/%7Ehosobuchi/Tutorials/flashchattutorial.html)

After going into the Flash Chat a few times I decided to write up a short how to use the chat post while the board was down. I hope that it helps those of you who've been a little intimidated by all the bells and whistles there in the chat. It's really a lot of fun and easy to use so don't let the options it has set you off from using it. I took these small screenshots to help people understand how to get around the chat rooms and to try to make it easier and more attractive to people for them to join us in the Flash Chat. We are lucky to have so many rooms and great Chat Moderators to help keep the peace. It's really a great place to meet other Brain Talk members and to share things in real time.

http://cyber-soup.com/pamster/flashchat3.jpg

When you first look at the chat you'll see a list of people in the room in the area where you see the #2 here below. If someone is away, meaning away from the keyboard/computer they will use the #3 feature to determine what their chatting status is. Just under the list of chatters you'll see a list of the various rooms the Flash Chat offers. Further down you'll see a better screenshot for changing rooms and changing your chatting status. To change the room you click on the arrow below #1 here and it will open the selection of rooms you can go into. Just move the mouse to the room you want and you move instantly to it. The default room is where a lot of people gather and chat about all kinds of things, from the local weather where they're at to the newest movies, as it's a general chat. The room is call "Hooptedoodle" and if you go into other rooms you can easily get back to the default room by using the same selector option on the top of the chat dialogue area.

http://www.cyber-soup.com/pamster/roomchange.jpg

There are a lot of great features this chat offers and you shouldn't be afraid to try them out. Like #4 shown above in the first screenshot, is the list of small graphics. Look below at the smaller screenshot of the selection. Just click on the one you want and the text to make it appear in the chat dialogue window will appear. One thing to keep in mind is that moving graphics can cause problems for some people, even triggering seizures in a person with epilepsy or who have MS or are photo-sensitive and sensitive to fast moving colors. So it's best not to use those kind of graphics in the chat dialogue window because you never know who in the room might have a bad reaction to one of the moving graphics. Below is a screenshot of the selection of small graphics you can choose from.

http://cyber-soup.com/pamster/smallgraphics.jpg

Anywhere you see one of those arrows on the chat is a selector option. You can click on the arrow by #3 and set your status like shown below.

http://cyber-soup.com/pamster/herebrbaway1.jpg

Pamster
10-03-2006, 09:22 AM
Next is #5, if you click this then the text you enter will show in boldface. Click #6 and it will be italicized. #7 is what you click to change your font color and below you can see the variety of available colors to choose from, you just click on one and it shows it in the chat dialogue box as being that color. To send a line of text you can hit return, or click the send button. Both will work for you.

http://cyber-soup.com/pamster/fontcolorchange.jpg

If you'd like to set up an Avatar you can select the "Options" button you see on the main chat window near the Bold and Italic commands. Below is a screenshot of what you'll see in the "Effects" tab and that is where you can pick out an Avatar to use near your name and another one to use in the actual chat dialogue window. Just click the arrow and pull down to the smilie or icon you'd like to use and that's all there is to it.

http://cyber-soup.com/pamster/avatars.jpg

Now below you can see a screenshot of what options you have when you select a person's name. The first option is to Private Message someone. This will open a little box where you can have a private chat with someone and it can be a lot of fun if you're chatting with a friend or making a new friend, but it's not something to be used all the time. Just use your best judgement when "Private Messaging" others.

http://cyber-soup.com/pamster/options1.jpg

The next thing you can do is to "Invite" someone into another room. This you do by clicking on their name and then selecting "Invite" which will send them a little invitation pop up which they can accept and join you or decline and stay where they are. After that is the "Share a File" option and with this feature you can send a file to the person you've selected and they can accept or decline the invitation to share the file. There is a 512-kb limit on file sizes so keep that in mind when trying to use this feature. You will be told if the file was accepted or declined with a small pop up similar to the Private Message window.

http://cyber-soup.com/pamster/sendfile.jpg

Next is the "Ignore" feature. If someone is bothering you in some way you can select their name and click "Ignore" this is the best thing to do in cases where you don't want to see what another person is saying and it helps keep the peace in the chat. The last option is for viewing someone's profile and this will bring up their <b>Brain Talk Public Profile.

I hope that you've found this little "how to" useful and that it helped to show you the awesome features this powerful chat offers us. Hope to see you there! (http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/chat/flashchat.php)

razzle51
10-03-2006, 10:50 AM
where is the chat room link ??????? Dont see it up top . thanks

Pamster
10-03-2006, 11:13 AM
http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/misc.php?do=flashchat (http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/chat/flashchat.php) I just added the link in the tutorial so people can easily find it now. :D

snidermame
10-05-2006, 02:23 PM
Thanks Pamster, but I cannot even open flashchat. Would you know why?
Thank you:)

Pamster
10-05-2006, 04:59 PM
Hmmm, maybe it's because of the URL, I sent it to you in a reply to your email so hopefully you got it and were able to get in. I don't know what would cause it not to open unless your flash plug in needed updating. Do you know if you have the Flash Plug in? :)

damyers
12-10-2007, 11:49 PM
Does anyone ever go to the flashchat site for TN?

maryp
04-10-2008, 08:16 PM
i'm new here my name is mary ..i'm trying to get in some of the chat rooms,,but it seems every room i go in i'm the only one..am i doing something wrong...please help

Pamster
04-10-2008, 09:46 PM
It might have been you were the only one in there at the time Mary, welcome to the board, don't give up on the chat, just look on the bottom of the main board page and see if there are people listed as being in there and that will tell you how many people are there when you're about to go in. :)