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Currently, the chat is closed. For more details, please see this notice from Lee.
We already have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions list) for the forums, so it's been suggested we should have one for the chat, too.
What's the big deal about the chat, then?
About once a month, DD herself chats with us there. The date and time of these chats are always announced weeks in advance, in five places.
Added Can I read old DD chats?
I've logged the 2005 and 2006 chats I've been to. There's a list of transcripts. I usually add each new one late in the evening of the day of the chat.
Added What's considered appropriate content for the chat?
There used to be a post by DD herself which probably answers that best, but it vanished in an upgrade. To sum up:
What is the chat? Why is it different from the forums?
The chat lets you talk to other forum members who are online and "in chat" at the same time. Unlike forum posts, what you type in chat doesn't stay around. It's more immediate, and impermanent.
Gryphon tried to get a chat party idea started. The aim was to get people to be in chat at about the same time, to increase the chances of finding others there. There are usually more people in chat now than there were then, so this is no longer necessary.
What's this Chime that people talk about?
Chime is the chat software linked to the forum software that youngwizards.net uses. You may see people poking, hitting, stabbing, sporking or scything it, out of frustration when it gets slow.
Update: Various people call the new, revised version either Chimer or Cedric, but it still seems to be Chime officially.
Why can't I get into chat?
You may have to set the preferences in your browser to allow Flash to run. You may also have to download Flash Player to update your version of Flash.
What's this Sigma that people talk about?
Sigma was different chat software that some people remember fondly. Don't worry about it, it's not still in use.
What's this Skype that people talk about?
It's nothing to do with Young Wizards. It's a program which allows you to make phone calls via the Internet. Some people use it to talk to each other and be amused by different accents.
Update: DD doesn't have Skype. Her satellite broadband connection apparently wouldn't work well with it. (Asked a few times.)
What's this VGDawn that <STRIKE>Gryphon</STRIKE> people talk about?
It's nothing to do with Young Wizards either. Gryphon set up a role-playing website and a lot of the people there are also members here. If you're not interested in role-playing, don't worry about it. If you are, Gryphon will tell you more than you wanted to know
. She will also claim there is a plot - don't believe her . I've been a member there for over a year, and I've never been near the plot.
It's gone really slow
Yes. Again, reloading the window, or closing it and opening it again may help, or it may not. Clicking on the pencil eraser icon at top right of the scrolling window erases the window, which may also help.
How come I typed something, but it never showed up?
Annoying, isn't it? This has been reported to the people who wrote Eve and Chime, but it still does it sometimes. Sometimes it will show up eventually, out of order with other lines you've typed, and sometimes you won't see it but others will.
Update: This seems to be a lot rarer now, and hardly ever happens.
Can I get a transcript of the fascinating conversation?
The only way I know to do that is to copy it and paste it into a file. It would be polite to ask the others involved first, if you're planning to quote it on the forums or somewhere.
What happens if I click on one of those heads?
A popup window will open with their public profile in it. (This, and putting the cursor over their name without clicking, is the only way to see their avatar now.) Also, you select their name (see the next question).
Oh, and the pencil that flashes on and off by someone's head means that they're currently typing. Or it means that Chime has got stuck. If you aren't typing, and the pencil is flashing, typing something and hitting send should clear the pencil.
Why do people keep threatening to kill Cedric (or Chime)?
They're getting fed up with being kicked, or slow reactions, or having to wait a long time before they can get in.
What happens if I click on someone's name in the visitors list?
A popup window appears, giving information about that user. There are also three buttons you can use, each showing a symbol superimposed on a head.
There is also a field and a Whisper button. If you type in the field and click Whisper, only you and the selected person will see what you said. (To whisper to more than one person, use shift, command or control keys when clicking on the names.)
How can I talk to just one person (or a few) instead of everyone in Chime?
You need to use either a private chat or a whisper. See the question before this one.
Why are some heads orange instead of green?
Administrators (DD and Lee) and moderators (Kli6 and Peter) have orange heads to make them stand out.
Except that Peter isn't a mod in the spoiler chat or the DD online chats, for some reason.
How do I become a moderator?
DD decides she needs moderators, and then decides who. I don't know how she decided. The people she chose didn't ask if they could be moderators first, though. (This question has been asked quite a few times!)
What's all this about tumbleweeds?
Alla started the tumbleweeds when chat went quiet one day, and they've become a recurring element. They're shown either as * * * or as various smileys, depending on who is mentioning them.
Why doesn't my avatar show up in the popup window?
Animated avatars don't work in Chime, and it looks as if .gif and .png files don't work either. .jpg files seem to work.
Q. Do I have to RSVP for the official chat? How and when do I do that?
A. Yes, for the present you have to RSVP if you want to participate in the official chat. You do that simply by e-mailing Lee Enfield-Burke, our admin, telling her you plan on being there. Generally the cutoff is one and a half or two weeks before the chat is scheduled to take place.
Please, do not RSVP that you will be there, if you aren't going to show up. The percentage of no-shows is sadly, pretty high.
I keep getting kicked out by Chime!
Hi, Tuttle. We don't know why you keep getting kicked out.
[edited to add a notice at the top about the closing of chat. --kli.]
We already have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions list) for the forums, so it's been suggested we should have one for the chat, too.
What's the big deal about the chat, then?
About once a month, DD herself chats with us there. The date and time of these chats are always announced weeks in advance, in five places.
- Chat Area Info and Chat Times forum.
- In the News section of the Discussion Forum front page.
- In the scrolling news section of the Discussion Forum main page. (That's the one that lists Most Recent Messages.)
- On DD's news blog.
- As a headline on the YW.com front page.
Added Can I read old DD chats?
I've logged the 2005 and 2006 chats I've been to. There's a list of transcripts. I usually add each new one late in the evening of the day of the chat.
Added What's considered appropriate content for the chat?
There used to be a post by DD herself which probably answers that best, but it vanished in an upgrade. To sum up:
- No fanfic in the chat, either. This includes roleplaying as Wizard characters, even if they aren't from the YW books
- Don't waste time with meaningless repetition
- Do say something you feel is worth other people's time to read (sometimes hard to judge, I know)
What is the chat? Why is it different from the forums?
The chat lets you talk to other forum members who are online and "in chat" at the same time. Unlike forum posts, what you type in chat doesn't stay around. It's more immediate, and impermanent.
Gryphon tried to get a chat party idea started. The aim was to get people to be in chat at about the same time, to increase the chances of finding others there. There are usually more people in chat now than there were then, so this is no longer necessary.
What's this Chime that people talk about?
Chime is the chat software linked to the forum software that youngwizards.net uses. You may see people poking, hitting, stabbing, sporking or scything it, out of frustration when it gets slow.
Update: Various people call the new, revised version either Chimer or Cedric, but it still seems to be Chime officially.
Why can't I get into chat?
You may have to set the preferences in your browser to allow Flash to run. You may also have to download Flash Player to update your version of Flash.
What's this Sigma that people talk about?
Sigma was different chat software that some people remember fondly. Don't worry about it, it's not still in use.
What's this Skype that people talk about?
It's nothing to do with Young Wizards. It's a program which allows you to make phone calls via the Internet. Some people use it to talk to each other and be amused by different accents.
Update: DD doesn't have Skype. Her satellite broadband connection apparently wouldn't work well with it. (Asked a few times.)
What's this VGDawn that <STRIKE>Gryphon</STRIKE> people talk about?
It's nothing to do with Young Wizards either. Gryphon set up a role-playing website and a lot of the people there are also members here. If you're not interested in role-playing, don't worry about it. If you are, Gryphon will tell you more than you wanted to know
. She will also claim there is a plot - don't believe her . I've been a member there for over a year, and I've never been near the plot.It's gone really slow
Yes. Again, reloading the window, or closing it and opening it again may help, or it may not. Clicking on the pencil eraser icon at top right of the scrolling window erases the window, which may also help.
How come I typed something, but it never showed up?
Annoying, isn't it? This has been reported to the people who wrote Eve and Chime, but it still does it sometimes. Sometimes it will show up eventually, out of order with other lines you've typed, and sometimes you won't see it but others will.
Update: This seems to be a lot rarer now, and hardly ever happens.
Can I get a transcript of the fascinating conversation?
The only way I know to do that is to copy it and paste it into a file. It would be polite to ask the others involved first, if you're planning to quote it on the forums or somewhere.
What happens if I click on one of those heads?
A popup window will open with their public profile in it. (This, and putting the cursor over their name without clicking, is the only way to see their avatar now.) Also, you select their name (see the next question).
Oh, and the pencil that flashes on and off by someone's head means that they're currently typing. Or it means that Chime has got stuck. If you aren't typing, and the pencil is flashing, typing something and hitting send should clear the pencil.
Why do people keep threatening to kill Cedric (or Chime)?
They're getting fed up with being kicked, or slow reactions, or having to wait a long time before they can get in.
What happens if I click on someone's name in the visitors list?
A popup window appears, giving information about that user. There are also three buttons you can use, each showing a symbol superimposed on a head.
- The "red traffic sign" button allows you to ignore someone. You will not be able to see anything they type. If someone's being annoying, this lets you pretend they don't exist. It lets them talk about you behind your back, too. Clicking the button for a person again will end this, so that you can again see what they type. (Members used to call this bagging and unbagging, because of the old icon.)
- The "speech balloon" button opens a tab for a private chat. (Unlike the old Chime, the private messages aren't interleaved with the public ones.)
- The "file" button opens a new window with the user's profile.
There is also a field and a Whisper button. If you type in the field and click Whisper, only you and the selected person will see what you said. (To whisper to more than one person, use shift, command or control keys when clicking on the names.)
How can I talk to just one person (or a few) instead of everyone in Chime?
You need to use either a private chat or a whisper. See the question before this one.
Why are some heads orange instead of green?
Administrators (DD and Lee) and moderators (Kli6 and Peter) have orange heads to make them stand out.
Except that Peter isn't a mod in the spoiler chat or the DD online chats, for some reason.
How do I become a moderator?
DD decides she needs moderators, and then decides who. I don't know how she decided. The people she chose didn't ask if they could be moderators first, though. (This question has been asked quite a few times!)
What's all this about tumbleweeds?
Alla started the tumbleweeds when chat went quiet one day, and they've become a recurring element. They're shown either as * * * or as various smileys, depending on who is mentioning them.
Why doesn't my avatar show up in the popup window?
Animated avatars don't work in Chime, and it looks as if .gif and .png files don't work either. .jpg files seem to work.
Q. Do I have to RSVP for the official chat? How and when do I do that?
A. Yes, for the present you have to RSVP if you want to participate in the official chat. You do that simply by e-mailing Lee Enfield-Burke, our admin, telling her you plan on being there. Generally the cutoff is one and a half or two weeks before the chat is scheduled to take place.
Please, do not RSVP that you will be there, if you aren't going to show up. The percentage of no-shows is sadly, pretty high.
I keep getting kicked out by Chime!
Hi, Tuttle. We don't know why you keep getting kicked out.
[edited to add a notice at the top about the closing of chat. --kli.]
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