This is the unofficial Yum-Chat FAQ.

1. I keep being booted from the chat every 3 minutes, why's that ?


2. I can't happen to go beyond the welcome page...


3. Does the built-in logging feature work ? Where can I find the logs ?


4. How to roll a set of dice ?


5. How to make my text appear in bold or italic ? Is HTML allowed in posts ?


6. I'm a newbie on the chat. What should I do and don't do ?


• conventions


• acronyms


• Swamp map and description


7. Why some names are in italics in the user list ?


8. Why is the chat not letting me in and says that I'm banned ?


9. How can I read the description of a character not currently online ?


10. How do I disable the annoying refresh click sounds in Internet Explorer ?


11. Useful links

1.- I keep being booted from the chat every 3 minutes, why's that ?

It's an auto-refresh problem on the user list frame (the right frame), most probably because you are using Internet Exploder v5.5 or v6 (any version after v5 is unsuitable for use with YC...). Use Netscape, Mozilla Firefox or Opera instead... Netscape is free and I recommend to use v4.79 (not too bloated and very stable). For Windoze users, here is the link to download Netscape Communicator v4.79. If you got a modern computer, able to cope with more processing power-hungry software, I'd recommend Firefox as your browser of choice. Beware, though: v0.9.x is a catastrophic release (it was released too soon) which broke many things and is buggy/unstable. Download Firefox v0.8 instead, or wait for v1.0...

2.- I can't happen to go beyond the welcome page: this damned thing keeps reappearing each time I click on the hidden link to enter the chat... Why ?

Two possibilities here: either a corrupted (partially loaded) page is kept in a cache (either on your hard disk or on your ISP proxy server), or your browser (or firewall) is configured so not to send the "URL referer" to the web server.

In the first case, empty your browser cache and disable the proxy (this is to be done from the configuration/Internet options menu of your browser), close all the browser windows, restart your browser and relog...

In the second case, just configure your browser to send the URL referer (this is the last visited page address and YC checks that you visited the welcome page before letting you logging on): this is to be done via the options/configuration menu of your browser. If you are behind a firewall, the URL referer may be blocked too, the only option is then to ask to your site administrator to solve the issue as this can't be done at the user level...

Finally, this situation can happen if you are using the Zone Alarm firewall program. Under the 'Privacy' section, you need to modify the 'Cookie Control' options. Click on the Custom button and make sure that the 'Remove private header information' checkbox is unchecked. This check box blocks the REFERER header information from passing through, which Yum Chat requires to ensure that you are coming in from the main screen.

3.- Does the built-in logging feature work ? Where can I find the logs ?

Yes, it does work again now !  But remember that when you /quit (or /part), the log is lost: if you want to quit the chat and keep logging, press the "Start log" button in the right frame (if not already done), then just close the browser window (without /quitting): the chat will automatically log you off three minutes after you closed the window, but the log will be available for you to retreive it next time you enter the chat.

There are also now full logs of the chat being made 24/7. You can find the logs archives here. The logs are continuously updated, with new files being created on a daily basis. You will need to enter the proper login and password to get access to the logs (login: adult - password: imofage).

Henri's archives of the logs can be found here. The logs are automatically updated every 8 hours. You will need to enter the proper login and password to get access to the logs (login: adult - password: imofage). Logging to Henri's server will be discontinued upon validation that the new logging is properly working.

4.- How to roll a set of dice ?

Just type: /dice and press the "ENTER" button. Then choose the number of dice/sides for each die and press the "Roll" button... Simple, huh ?

5.- How to make my text appear in bold or italic ? Is HTML allowed in posts ?

Very limited HTML is allowed in the posts (either normal posts or PMs), most of the tags are filtered out, though. The URLs (starting with http://) are automatically recognized and replaced by a link (beware: everything between "http://" and the next space will be accounted as a link, so don't forget to put a space after the URL if you put some punctuation (a closing bracket or a dot for example) after it...).

You may also make some text appear in bold or italic: just use the and tags to enclose bold text, and the and tags to enclose italic text...

6.- I'm a newbie on the chat. What should I do and don't do ?

First: welcome to you ! :-)

There are a few things I would recommend you to do first, before entering the chat and playing with others:

1. Read the rules which are displayed on the welcome page of the chat. These rules are pretty simple and not very stringent, letting you a lot of freedom, so please just respect them...


2. Read the chatroom etiquette. This will give you useful guide lines as well as a good idea of what is considered as a fair role playing on YumChat.


3. Read the chat help (also available from the chat screen by clicking on the octagonal "HELP!" button on the top right corner of your browser window): this will tell you how the chat works, how to send private messages (PMs), etc...


4. Log in, entering a name for your character and giving a password to protect it. The character name may be used by someone else already, if this is the case you will get an "incorrect log-in" message in the login window: just choose another name for your own character...


5. Once logged in, click on the octagonal "MY INFO" button which will appear in the right frame (it may take a few seconds for the frame to refresh after logging in). Choose the name and text colours for your posts, the screen direction (you may prefer to see the latest posts at the bottom of the screen...), and enter a description for your character (what it looks like, its species, its size, its age, is it prey or predator ?), as well as some OOC (out of character) comments such as your vore preferences, if yiff is acceptable or not during vore scenes, etc... Once you are satisfied with your character description, press the "Save My Data" button.


6. That's it, your char is ready to enter the chat... Here are some more advices though:
   
   
   • Keep in mind that YC is not an IRC chat: you are supposed to role play (RP) in it, not to chat about the weather, your favorite movie or the like.
   
   
   • YC is also a vore chat room: it is not intended to play sex RPs or fights, unless the sex play/fight is part of a larger and main vore scene. Please consider the use of alternate chat rooms, IRC or instant messaging (AIM and the like) for non-vore related RPs. This is not to say that you can't do some character development in YC, but just keep this type of RP low when other vore RPs are going on. Click here for an interesting message that Mr Yum (the creator of this chat himself) posted about sex on Yum-Chat, please read it !
   
   
   • Before engaging into a RP with another character, please read this character info first (click on the name of the character you want to play with in the user list window): read carefully the info, even if it is long; you will avoid upsetting the player of this character by doing something which (s)he doesn't want to be done...

Here are some conventions used in the chat:

• OOC (out of character) posts: they should be enclosed between double brackets, e.g.: ((Man, I must hurry up, sorry for making the scene short...))
  This type of post is normally to be used in relation to the RP going on or to say something interesting the whole chat. Use PMs (private messages) instead if your message is aimed at only one player. Avoid using OOC posts at all price when a vore scene is taking place: these posts are clobbering the screen and make the actual RP posts to scroll out the window, sometimes quite fast when a lot of players are logged on (please, also have a look at this message about IC and OOC posts grouping)...


• IC (in character) posts: the part(s) of a post dealing with how the character acts or feels may be enclosed between stars ("*"), while what the character says is typed directly without delimiter, e.g.: Hello XXX, how are you ? * smiles and walks over to XXX. *
  Another possibility is to use quotes when the character speaks and to let the actions/feelings without delimiters, e.g.: "Hello XXX, how are you ?", smiles and walks over to XXX.
  A character using telepathy to address others will usually be recognized by the "~" delimiters enclosing what he says, e.g.: * The dragon flies in and addresses everyone in the clearing * ~ Hello all ! ~

Here are some acronyms used in the chat:

• BRB, BBS = be right back, be back soon (the player will return in a moment).


• BBL = be back later (the player leaves and will return later (minutes, hours or days...)).


• GTG, G2G, GG = Got to go (the player must leave the chat).


• AFK = away from keyboard (the player can't type although (s)he is still logged in).


• WB = welcome back.


• LTNS = long time no see.


• PM = private message.


• IM = instant message/messaging (AIM, ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, MSN and the like).


• OOC = out of character (what you type as a player).


• IC = in character (what you type while playing your character).


• RL, IRL = real life, in real life.


• MAV = wrongly addressed or escaped private message.


• YC = Yum-Chat


• BG = Big Gulp message board (see the links below).

Here are attempts at a Swamp map and at a Swamp description.

7.- Why some names are in italics in the user list ?

The names in italics correspond to characters pertaining to the operators (OPs). The OPs can help you when you get a problem, and they try to keep the chat running smoothly by giving useful advices and enforcing the rules when needed. They can kick a user from the chat should it be necessary (if you get spammed, in PMs for example, by a user who bothers you, report it to an OP).

8.- Why is the chat not letting me in and says that I'm banned ?

Two possibilities:

• You were kicked by an OP or banned because of an offense and you must then wait for the kick to last or the ban to be lifted before returning.


• Your IP address, as seen by the chat server, is the same as the one previously used by a kicked or banned user. In this case, please write an email to Rodent, explaining your problem and giving your character name as well as, if you know them, your IP address and your web proxy address (if any).

9.- How can I read the description of a character not currently online ?

Provided you got a Javascript enabled browser, just use the form below (you must press the "Display info" button; just pressing the "ENTER" key won't work):

Else, replace the "FAQ" after the "?" in the URL of this FAQ page with the name of the character (with all spaces replaced with "_")...

10.- How do I disable the annoying refresh click sounds in Internet Explorer ?

Go to Start Menu >> Control Panel >> Sounds and Audio Devices. Then click on the sounds tab. Once there, scroll down the list of Program Events until you see Windows Explorer. Underneath that, you should then see Start Navigation...