The Chat window is used for public chat with others on the server with which you are connected. It is in real-time and everyone can see what is being said; nothing is private. It is very similar to IRC (Internet Relay Chat), except there are not separate channels. However, anyone on the server will not necessarily be able to see what is being said. You must have your Chat window open in order to both see the chat and send chat yourself.
Using the chat window is very simple. First, open it by clicking the Chat button on the toolbar or by choosing "Show Chat" from the Hotline menu. When it is opened, it automatically displays any chat taking place. If you would like to send chat and contribute to the conversation, ensure that the cursor is in the bottom pane of the window and type your message. When you are ready to send it, press Return. This will send it to all of the users on the server.
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If you would like to announce something, type your message and press Option-Return. This is similar to IRC's /me command and will display the message in the form "*** YourNickname ActionMessage", and can be seen above.
The Private Chat Window
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The Private Chat Window is exactly like public chat, except it is only among several users on a server. You can initiate a Private Chat with a user by selecting the user name in the Users Window, and clicking the Private Chat button. You can bring in more users to the private chat by dragging their names from the Users List to the list in the Private Chat window.
If you wish to hide the User List in the Private Chat window, click the zoom box of the window, or hit command-/. You can set the subject of any private chat window by clicking the Subject line.
The News Window
The News window is used to keep small messages from users for everyone to read. Messages are kept in the news until the server administrator cleans it out. News messages include the nickname of the poster and the server time when it was posted.
Reading news very simple: Click the News button on the toolbar or select "Show News" from the Hotline menu. This will display the news on the server. Use the scroll bars to move around the messages (they are in order by date).
Posting to the News
To post a message of your own to the news, first click the Post button on the toolbar or select "Post..." from the Hotline menu. This will bring up a dialog box with a text box in it. Enter the message you wish to post and press the Post button. When news is posted, everyone on the server will be able to see it immediately, accompanied by a sound (if enabled in the Options window). Every post includes the nickname of the poster and the server time at which it was posted.
