ARM Chatroom

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The ARM Chatroom is a webpage you can visit to chat to other forum members live :-)

Contents

Quick start

Here is how you use the chatroom:

1) Login to the forum

2) Click on the "Chatroom" link near the top of the main forum page.

3) Go to this link:

http://artonelico.isisview.org/chat/

4) Enter the nickname you want to use, when the "Please enter your nickname" box pops up.

5) You will get a screen with a few different areas.

The layout might seem a bit confusing, but when starting out, you only need to know about 2 parts of the screen:

  • The chat history - that large white box in the middle of the screen, with everyone's messages.
  • The text entry area - a thin text entry box across the bottom of the screen. When you type a message, it appears here.

6) Read the messages that have been posted recently

You can find them in the chat history box, that fills most of the screen.

5) Post your own message

Just type something and then press the Enter button

Rules

Please don't do anything to seriously offend other chatters. Like on the forum, highly offensive behavior is not tolerated.

One example of this is impersonating other members. While this is technically possible (the chatroom software allows you to use any nickname, due to lack of security), it is frowned upon.

The server does keep a log of which computer (IP address) was used to make posts, regardless of the nickname you log in with. While this log is not usually monitored, it can be (and has been) used by forum staff to find and warn forum members who have been highly offensive in the chatroom.

If you do notice some highly offensive behavior, please do not hesitate to report it to the forum staff for further attention.

You can find a list of recently active ARM staff members, at the bottom of the main board page, in the "FORUM STAFF" section.

Guides

This section explains a few things about the chatroom in more detail

The chat looks bad in my browser

In some web browsers (especially Internet Explorer 8), the chatroom can look really bad, with parts of the chat display being drawn in totally incorrect parts of the screen.

This is basically a problem with your webbrowser.

There are two main ways to fix this:

1) Tell your webbrowser (if you're using Internet Explorer 8) to use "compatibility view" mode for the chatroom:

Go to "Tools"->"Compatibility View" while on the chat page and it should fix it.

(Thanks to Niyaya for the information).

2) Install and use some other browser.

These browsers are known to work with the chatroom:

But most recent browers should also work fine. The main requirement is good Javascript and CSS support.

Also, make sure you have a recent version of the web browser installed (eg: 3.5.6 for Firefox, at the time of writing).

Pomoticons

The Pomoticons are Pom-themed emoticons, created by Ilutiern.

To use them, just click on one of the pom faces, found in the box at the bottom of the screen.

Private messages

The chatroom allows you to start up a private chatroom with another person currently online in the ARM chatroom.

You can start a new chat like this:

1) Click on the person's nickname in the member list (on the right side of the screen)

2) Click on "Private message"

This will log you into a new chat room, which only you and the other person can see.

3) Type a message and press ENTER

This will log the other person into the new chat room, where they will see your new message. Now the two of you can chat privately on the side.

Using bbcode

Just like the forum, the ARM chatroom supports a few special codes (called bbcode), to create special effects inside your messages. You can use these codes to set bold or italic text, change colors, insert images, and so on.

Many of these bbcodes can be added automatically, by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the screen (eg: the "img" button, for adding an image). Other bbcodes currently need to be typed out.

Images

Use the [img] bbcode to add an image to your message.

It works just like in the forum. It looks like this: 

[img]LINK[/img]

For instance: 

Here is the forum's logo: [img]http://artonelico.isisview.org/styles/prosilver/imageset/site_logo.gif[/img]

The easist way to use this bbcode:

1) Click on the "img" button at the bottom of the screen

This will pop up a "Enter the text to format" input box

2) Copy and paste the link to the image into the box

3) Press ENTER

This will add the bbcode for the image, into your message.

Avatars

One interesting use for the [img] bbcode is for adding avatars (small pictures with faces) in front of your messages. This can create an interesting effect for roleplaying and expressing emotions (besides the pomoticons), although it is more work.

Hax for using images in your nickname

Use a command like this: 

/nick :shock:

Or a command like this: 

/nick [img]http://wizzardx.isisview.org/images/avatars/toukousphere/at2/Shun/8_0.jpg[/img]

To get an image to show in your nickname, sometimes (and other times it will look ugly, with [img] tags)

One way to get your nickname to show in the chat log, is to use the /me command, eg: 

/me hello

This is technically a bug either in phpFreechat, or one of wizzardx's modifications.

In a similar vein, it seems like you can 'hide' your nickname in the chat log, by surrounding your nickname with "<" and ">" (eg: <jack>), and then using the "/me" command in front of your messages.

Hymmnos

Just like on the forum, you can use the Hymmnos font for some messages. Here's an example: 

[hymmnos]Was yea ra chs hymmnos mea[/hymmnos]

Spoilers

Also like on the forum, you can insert a spoiler block, for instance: 

[spoiler]Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father[/spoiler]

The chatroom's spoiler tag does not yet support the little comment that appears at the top of the spoiler.

Chat commands

Most of the time when you type messages and press ENTER, that message gets sent directly into the chat for other people to read.

But, there are some special types of messages you can send, that cause the chat to do something special in the chatroom, for instance changing your nickname after you've already logged into the chatroom.

The commands are entered like normal chat messages, but have a special layout: 

/command FURTHER DETAILS
  • The first part, '/command', is a slash (/), followed by a command name (for instance "/nick")
  • The second part, "FURTHER DETAILS", contains any other information the command needs (for instance, your your new nickname)

The most common command you'll use, is the "nick" command, for changing your nickname in the channel. But there are several others you can use too.

You can find a list of all the built-in commands here.

Changing your nickname

If you want to change your nickname, then use the "/nick" command, for instance: 

/nick Jonny

Just type the above message, replacing "Jonny" with the nick you want, and then press ENTER.

A couple of uses for nickname changes:

1) Telling people your status, eg: 

/nick Jonny (away)

2) Roleplaying 

/nick Hagar the Horrible
I have come to plunder your villages!
/nick Eric
We will stop you at any cost, Hagar!
/nick Hagar the Horrible
Just you try and stop me.

Joining or creating chat rooms

The ARM Chat system allows you to start up new chat rooms, alongside the regular chatrooms. This can be useful for having a conversation on the side, especially if the regular chatrooms are very busy, or if you want to discuss something privately with a small group of people (if it's just 2 people, then the private message system is easier to use).

To start up a new chatroom, you use the "/join" command. For instance: 

/join spam

The above command will create a new chatroom called "spam", and log you into it, where you can start chatting immediately.

To join an existing chatroom, you use the exact same command.

For instance, if someone asks you to join the "Vikings" chatroom, then you would run this command: 

/join Vikings

This will log you into the chatroom called "Vikings", and you can immediately start chatting.

A quick note: Sometimes chat rooms are also called "channels". They're the same thing, though.

Inviting people to a chat room

If you create a chat room, and want to get people to join it, then you can use the /invite command: 

/invite NICKNAME

For instance, if you want to hold a side discussion about funbuns:

1) Create a new chat room: 

/join funbuns

2) Invite other members 

/invite lyner
/invite croix

At which point, those chatters will automatically be logged into the new chatroom, without you having to first ask them to run a "/join funbuns" command.

By the way, the /invite command also has another usage: 

/invite NICKNAME CHANNEL

This lets you invite chatters into a room where you are logged in, but don't currently have focused in your browser.

Emoting

If you want to send a message like this: 

* Eric strikes down the viking

(if your name is Eric)

Then use the /me command, like this: 

/me strikes down the viking

Making a backup of the chat

After you close the chatroom browser window, all of your chat history will be lost, and you won't be able to easily get hold of it again later.

So the best thing to do if you want to keep a copy of the chat for later reference, is to make your own backup. How you do this:

1) Create a new text file, and open with notepad.

2) Select the entire chat history with your mouse.

3) Copy and paste the history over into notepad.

4) Save the new text file.

Alternately, if you use a word processor (like MS Word), you can preserve more formatting, like font colors. But notepad should be fine in most cases, especially as:

  • bbccode for images ([img] tags) is automatically created in notepad, when you copy and paste.
  • Links in the chatroom are complete (rather than being automatically abbreviated), so the complete link will be found in your text file later.

Chatroom history

The chat room has a limited history:

  • When you login to the chatroom, you will see the last 50 lines, before you joined
  • If you've been chatting for a while, your browser will show up to the last 500 lines

(These are the current settings at the time of writing, but they may be changed in the future).

Notifications for new chat messages

When someone posts a message into the chatroom, the chatroom lets the other chatters know about this in a few ways.

1) The new message appears in the chatroom history.

2) Your browser will ring a "bell" sound.

If this is annoying, you can turn it off by clicking on the "speaker" icon, found near the bottom of the screen. Note, that sometimes the bell noise will only play if you're away from the chat, or it might not sound at all, even if it is turned on (it does seem a bit buggy).

3) The web browser title will change.

If you're away from the chat (for instance, busy on something else on your PC), then the web brower title will change from "A Reyvateil's Chatroom" to something like "[5] A Reyvateil's Chatroom".

That number in square brackets, is the number of new messages in the chatroom, since the last time you checked the webpage. This can be quite useful, because you can leave the chatroom open for a long time while doing other things (idling), and then as soon as the title changes in your task bar, and you have some spare time, you can alt-tab back to the chatroom and chat for a bit.

The default chatroom

When you log into the ARM chat, there will be 1 chat room open on your screen:

  • ARM Chat

"ARM Chat" is the one that's focused by default, and you can chat there about anything.

Re-opening the default chatroom

If you happened to close the default chatroom, and want to re-open it again, there are 2 main ways to achieve this:

1) Close all your open chatrooms, and then press F5.

The ARM Chat system will automatically re-open the "ARM Chat" chat room.

Alternately:

2) Use the "/join" command, eg: 

/join ARM Chat

Extra chatrooms

Besides the default chatrooms, there are some others (well, just one for the moment) which people may be interested in joining:

AT3 chatroom

The AT3 chatroom is for Ar tonelico 3-related discussions, to avoid spoilers (even mild ones) in the main chatroom.

To visit the AT3 chatroom, use this command: 

/join AT3

Logging in under many nicknames at the same time

It is possible to control more than one nickname in the chatroom. This can be fun for roleplaying, for instance.

You can do this by visiting the chatroom with a different web browser for each nickname. For instance Firefox for your first nickname and Opera for your second nickname.

What is that shield that appears next to some members nicknames?

Sometimes you'll see members who have a small "shield" icon next to their nickname in the members list, on the right side of the screen.

The "shield" icon is to let you know that this chatter is a moderator (or more correctly an "operator") for the ARM chatroom. These people have basically the same types of abilities (and responsibilities) as forum moderators.

Here is the current list of chatroom operators:

  • wizzardx - Mainly for setting up new chatroom features, or fixing problems
  • Bones_Yu-ri - Mainly for keeping her roleplays on topic if needed
  • exec_ragnaros - To help monitor the chatroom for problems (forum member impersonation, etc).
  • Lazy - Because he's a global mod on the forum, who's also active on the chatroom.
  • calidynd - To help with chatroom moderation when it's needed
  • Chaude - To help with chatroom moderation when it's needed
  • ilutiern - To help with chatroom moderation when it's needed
  • Aelisera - To help with chatroom moderation when it's needed
  • Sonneto - To help with chatroom moderation when it's needed

More chatroom operators can be added later if they are needed (eg: spamming or other problems).

Also, if you have a problem with one of the chatroom operators, you can send a forum PM to one of the (other) ARM staff members. You can find a list of (recently) active ARM staff members, at the bottom of the main board page, in the "FORUM STAFF" section.

The "Funny ARM chatroom quotes" topic

You can visit forum topic, to get an idea of the crazy types of discussion that take place in the chatroom :P

And, if you have some entertaining chat, then you're welcome to post your own chat transcripts there. Read this guide for how to make a copy of the chat history, which you can copy directly into a new forum post for that topic.

Continuing conversations in the forum

This is more of a general suggestion :-)

If you have some interesting conversations in the chatroom, then you should consider starting corresponding topics in the forum. The reasons for this:

1) The chatroom discussions are very temporary, and will disappear soon (besides personal backups)

This means that interesting conversations will die off pretty quickly, and not have much chance to be read through and enjoyed by other people later, or replied to.

2) Only people who were online at the time of the chat, got a chance to participate

It's hard for new people to join in the chats later.

3) People are spending a lot of time in the chatroom instead of the forums

This is okay (the ARM forum members are having fun after all), but it is a bit sad too for the forum to become a lot quieter. So let's try to be more active in the forum :-)

wizzard also wrote a bit about this here.

Adding temporary chatroom moderators

Since the chatroom runs 24/7, but we only have a few chatroom mods, there can be problems when there are no chatroom moderators around.

To help address this, it's recommended that the permanent chatroom mods use the /op command, to make sure that there's always at least one op online on the chatroom.

In other words, if you're the last chatroom mod online, and you're about to log out the chatroom, then it's recommended that you use the /op command to make another chatroom member (who you know well enough, and who spends a lot of time on the chatroom) into a (temporary) chatroom mod, before you log out.

On the other hand, if you don't know any of the currently-online members well enough, then it's better to not use the /op command.

Guidelines for the temporary chatroom operators

If you're made into a temporary chatroom moderator, then there's a couple of things that you should know about.

The /kick command

If some member is causing a lot of trouble, then you can use the /kick command to boot them off the chatroom. Like this: 

/kick membername

Or if there's a space in the person's name, then use double quotes, like this: 

/kick "Member Name"

There's also a /ban command if you really need it, but only use it as a last resort.

The /op command

If you also need to sign off (before a permanent op comes online), then you should also use the /op command, to make another chatter into a temporary chatroom moderator, to help keep an eye on things, until the next permanent op comes online.

You can do it like this: 

/op membername

Or, if there are spaces in the member name, then use double quotes: 

/op "Member Name"

But you should only use the /op command, if you know the next person well enough (who spends a lot of time on the chatroom), and you're sure they won't cause problems.

If you don't know the other chatters well enough, then it's better to not use the /op command.

When a permanent chatroom op logs in

If a permanent chatroom mod logs in, then it should be fine if you keep your temporary chatroom op permissions until you log out (eg: in case the permanent chatroom mod is only on for a short while).

But if you want to, you can remove your mod permissions sooner, with the /deop command: 

/deop yournickname

With great power comes great responsibility

If you're made into a temporary chatroom op, then please don't misuse your new privileges (ie: unnecessary use of the chatroom mod commands). Abuse of the mod commands will be viewed seriously.

If there are problems, please use your judgment. eg: ask the person to stop, and warn them first, before /kicking. And only /ban if they keep logging on and causing problems in short period of time, even after repeated /kicks.

If there are some serious problems (and especially if you need to kick or ban members), please pass that along to the ARM staff (eg: let the next permanent chatroom mod know, so they can raise it with the rest of the ARM staff if needed).

Keeping track of nick changes

It can be quite confusing to know who is who in the chatroom, especially with people using the /nick command regularly.

When we had the "RP" and "RP Chat" rooms, we could use those (mostly unused) rooms to help keep track of the nick changes. But since those rooms were removed, it's a bit harder.

So now there's two ways you can keep track of the nick changes:

1. Use the /whois command, eg: 

/whois wizzardx

This will print out a bunch of info, and also an 'aka' line listing earlier nicknames, if the member has changed their nick recently on the chatroom.

2. Refresh the chatroom with F5, and then click the member's name in the list on the right.

If the user changed their nick, there will be an "aka" section in the popup box, listing the previous nicks that the member used in the chatroom.

Clearing your "aka" information

If for some reason you don't want chatters to know your previous nickname (eg: for some kind of guessing game), there are a few different ways you can clear it out:

(not fully tested, but these should work)

1. Quit all the rooms and then log in again, eg: 

/quit

And then press F5.

Alternately:

2. Close the chatroom in your browser, and come back a few minutes later. Alternately:

3. Log into the chatroom with a different web browser (eg: Opera if you're already using Firefox to chat in the ARM chatroom). Alternately:

4. Change your nick a lot of times (the aka info only keeps track of 10 previous nicknames).

The software behind the chat

The ARM chatroom uses the phpfreechat software. In technical terms, the server runs PHP, and your browser runs some dynamic javascript (AJAX), that talks to the server, and keeps the chat updated in your browser.

Further information

To learn more about the ARM Chatroom, or to ask questions, you can visit this forum topic.

Retrieved from "http://artonelico.isisview.org/wiki/index.php/ARM_Chatroom"
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