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03 November 2003
Posted in
How To...
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...
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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4. Use capital letters sparingly, and for emphasis only - TYPING IN CAPS equals 'shouting in the chat room and is very annoying to chatters. |
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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. |
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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.
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*poof* - has left the chat |
GTSY - Glad To See You H&K - Hug and Kiss HABU - Have A Better 'Un HAGN - Have A Good Night HAGU - Have A Good 'Un HAND - Have A Nice Day HHIS - Hanging Head in Shame HIG - How's It Going HUB - Head Up Butt IAE - In Any Event ILY - I Love You IMNSHO - In My Not So Humble Opinion IMO - In My Opinion IMCO - In My Considered Opinion IMHO In My Humble Opinion IMS - I'm Sorry IOW - In Other Words IRL - In Real Life ITIGBS - I Think I'm Gonna Be Sick IWALU - I Will Always Love You J4G - Just For Grins JAM - Just A Minute JMO - Just My Opinion JTLYK - Just To Let You Know KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid KIT - Keep In Touch KOC - Kiss On Cheek KOL - Kiss On Lips KOTC - Kiss On The Cheek KWIM - Know What I Mean L8R - Later L8R G8R - Later 'Gator LHM - Lord Help Me LHO - Laughing Head Off LHU - Lord Help Us LMAO - Laughing My A$$ Off LMSO - Laughing My Socks Off LOL - Laugh Out Loud |
LSHMBB - Laughing So Hard My Belly is Bouncing LSHMBH - Laughing So Hard My Belly Hurts LSHTTARDML - Laughing So The Tears Are Running Down My Leg LTNS - Long Time No See LTS - Laughing To Self LUWAMH - Love You With All My Heart LY4E - Love You Forever MTF - More To Follow NRN - No Reply Necessary NADT - Not A Darn Thing NVNG - Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained OIC - Oh, I See OMG - Oh My God OTOH - On The Other Hand OTTOMH - Off The Top of My Head PAW - Parents Are Watching PDS - Please Don't Shoot PITA - Pain In The A$$ PMFJI - Pardon Me For Jumping In PMSL - Pissing Myself Laughing PMP - Peed My Pants PPL - People POAHF - Put On A Happy Face QSL - Reply QSO - Conversation ROFL - Rolling On Floor Laughing ROFLAPMP - ROFL And Peeing My Pants ROFLMAO - ROFL My A** Off ROFLMAOAY - ROFLMAO At You ROFLMAOPMP - ROFLMAO Peeing My Pants ROFLMAOWTIME - ROFLMAO With Tears In My Eyes ROFLUTS - ROFL Unable to Speak |
RME - Rolling My Eyes ROTFL - Rolls On The Floor Laughing SETE - Smiling Ear To Ear SHID - Slaps Head In Disgust SNERT - Snot-Nosed Egotistical Rude Teenager SNAFU - Situation Normal; All Fouled UP SOT - Short Of Time SOTMG - Short Of Time Must Go STO - Sticking Out Tongue SUAKM - Shut Up and Kiss Me SWAK - Sealed With A Kiss SWAG - Scientific Wild A** Guess SWL - Screaming with Laughter SYS - See You Soon SYT - Sweet Young Thing TCOY - Take Care Of Yourself TIA - Thanks In Advance TILII - Tell It Like It Is TNT - Till Next Time TNX - Thanks TOY - Thinking Of You TTFN - Ta Ta For Now TTYL - Talk To You Later TY - Thank You WAG - Wild A** Guess WAYD - What Are You Doing WB - Welcome Back WBS - Write Back Soon WEG - Wicked Evil Grin WKF - Well Known Fact WTG - Way To Go WTH - What/Who The Heck YBS - You'll Be Sorry YG - Young Gentleman YL - Young Lady YM - Young Man YW - You're Welcome |
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.
| :-| o:-) >:-( |-I (::()::) :-{} -o :-c |C| |P| :( ) :*) |
Ambivalent Angelic Angry Asleep Band-aid Blowing a Kiss Bored Bummed Out Can of Coke Can of Pepsi Can't Stop Talking Clowning |
:' :'-) :'-( :-9 :-> ;-> :P :*) :-6 :( ~/ _/ |
Crying Crying with Joy Crying Sadly Delicious, Yummy Devilish Devilish Wink Disgusted (poke tongue) Drunk Exhausted, Wiped Out Frown Full Glass Glass (drink) |
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| ^5 (((((name)))) (( )):** :-I :-)*(-: :-# :~/ (_) @[_]~~ **** &&&& @--)--)(-- |
High Five Hug (cyber hug) Hugs and Kisses Indifferent Kiss Lips are Sealed Mixed Up Mug (coffee, beer) Mug of HOT Coffee/Tea Popcorn Pretzels Rose |
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Rose Screaming Shocked Smile Surprised Thumbs Up Tongue Tied Undecided Wink Yawning |
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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