Project Educate: Your First Chat

This article will serve to educate deviants on how to successfully create and set up a chatroom.

Creating the Chatroom

First things first, lets create a chatroom.

To create a chatroom you first need an idea or concept for a room. Try to be original as you can to create a unique atmosphere, but any topic that doesn't violate the rules of dA will do. Once you have your idea go to the chat page, to the right you will see a "Create a Chatroom" button. Click that and enter your intended channels name and a brief description of the room.

Common Question about creating a chatroom:
I entered a chat name and it tells me its taken, but i do not see a chatroom with my intended name. Why is that? This is because after the implementation of the groups system if an account exists on dA with that particular name are room with the same name can no longer be created.

Once you've successfully picked a name and the room is created you will be automatically taken to the chatroom and its now time to setup your room.

Setting up your chatroom

Important points:

    * Keep in mind that privclass names can't contain spaces and can only be a maximum of 20 characters in length.

    * Privclass names are case sensitive (Ex: so you must use "Founders" not "founders").

You will notice once you are in your room that you will be in the Guests privclass. You can from here promote yourself to the Founders privclass by typing:



Where "username" is your deviant username. This will put you into the "Founders" privclass.

From here there are several things to do.

Topic/Title

You can set the topic and title of your so users that come to your channel can know what you are about as well as link to any special rules your channel has and to the rules of dAmn. The following FAQ's should be helpful.

FAQ #513: How do I change the title (or topic) on the top of my chatroom?
FAQ #81: How can I create links to other deviants, deviations, or websites?
FAQ #287: What rules apply to the Chat Network?

Priclasses

When you create a chatroom these will be your default privclasses (you can view this by typing  /admin show privclass)

    * 99 Founders:
          o +admin +kick +topic +title promote=99 demote=1 +images +smilies +emoticons +thumbs +avatars +websites +objects
    * 75 Operators:
          o +kick +topic +title promote=75 demote=1 +images +smilies +emoticons +thumbs +avatars +websites +objects
    * 50 Members:
          o +topic +title promote=50 demote=25 +images +smilies +emoticons +thumbs +avatars +websites +objects
    * 25 Guests:
          o images=5 smilies=5 emoticons=5 thumbs=5 avatars=5 websites=5 objects=5
    * 1 Banned:
          o -join

The numbers next to the privclass names indicates the order/rank of the privclass. You can have privclasses ranging from 1 - 99 giving you a maximum of 99 privclasses. Keep in mind however that with chatroom you want to keep it simple and 99 privclasses is a bit hard to manage. For creating new privclasses or renaming or updating your current privclasses check out FAQ #540: How can I customize my chatroom?

Common Question about setting privclasses:
I tried removing the Guest privclass but it gives me an error, Why? The Guest privclass is unique in that it can be renamed or reordered but not deleted. This is because no matter where it is or what it is called the guest privclass will always be the default privclass in which users will enter the room if they have never been promoted or demoted before.</b>

I am trying to create a privclass but i am getting an error that i have the maximum number of allowable privclasses, Why? This error occurs when you place your privclass with admin capabilities beneath all of your other privclasses. Be sure to keep your admin classes at the top of the chat.

With great power comes responsibility

Keep in mind when you create a chatroom whatever happens there is your responsibility. Here are a few tactics to minimizing issues with in the chatroom.

First off minimize the privs you give other privclasses. If you can limit the +admin tool to only the "Founders" privclasses and the promoting/ demoting kicking and banning to the Operators/Moderators privclass. This prevents abuse of the tools or the room. You can set these privs by clicking the "Chatroom Settings" button on your chat.

Second make sure you have an active team of people you trust to help moderate your chatroom since its obvious you cant be in your room 24/7. Make sure you trust these people since they will be the face of the chat room while you are not there.

Summary

You can find most of this information in the following FAQs.

FAQ #540: How can I customize my chatroom?
FAQ #289: How do I create or delete a chatroom?
FAQ #81: How can I create links to other deviants, deviations, or websites?

I hope that this article has been helpful and if you need any assistance with setting up your chatroom please visit us in :#help:.