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NZ Macguide Issue 9

Never tried spending time in a chat-room? There are zillions of chat-rooms covering any and every interest you're likely to think of. If you've got some time on your hands, give it a go - chat rooms are a real giggle - chances are once you've tried it, you'll be hooked. A good place for budding Mac users to start is Yahoo (www.yahoo.com), all you need is a good web browser like safari or Internet Explorer.

Chat-rooms aren't only a lot of fun, they're a great way to meet new and interesting people from all over. Before you leap online, beware that there are some definite dos and don'ts when it comes to chat-rooms. Called 'netiquette', good chat-room manners make life easier for fellow chatters, not to mention making chat-rooms much more interesting places to hang out in.

Golden Rules of Chat
So what makes for good manners when chatting online? Consider the following when chatting...

	1. Keep your chat brief - Sticking to three sentences or less makes conversation flow quickly. Long, rambling, multi-paragraph discourses will see you quickly alienated, or even kicked out of most chat-rooms.
	2. Don't be too brief either - Always replying with one or two words can make you appear aloof and disinterested. Try to vary your replies, it'll keep things more interesting.
	3. Avoid arguments. While healthy debate is part and parcel of chat-room life, all-out arguments are definitely bad karma. If someone is rude or unnecessarily aggressive to you, check for an ignore function to block them. Chat-room arguments can kill the atmosphere in a chat room and should be avoided at all costs.
	4. Use capital letters sparingly, and for emphasis only - TYPING IN CAPS equals 'shouting in the chat room and is very annoying to chatters.
	5. Don't worry too much about spelling or grammar - it's always better to respond quickly rather than spending copious amounts of time editing typos.
	6. Remember chat-rooms are never private. Chat room conversations can be - and often are - recorded, or 'captured' by other chat room members, so assume what you're saying is being recorded.

While not quite a golden rule of chat, most chat rooms post terms and conditions. If you're entering a chat-room for the first time, it's a good idea to give these a once-over. Doing this could save you from unintentionally offending someone.

Chat Shorthand
Typing abbreviated chat shorthand can save a huge amount of time and effort. If you've stumbled across such arcane terms such as LMAO (laughing my ass off) or ASL (age sex location) and wondered what they're all about, wonder no more - here's a list of commonly used chat room abbreviations. Try them - they'll add a bit of flair to your conversations, and save you a tonne of typing.

Emoticons
The one big downside to chatting is that it's hard to tell your fellow chatters what sort of mood you're in. a great way of letting fellow chatters know how you are are emoticons. They're made up using two or three ordinary keyboard characters, and can say as much as several paragraphs of text if used judiciously.

The Final Word - chat-room safety
Although good chat-room behaviour isn't rocket science, don't assume that others are going to always be well behaved. Here's some guidelines to playing it safe while chatting.

Number one, stranger danger applies online too. Only ever give out an email address to someone if they're known to you, and even then use a private chat where available, unless you're looking to be flooded with junk mail from every weirdo in cyberspace. (Bearing this thought in mind, it's a good idea to set up a free email service for yourself such as hotmail (www.hotmail.com) or yahoo (www.yahoo.com), rather than using your personal email address.)

Likewise, giving out personal information such as your phone number or address is also a definite no no, too. You wouldn't shout your phone number and address out in the middle of the street, so why do it online? Being asked for your ASL (age/sex/location) is a common chat-room occurrence; most often other chatters are merely curious about what part of the world you hail from. Keep your replies when asked for your ASL generic (that can apply to your age too!). A typical reply would be: 'male, 35, Auckland'.

Well there you have it - you're now all clued up on how walk the walk and talk the talk - just like a cyber veteran. So what're you waiting for? Give it a go, enjoy!

© Parkside Media 2003
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