Copyright: Copyright © 1995 Quarterdeck Corporation


About Chat Servers

A chat server is a host computer on the Internet that runs the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol. Chat servers allow users to join chat sessions called channels. It is not uncommon for a chat server to have dozens or even hundreds of chat channels open simultaneously. Although a channel’s name usually reflects the general nature of the conversation within, each channel can also have a specific topic. Channel names tend to remain constant, while topics change continuously. For example, in a channel called "PC_Users" the topic might be "Windows 95 Bug Fixes" one day and "How to Choose a High Speed Modem" the next day.

Channel topics are set by the person who creates or moderates the channel. This person is commonly referred to as the channel operator, "chop," or simply the "op."

When you first connect to a chat server, you can obtain a list of the available channels on that server. You can then select a topic that interests you and connect to that channel. You are free to join and leave channels as you please.

Global Chat comes preconfigured to connect to several popular Internet chat servers. As you discover other servers (and you will very quickly) you can easily add them to Global Chat’s server list.


About Messages

Although there is no set limit to the length of your messages, bear in mind that you can quickly fall behind in a conversation if you type long, complex messages. You will find that the majority of users limit their input to one or two lines of text.

Tip:	If you wish to send a complex question or statement, it is helpful to type it in a text editor such as Windows Notepad beforehand. Copy and paste the text from the editor’s window to the Chat Here window and press Enter. It is a good idea to type your message as a single paragraph--if your message contains carriage returns, it will be transmitted as several messages, which may confuse other participants.


About Nicknames and Identities

In the Chat protocol, it is not necessary to identify yourself to other users. Instead, you can create a nickname, or handle, for yourself. You may of course choose to use your own name or an abbreviation thereof, however most users feel more secure in not revealing their true identities. As you will no doubt discover, your willingness to disclose your true identity depends mainly on the topic you choose to explore.

Once you log into a particular chat channel, you need not contribute to the discussion. You can simply watch the messages between active participants scroll by on your screen. However, you are not necessarily invisible to other participants, as all chat programs provide a way to see who else is logged into the current channel.


Banners
About Banners

Global Chat includes a banner feature that displays a series of graphic banners, usually advertisements, at the top of the Global Chat window. This display works only when you connect to a chat server running Quarterdeck’s Global Stage chat server software. Banner display is controlled by the Global Stage server--you cannot disable this feature. When you connect to a non-Global Stage chat server, the Global Chat banner remains static.

The banners themselves usually contain World Wide Web hypertext links, so that when you click on a banner, Quarterdeck Mosaic will jump to the foreground and automatically connect you to the URL associated with the company or service in the banner.


Configuring Global Chat

Before you start using Global Chat regularly, you may want to configure it to your own preferences, and fill in some default information about yourself that will be used when you connect to chat servers.

To set Global Chat user preferences:

1	Select User from the Preferences menu.

The User Preferences dialog box appears.

Note:	The information you provide in this dialog box serves as the default for each chat server that you connect to. You may change or delete this information when you connect to a channel on a specific server. For more information, see Joining a Channel.

2	Enter a nickname for yourself in the Nick Name window. Your nickname cannot contain any spaces. Also, remember that if you wish to retain your privacy, your nickname need not reflect anything about you personally.

3	Enter your user name in the User Name field. You may leave this field blank if you desire more privacy.

4	Click OK.

To set Global Chat general preferences:

1	Select Options from the Preferences menu.

The Options dialog box appears.

To sort the channels list alphabetically, click the Sorted button, or click Unsorted to show them in the order they were created.

To sort the People List alphabetically, click the Sorted button, or click Unsorted to list them in the order they signed on to the channel.

To establish a connection to the last chat server you connected to, click the Previous button. If you prefer to have the default connection appear when you sign in, click Defaults.

Related topics:

About Nicknames and Identities


Connecting to a Chat Server

To use Global Chat, you must first connect, or sign in, to a chat server.

To sign in to a chat server:

1	Click the Sign In button.

The Sign In dialog box appears.

2	Select the desired chat server by selecting it from the Server field drop-down menu, or by typing the server’s name in the window.

Note:	If you type in a new server name, Global Chat automatically adds it to the Server drop-down menu for future use.

3	The Port window is filled in with a default value of 6667, which should suffice for most chat servers. Unless you have a specific need to change the port number, leave this value as is.

4	If you provided your nickname and user name in the User Preferences dialog, the Nick Name and User Name fields will already be filled in for you. You may change them at this time if you like. If the fields are blank, type a nickname and user name in the appropriate fields.

Note:	You must provide a nickname to connect to a chat server; the user name is optional.

5	Click the Sign In button.

After a few moments, the greeting message from the Chat server appears. This may consist of a few to several hundred lines, usually giving information and announcements about the server.

Related topics:

Launching Global Chat from Quarterdeck Mosaic


Contents
 Quarterdeck Global Chat

Contents

Introduction

Configuring Global Chat

The Global Chat Interface

Connecting to a Chat Server

Listing Channels

Joining a Channel

Freezing the Chat Area

Sending Messages

Getting Information on Another User

Ignoring Users

Leaving Channels

Web Surfing

Using Slash Commands


Freezing the Chat Area

As you read other user’s messages, you may have difficulty following individual threads because newly arrived messages force older messages to scroll off the top of the screen. If you try to scroll back through the display, it will bounce back to the bottom each time a new message arrives. The solution is to "freeze" the chat area display.

To freeze the chat area display:

Select Freeze Scrolling from the Edit menu (or type Ctrl-S).

Note:	Freeze Scrolling should be used for brief periods of time only. In the event that Global Chat would run out of memory if it were to continue to hold incoming messages, freezing will terminate and some portion of the held messages may be discarded.


Getting Information on Another User

You may wish to find out more about another participant, such as his/her real name and the computer they logged in from. Remember that chat participants often do not supply their real names. Often, they omit their real names completely.

To get information on another user:

1	In the User List, highlight the nickname of the desired user.

2	Select About User from the People menu. An About User dialog box appears with the name of the selected user already in the window.

3	Click About or press Enter.

The About User dialog box displays. It includes the user’s self-reported "real name" and the name of the computer he/she is logged in from. It also lists all channels to which the user is currently connected.


Global Chat Interface
The Global Chat Interface

The Global Chat interface consists of three windows. The largest window is the chat area, where chat messages are displayed. The lower window is where you type your messages to be sent to the chat channel. The vertical window at the right lists the nicknames all of the users logged into the current channel. You will always see your own nickname in this list when you have joined a channel

By default, a toolbar containing several buttons appears above the chat area window.

The Sign In button activates the dialog box for connecting to a chat server.

The Join Channel button activates a dialog box in which you specify the channel you wish to join.

The List Channels button activates a list box of available chat channels. (Actually, the first thing to appear is a dialog box that lets you specify which channels to list based on the number of current users.)

The Show People button activates a dialog box listing details about the users in the current channel. You must join a channel for this button to work.

TheWeb Browse button brings Quarterdeck Mosaic to the foreground and automatically connects you to the URL highlighted in the chat area.

The Chat Schedule button launches Quarterdeck Mosaic and connects you to the Chat Schedule page maintained on Quarterdeck’s World Wide Web site. (The Q button performs the same function.)

You can hide the button bar by unchecking the Show Toolbar option in the Preferences menu. Equivalent menu selections exist for all buttons.

Related Topics:

The Q Button

About Banners


Ignoring Users

If you find another user’s messages bothersome or offensive, you can set Global Chat to ignore incoming messages from that user.

To ignore messages from another user:

1	In the User List, highlight the nickname of the offending user.

2	Select About User from the People menu.

An About User dialog box appears with the name of the selected user already in the window.

3	Click About or press Enter.

The About user dialog box displays.

4	In the About User dialog box, check the Ignore Public Messages and/or Ignore Private Messages boxes and click OK.

The offending user’s messages will no longer appear in the chat area.

You can also ignore uses by pulling down the People menu and selecting Ignore User.


Introduction

Global Chat lets you exchange text messages interactively with other users. When logged into a chat session, you "converse" by typing messages that are instantly copied to other chat participants.

Global Chat is a chat client. It must connect via the Internet to a chat server to function. All participants in a chat session are clients connected to one or more chat servers.

Chatting has become one of the most popular services available on the Internet. Chat participants can exchange ideas about common interests, making chat sessions an ideal means to hold forums and group discussions. For example, many businesses now hold scheduled chat sessions, wherein customers can chat with company representatives about a new product, or exchange technical information and advice.


Joining a Channel

If you know the exact name of the channel you want to join, proceed as follows:

1	Click the Join Channel button.

The Join Channel dialog box appears.

2	Type the channel name. Channel names are not case-sensitive, but the spelling must be correct.

3	Click OK to join the channel.

After a moment, chat messages will begin to appear in the chat area and the nicknames of all current users will fill the user list.


Launching Global Chat from Quarterdeck Mosaic

Although Global Chat works well as a stand-alone program, you may also configure it to launch automatically from Quarterdeck Mosaic. Doing so augments the capabilities of both programs:

Global Chat extends Mosaic’s external viewing capabilities.

Mosaic makes a powerful "front end" for Global Chat.

Quarterdeck Mosaic comes pre-configured to work with Global Chat, making it an efficient tool for locating new chat servers on the Internet.

To launch Global Chat automatically from Quarterdeck Mosaic:

Click on a chat server link.

Global Chat will launch automatically and connect to the chat server.

To launch Global Chat manually from Quarterdeck Mosaic:

Select Internet Chat from Mosaic’s Tools menu.

Global Chat includes a Web Surf feature that lets you quickly jump back to Quarterdeck Mosaic.

Related topics:

Web Surfing


Leaving Channels

To leave a chat channel:

Select Leave Current Channel from the Channel menu.

The chat server will disconnect you from the current channel.


Listing Channels

Once you are signed in to a chat server, you must join a channel. A chat server may have dozens of active channels, so it helps to list the channels to help decide which one you want.

To list available channels on a chat server:

1	Click the List Channels button.

A dialog box appears specifying the minimum number of users that must be connected to a channel in order to make the list. The default is 10. This means that all channels with fewer than 10 users will not be listed. If you want to see a list of all channels available on this server regardless of the number of users, set this value to 0.

Tip:	To get a complete list of all channels regardless of size, you can also select List all Channels from the Channel menu.

2	Click OK.

A window appears listing the available channels along with the number of current participants and the topic.

Tip:	By default, the channel list is unsorted. To list channels alphabetically, select Options from the Preferences menu. For the Channels List setting, click the by Channel Name button.


Q Button

The Quarterdeck "Q" button automatically launches Quarterdeck Mosaic and connects you to the Chat Schedule page maintained on Quarterdeck’s World Wide Web site.

The Chat Schedule features a list of additional chat servers and a schedule of special chat sessions sponsored by Quarterdeck and other corporations. Checking this page regularly will help keep you up-to-date on developments in Global Chat and other chat-related topics.


Sending Messages

Although you are free to sit and watch other participants messages scroll by indefinitely, you will no doubt want to contribute to the conversation at some point. (Don’t be a "lurker!") You can send a message to the entire group or to selected participants.

To send a message to all participants on the current channel:

Note:	You must be connected to an active channel to send a message.

1	Place the cursor in the Chat Here box.

2	Type your message. Do not press Enter until you are ready to send your message. You can send only one paragraph at a time.

3	Press Enter to send your message.

Your message will appear in the order it was received by the chat server. Note that your nickname precedes your message.

To send private messages to one person on the current channel:

1	In the Send Message To area, click the One Person button.

2	In the user list, double-click the name of the desired user.

The user’s name will appear in the window next to the One Person button.

3	Place the cursor in the chat area box.

4	Type your message. Do not press Enter until you are ready to send your message. You can send only one paragraph at a time.

5	Press Enter to send your message.

Your message will appear in the order it was received by the chat server. Your private message to the user is preceded by "TO user", indicating that it is a private message. Even though your message appears along with all non-private messages in the chat area, only the private addressee will see it.

Tip:	If another user sends you a private message, his/her message will be preceded by a "FROM user" heading. Presumably, this person wants to keep his/her message to you confidential, so it is good etiquette to respond privately also.

Related topics:

Sending Private Messages


Tips On Choosing a Channel

You can get information on who is connected to a given channel without actually joining the channel. This is useful if you are searching for a particular user, or if you wish to avoid a particular user. (Remember that your presence can be known to all users when you join a channel.)

To see who is connected to a channel without joining the channel:

1	List the channels as described above. In the scrolling list, highlight the desired channel.

2	Click the People button.

The Who Is Here dialog appears.

3	To get information about a particular user, highlight the desired nickname and click the About button.

The About User dialog box displays. It includes the user’s self-reported "real name" and the name of the computer he/she is logged in from. It also lists all channels to which the user is currently connected.


Using Slash Commands

Global Chat offers several "slash" commands--keyboard shortcuts for performing certain chat functions. They are called slash commands because they must be prefaced with a forward slash (/), which is how the chat server distinguishes them as commands rather than regular text messages.

Note:	Some slash commands do not have menu or button equivalents in Global Chat. For example, you can only send an "action" message by using the /me command.

You type slash commands in the Chat Here box as you do regular messages. You send them by pressing Enter.

Joining a Channel

Use the /join command to join a channel, with optional password. You must know the channel’s exact name for this command to work. For example:

/join #JustChatting

/join #JustChatting mypassword

Leaving Channels

Use the /leave command to leave a chat channel. For example:

/leave

The chat server will disconnect you from the current channel.

Sending Private Messages

You can use the /msg command to send private messages to a single user, or several specific users. The following example sends a private message to a single user with the nickname of "lucy:"

/msg lucy How's it going?

The following example sends a private message to multiple recipients:

/msg lucy,ricky,fred,ethel How’s it going?

There is no menu or button equivalent for the multiple-recipient format of this command.

Quitting the Chat Server

You can close your connection to the current chat server with the /quit command. To disconnect from the current server, type:

/quit

This command has no menu or button equivalent.

Sending "Action" Messages

You can send special messages, whimsically referred to as actions, with the /me command. Actions are generally used to convey physical actions or reactions. You may find them useful in instances where words fail you.

For example, if a user with the nickname "Fred" types the command:

/me rolls his eyes.

Other users in the channel will see the message:

ACTION Fred rolls his eyes.

This command has no menu or button equivalent.


Web Surfing

You can jump from Global Chat to Quarterdeck Mosaic via the Web Surf option. This may come in handy if another chat user sends a URL address to the chat area; you can check out the URL quickly and easily.

To Web Surf from Global Chat:

1	Highlight the URL in the message window. Make sure to highlight the entire address.

2	Click the Web Surf button.

Quarterdeck Mosaic will jump to the foreground and connect to the URL. You can switch back to Global Chat at any time--you do not need to quit Quarterdeck Mosaic.

Related Topics:

Launching Global Chat from Quarterdeck Mosaic


freeze
To pause the vertical scrolling of the Chat Area.


threads
A thread is a conversation between two or more users, usually about a common subject. A chat channel can be like a noisy party--lots of people talking, but in groups of two or three.