Villi-Chat Help Page

How to use this page:
To the right, you will see a sample of the console for a Villi-Chat chat room. Simply click on any item to bring up its description.

Or, you may choose from the menu below. This menu may be accessed by clicking the "Features Menu" anywhere on this page. To view this section again, simply click on the "Help" icon in the console.

Thank you for using Villi-Chat!

Features List:
Can I use Villi-Chat with WebTV or AOL?
How to log in
What characters may I use in my nick/password?
How do I talk to people?
How long may my messages be?
What behavior is acceptable?
Someone in the room is bothering me. What can I do?
The ops won't help me. What else can I do?
How do I leave the chatroom?
The IRC Emulator
Anti-Flood Feature
Auto-Linker
HTML Parser
Errors you may encounter
Kicked/Banned users and Ops
The Console:

Can I use Villi-Chat with WebTV or AOL?
Yes. Version 2.0 of Villi-Chat is a complete re-write that will allow proxy servers to access and maintain communication with the chatrooms with no problem. WebTV users may not be able to have new windows open for them, but that is a deficiency in the WebTV system and not correctable from the server end.

AOL also has some minor variations, due to their browsers being low-end versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer. High security pages that open in new windows (My Info, Op-requested descriptions, downloaded auto-log files) may require AOL users to re-enter their username and password. This is necessary due to the lack of reference from the chatroom using low-end browsers. Using the full versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator/Communicator should solve this, even when using AOL to connect to the Internet.

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How to log in:
Villi-Chat rooms are designed for the internet community that wants a secure and fun place to meet and talk in real time that allows everyone with internet access to join in. You do not need to download anything to use Villi-Chat. You do not even have to have JAVA capabilities. The rooms are totally and completely based on browser interfaces.

At the bottom of the screen you will see one of two things: Either two boxes when you first log in or once you have logged in, a single long box for posting messages.

To log in, simply enter the name you wish to use in the chatroom where it asks for 'nick' and your password where it asks for 'password', then click the 'Log On' button. The second screen with the single long box will appear.

If this is your first time in this particular chatroom, you will need to make up a password to enter if you want your nick to belong to you. The chatroom will recognize that this is the first time that nick is being used and will register that nick under your password. Now every time you log into this room, your settings will be right where they were when you logged off. Remember your password! You will need it next time you log on.

You may wish to not have your nick registered. If this is the case, simply do not enter a password. You will still be able to enter and join in the fun, but your settings will not be remembered the next time you log on.

If your nick is already owned by someone else, you will get an 'Incorrect Password' message. Simply choose another nick and try again.

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What characters may I use in my nick/password?
For nicks, you may use any character you can type except the ':'. This is reserved for internal usage. If you attempt to place a ':' in your nick, it will be deleted automatically. Also, ant HTML tags, like <FONT COLOR=#673972> will appear as TEXT in your nick. In the example, you would not change the color of your nick. If you want to change your nick color, click here.

For purposes of ownership, only the alphanumeric characters are used. In other words, someone who registered JohnDoe as their nick would be able to log on using /johndoe/, John Doe, JOHN DOE, `John Doe, JohnDoe***, and so on. Also, registered nicks are not case sensitive. In any case, your nick will appear the way you typed it when you logged in.

Passwords are case-sensitive. 'A' is not the same as 'a'. Again, you may use any characters on your keyboard escept the ':'.

Nicks may be a maximum of 20 characters long (including non-alphanumeric characters) and passwords are limited to 10 characters. One tip: When entering with a long nick, you should be sure all the alpanumeric characters are in the first 20 characters or it will not be recognized.

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How do I talk to people?
The chat screen will show you the messages that other people have posted and the time they posted them. It will update every 15 seconds once you log in and every 45 seconds before you log in. Each time it updates, you will be able to see the latest messages written, if any.

To write your own message, simply type it in the long box beside your nick at the bottom of the page and either press ENTER on your keyboard or click the button marked 'ENTER'. Your message will appear the next time your screen refreshes and will be visible to everyone in the chatroom.

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How long may my messages be?
This depends on the owner of the chatroom. Villi-Chat allows the owners to specify maximum lengths for both public and private messages. Default settings are 100 characters for private messages and no limit for public messages.

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What behavior is acceptable?
Again, that depends on the owner of the room. Every Villi-Chat room comes with a front page that is intended to be used to display rules of conduct, the room topic, etc. This page cannot be bypassed to link directly to the chatroom. Please read it to understand what is and is not acceptable in this room.

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Someone in the room is bothering me. What can I do?
If someone is breaking the rules, you can report them to either the owner of the chatroom via e-mail (which should be listed on the front page of the chatroom) or mention it to one of the ops of the room. If the situation requires it, users can be kicked for a specified length of time or even banned permanently from rooms.

The decision on what is and is not acceptable in any chat room is entirely up to the owner of that room! This FAQ does not intend to give advice on proper behavior in any one room and nothing in it should be taken to mean that any user will be kicked or banned!

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The ops won't help me. What else can I do?
Find another room, or buy your own. (See the paragraph directly above)

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How do I leave the chatroom?
Logoff is automatic; simply close the browser or go to another Internet page. If you want to log off and return to lurker mode, use the /quit command.

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The IRC Emulator:
Certain commands used in IRC (Internet Relay Chat) will also work in Villi-Chat rooms. No other IRC commands are supported at this time.

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Anti-Flood Feature:
Villi-Chat incorporates an anti-flooding feature that will eliminate any message that is identical to the last one posted. This can cause a few small side effects at times. If someone posts "Goodbye Joe!" and you immediately try to post "Goodbye Joe!", your post will not show up. Simply make a minor change to your post iof this happens, for instance "Bye Joe!", or "Joe, "Goodbye!"

Please note that this is more a feature to prevent accidental flooding (for instance from a sticky enter key) that for intentional flooding. Intentional flooders can easily be kicked by an op or banned by the owner.

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Auto-Linker:
Any Internet address beginning with "http://" typed into a message will be automatically linked to itself, so that other users may visit that address by simply clicking on it. All links in the chat screen will open a new browser page (may not be applicable for WebTV owners) so you do not have to leave the chat room.

Note that this does not apply to valid link tags. (see HTML Parser)

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HTML Parser:
You may only use certain HTML tags in your posts. <B>Bold</B>, <I>Italics</I>, <S>strikethrough</S>, <U>underline</U>, <BR>,
and <A HREF="...">/</A> tags are allowed. All others will show up as text (this includes any attempts to use SSI commands for hacking purposes).

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Errors you may encounter:
The Villi-Chat has been strenuously tested to provide reliable service. Yet, errors may occur from time to time. The most likely error you will ever see is a screen stating that the chatroom is overloaded, usually when it is housed on a slower/overloaded server. This requires no action on your part. The chatroom is designed to be self-correcting in this case.

In case of some overload errors, the action you tried to initiate may simply fail. For example, when logging in or posting a message, a failure will simply cause the message or log in info to reappear in your browser. Simply send it in again.

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Kicked/Banned users and Ops:
Villi-Chat has two separate levels of control. The owner(s) of course, has complete control over the room. Ops may also be designated. They have the power to kick users for a maximum of 8 hours. Ops' nicks will appear in the Users List in the console in italics.

Whenever someone is kicked from the room, a message to that effect will appear on the chat screen. Kicked and banned users will not be able to enter the chat room again as long as the kick or ban is in operation. Only owners may ban or lift kicks or bans.

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The Console:
The Console is the very heart and soul of a Villi-Chat room. It maintains contact with the server and supplies informational links to the user based on the room's operation status. The controls are intended to be intuitive, but for completeness a full description of their operation is given below (Not all controls are available in Lurker Mode):

Ref Chat (Refresh Chatscreen):
Clicking on this button allows a user to update their chat screen. This can be useful with some browsers that have to be 'coaxed' into auto-refreshing. The same thing can be accomplished on most newer browsers by right-clicking in the chat screen and selecting "Reload/Refresh Frame".

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Ref Cons (Refresh Console):
As with the Ref Chat button, this one refreshes the console itself should it be required. It is helpful when you first enter the room, as the console must refresh before your Active Mode options appear.

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My Info (Personal Settings):
My Info is a link to all the personal settings that are permitted in a Villi-Chat room, as well as to the Character Description section. When you click on this link, a new window opens (may not be applicable for WebTV users) that gives all your personal settings. You may change any or none of these to suit your particular tastes.
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New Char (Change to a New Character):
This control will allow you to change nicks without actually leaving the chatroom. Clicking on it will bring up a new log-in screen but will keep your old character logged in as well. Simply type in the new nick and applicable password, then click "Log In". This does the same thing as the /nick function, but will not place a new nick in the screen for you.
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Start/Stop Log (Auto-Log Feature):
This button gives you the ability to have the chatroom record the messages that are posted and download them to your personal computer. When the button says "Start Log" it is not recording. When it says "Stop Log" you are.

To start a recording, click the "Start Log" button. Your console will refresh and the button will have changed to "Stop Log". To stop recording and recieve the log, click the "Stop Log" button. You will be asked where to store the log and the download will begin, or if using Internet Explorer, the log will open in a new browser window. There is at this time one known bug between the Villi-Chat and the way Microsoft handles various content types, and this is the best that can be achieved at this time. Simply click on "File", then "Save As" to save your log file.

The logs will contain no private messages and are limited in size to that set by the owner of the chatroom. Default maximum log size is 300K. If you try to recieve a log greater than the maximum size, it will simply stop after the maximum size is exceeded.

If you are logged off automatically before downloading the log, it will continue to record for you up to the maximum size. When you log back on it will once again be available for download. Logs will not be saved if you manually log off or change characters without downloading first.

The logs are automatically cleared on a periodic basis by the owner of the chatroom. When this happens, your log will no longer be available for download. Also, you cannot start a log while one is waiting to be downloaded.

Note! This is a new feature and is subject at this time to unanticipated bugs due to the sometimes unstable condition of the Internet!

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Users List:
Each logged-in user is listed here. Your nick will not appear on your screen but will appear on everyone else's.

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Private Messages:
You may send a private message to other listed users by clicking on the "PM" link beside their name. This will load a special posting box with your nick replaced by the recipient's. The message posted from this box will only be viewable to yourself, the recipient, and the ops/owner of the chatroom if they choose to view it. Private messages may be cancelled by using the Cancel PM link.

Private messages are not secure communication! They are used to a great deal during RP (Role Play) sessions to set up scenarios and to communicate on a personal level without 'interrupting' the RP. They may also be used for reporting harrassment or improper activities. Remember that they are viewable by others besides yourself and the recipient and choose your actions with that in mind.

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Viewing Others' Descriptions:
You may view the descriptions and avatars (if available) of any user whose name is listed in the Users List. Simply click on their name and a new window will open (may not apply to WebTV users) with their information. Your own description and avatar may be entered using the My Info button.

An op's name will appear here in italics.

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Cancel PM (Public Message):
This link will reload the public message box for you should you choose to cancel sending a private message. It will also cancel the new character login screen, whether it was started from the IRC emulator or by the New Char button.It will cause the public message box to reload if you are automatically logged off, but you will not be able to successfully post again until you log in again.

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How many are watching?
The Users list Tells who is logged into the chatroom; This number gives the total number of viewers, both logged in and lurking, including yourself.

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Lurker/Active Modes:
This is a heads-up indicator to inform you of your present mode of operation. Villi-Chat operates in one of two separate and distinct modes: