The login page contains the following items prior to entering the chat page.

Nickname - This is the name that will be displayed in chat when you enter the chat room.

Profile URL - You can enter a web site that you want other chat users to see in chat and they can visit. This can be your personal web site or a favorite domain. When you're on the chat login page, select the Advanced Options link under the Join Chat button to add your web site URL.

Avatar URL - It is here that you can enter the web site address for a picture that will be displayed by your nickname in the chat room. The picture should be 80x80 pixels. When you're on the chat login page, select the Advanced Options link under the Join Chat button to add your avatar picture.

From the login page, click the Join Chat button to enter the chat page. In the chat room, the top left pane displays the current conversation, which is sometimes called a session. The right pane of the chat window displays a list of nicknames for the people that are currently on chat. Some of the nicknames may be displayed in different colors or formats:

• Red nicknames are administrators
• Orange nicknames are operators
• Black nicknames are regular chat users
• A nickname displayed with gray italics means that the user is away from the chat
• A gray nickname with a line through it means that you have blocked the user

You can type messages to other users In the pane at the bottom of the chat window. You can format the text in your messages by clicking one of the buttons on the toolbar. You can select the text to format and then click one of the buttons. Or, you can click the button and start typing to add text with the formatting that you selected.

   Tip: You can create custom actions by using the /me {action} command, or by starting what you type with a : (colon) character.

Bold, Italic and Underline Buttons - Type your message text in a different font type. Press Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I or Ctrl+U on your keyboard to do this quickly.

Colors Button - Adds color to your message text. Click the button and select a shade on the Colors palette.

Emoticons button - Add small faces that show emotion to your messages. Click the button and choose a face that is sad, happy, embarrassed, and more. Emoticons are useful for conveying how you feel without typing any words. When you select a face on the Emoticons palette, a code appears in your message text. When you click the Send button to send the message text, the code is replaced with the emoticon that you selected.

Clear Chat Area button - This removes all previous text from the chat area. If you click this button, you cannot save the current conversation using the Save Chat button.

Save Chat Conversation - You are able to save the current conversation, or session, to your computer as a text file (.txt ) or web page (.phpl). This is useful if you want to read the conversation later or refer to information in the conversation. For example, you may use it to remember web addresses that were mentioned.

Change Room Button - This allows you to enter another room to chat with a different group of people.

Pause/Resume Auto-scroll Button - Stops or starts the scrolling in the chat conversation. Scrolling automatically advances the window as people send messages to the conversation. Pause makes the window stop so you can easily read the conversation.

Send Button - Click this button to send your message to the current chat conversation. You can also press the Enter key on your keyboard.

I am Available/I Am Away ButtonClick this button to display a message that lets others know you are available to chat. Click the button again to let them know that you are away from your computer or that you do not want to chat. You can still read the conversation while you are away.

You can click on the name of a chatter to display a menu with the following commands:

Whisper - Select Whisper to send a quick private message without leaving the group chat tab. You can also double-click a name.

Private Chat - This command starts a private chat with the person whose name you selected. Private chats open in tabs in your browser. The group chat is always the first tab on the left. To select a private chat, click the corresponding tab at the bottom of the chat area.

   Tip: To navigate through the tabs quickly, you can press the following keys on your keyboard:

• Alt+Left arrow
• Alt+Right arrow

You can also display different tabs by pressing Alt+0, Alt+1, and so forth.

When new messages appear in a chat, a balloon appears on the chat tab. When another user is typing, a pencil appears on the chat tab. To close a chat, click the close button on the tab.

View Profile - Displays the web page for the profile of the user whose nickname you clicked. You can setup your profile website on the Bummer Hosting Flash Chat login page by clicking the Advanced Options link.

Block User - Allows you to ignore the user whose nickname you clicked. The nickname appears in plain text with a line through it. When you block a user, you cannot see messages from that person. If you want to resume viewing messages from someone you blocked, click their nickname and select the Unblock User command on the menu.