Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Outlander Chat Instructions

I received an email asking for help with chat and wanted to make sure I post the instructions!

  1. To get to chat, click the "My Outlander Chat" tab above. 
  2. Type a nickname - any nickname - and click "Join". 
  3. You are now signed on to the chat room and your nickname will show up in the box in the upper right hand corner of the chatroom.
  4. To start talking, go to the bottom of the white box, where is says: Type here and hit ENTER to send a message". Type whatever you'd like to say and hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard. 
That's it! You're chatting! Whatever you type will show up above in the larger white box. Sometimes it gets crowded (not that we're complaining; we LOVE a full chat) and it helps to change the color of your text so everyone is a different color. If - for instance -  I am typing in green, and I am discussing Fergus - and you want to discuss Fergus - you will know to follow the green text.

We try to follow topics every week, but I don't want it to be so rigid that people have to discuss what we're discussing. I want everyone to have fun at chat!

Hope that helps! And please don't hesitate to let us know if you're having problems!  You can email Tracey or myself by clicking the "Contact Us" tab at the top of the blog!

7 comments:

  1. Hey Carol...thank you for the insight and lesson on the new chat. I tried to follow the chat on Monday, but was too confused by the crazy colors, so I didn't stay. Dang!! will try again next week. Julie

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  2. Carol - the 'contact us' button leads to a form with a different email than my regular aol account and it wanted me to do some sort of log in or whatever and I had to choose from html and some other techno things that I know nothing about. Just FYI!
    Still loving the Lamaze Fergus concept!!!

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  3. Julie I'm sorry you had problems! When all the text is black I find it much harder to follow what any one person is saying. Please come back and try again. Internet chat does take some getting used to!

    Ooooh thanks Christie - OK I just posted the addresses instead of only linking them - so now you can use whatever mail client you want!

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  4. Returning to the "Great Greet or Not Greet" controversy, let's hear some opinions. Here's the deal--with this chat, your name can be seen in the participants box with everyone else's name. I know some people would rather lurk than chat, but I also don't want people to think that we're not seeing their name or that we're ignoring them. Also, sometimes it's easier if you're a newbie to start chatting if you get a nice initial reception.

    I see Carol's point--that some people don't want their presence called out--but it's a bit harder for that to happen with this chat software. LOL maybe people who want to just lurk should use a nickname of "Anonymous" or "Don't Talk to Me."

    So weigh in--greet or no greet?

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  5. Why don't "lurkers" (people who want to view the chat without saying anything) just call themselves "Viewer1, Viewer2, etc". It might take a few tries to get in (because someone might have already used "viewer1", "viewer2", etc), but then we'll know they're only viewing.

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  6. Can old chats be viewed? I'm almost never available at 9p.m. EST. Any plans for a daytime chat in the future? I love this site!

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  7. Hi Paula - unfortunately, no... when you sign out of a chat, and sign back in, it starts fresh from the beginning. Also - as soon as the box is filled up to a certain extent, the commentary gets deleted.

    We can definitely do a chat at another time at some point! And the chat room is available any time! So if anyone wants to set up a separate chat time for an Outlander chat, feel free to use it!

    I will post and get some input as to what time works for those who can't get to the Monday chats - and even if I can't be there, you guys can have your own Outlander chat! :)

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