ocPortal Tutorial: Running chatrooms (features and advice)

Written by Philip Withnall, ocProducts

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Table of contents

ocPortal Tutorial: Running chatrooms (features and advice)

Features

This section deals with the chat interface, and how you use the chat system.

The chat interface

Choosing a chatroom to enter

The main chat interface is what most users of the chat system will see; it's where all the messages are posted and received, and thus where most of the work goes on.

The main chat interface can be (by default) found in the "site" zone, and when loaded, presents you with a list of all chatrooms you are eligible to enter (i.e. ones you've been banned from don't appear). If you're an administrator, or moderator, appropriate links also appear to the moderation centre.
You will also see a buddy list, which you can use to start instant messaging conversations. Instant Messaging conversations are like conversations in chat rooms, except rooms do not need to be created - they are run on purely a private invitation basis and very quick to get going.

Chatrooms

Inside a chatroom

Once in a chatroom, you are presented with a self-refreshing window of the current chat messages, an input area at the top (with an expandable formatting buttons area), and some options at the bottom.

Chatroom options

To send a message, simply enter it in the input box at the top, and press "enter", or click the "Submit message" button. The input box will be emptied, and your message will appear in the message window shortly afterwards. Messages from other conversants in the same chatroom appear periodically in the messages window, in the correct order.

The options at the bottom of the chatroom page control how your messages appear to others, and there are also some links to pertinent pages listed below. The colour option requires a hexadecimal-format RGB value (e.g. "#5A34F3"), and the font option requires a font that is present on your system. Please bear in mind that the font should really be a standard one, as other users will need to have it too. The list of links below the options appear as appropriate for your usergroup; moderators can see the moderation links, and administrators can see the administration links, but lower users can see neither.

Instant Messaging

Instant Messaging (IM) conversations can be started just by clicking on a name from the buddy list. To add a member to your buddy list, just visit the member's profile and click the appropriate link (OCF -only) – alternatively, you can type in usernames to add from the chat lobby. If you wish to start a conversation with multiple people, you may do so by ticking them and clicking the appropriate button. You can also tick people and add them in to an existing conversation.
There is also a configuration option that allows you to start IM conversations by clicking on usernames. Ordinarily this action would link to a member profile, but for 'chat-based' websites, starting an IM may be more appropriate.

You may have multiple simultaneous conversations, as conversations are separated using tabs.

If a member is not in the lobby when they are invited to start a conversation then they will be sent an e-mail alert after you make the first message in a conversation with them, inviting them to visit the lobby. Upon visiting the lobby all active conversations that they have started or been invited to will appear.
It is recommended that members who make a lot of use of the IM system leave the lobby open, so that they are easily reachable. By the time you respond to your e-mail alert, the conversant who wishes to talk to you may have lost interest.

Conversations may be closed by clicking the 'Close' button. If you do not close a conversation then it will remain in the system unless you are the only member who has not closed it and you have since left the lobby.

The buddy list shows online status indication for all your buddies, and similar statuses are shown for all conversants within active conversations. These statuses are dynamically updated as members come and go (there's no need to reload your browser window). Members may be:

online (using the website, but not in the lobby)
offline (not using the website at all)
active (in the lobby)
away (was in the lobby recently, but is not anymore – may be online, or may be offline)

If a member signs in, or a new message is posted in a conversation, then the browser window may flash (depending on your web browser). A sound will also play if you have left sound enabled. In addition, when a member signs in an activity indicator will mention that they have just signed in and the indicator will remain for a number of seconds.

Blocking

You may choose to block members. Blocked members cannot easily see when you are online – it is the ocPortal equivalent of hiding from a member. However, just as in the real world, someone paying close attention will not be fooled, as they will see your activity and notice that you are not ever online, and 'join the dots' to realise that you have blocked them.

Downloading chat logs

Link to download chat logs

The chat log download preparation interface

The ability to download logs of any chat conversations you have on ocPortal is quite useful. To take advantage of this wonderful feature, simply click the "Download chat logs" link at the bottom of a chatroom. You will be presented with a handy form, where you can specify for which room to download the logs, and the time/date range from which to collect messages. Clicking submit will process the request, and provide you with a link to download the logs. Clicking on this link will open a file download box from your browser.

Creating a private room

The private room creation interface

Private chatrooms are the equivalent of a personal topic in the chat system. Anybody can create them, but only certain specified people can view them and use them. If a private chatroom is unvisited and unused for (by default) more than 24 hours, it will be automatically deleted.

When creating a private chatroom, bear in mind what sort of purpose you're creating the room to fulfil, and try to outline this in the room entry message. Make sure you add some members or groups to the allow/disallow lists as well, or the room you create won't be private at all! Once created, the private chatroom will be visible in the chatrooms list to all eligible members.

Moderation

The moderation interface for the chat system allows the manipulation of messages on the system.

Inline moderation

Inline moderation options

Each post in a chatroom possesses a few potent links, which allow users with the correct privileges to edit the message, or ban the user. Clicking on each link will take you to a page specific to each action.

Editing messages

Choosing a room to moderate

Messages to moderate

To edit messages, you have to use the chat system moderation panel, which resides in the "CMS" zone, but can be accessed using one of the several moderation links peppered around the main chat interface. The main moderation page lists all the chatrooms on the system, as well as pertinent information, such as how many messages have been posted in each room. Clicking on a room name takes you to a more specific interface for that room.

Moderating a message

This interface lists all messages in the room (with chatcode unparsed), with some useful information, such as the message colour and font, and a link to the member page of the author. Clicking on the message post date takes you to a message-edit page. On this page, you can edit the message details, and submit them. The changes won't immediately be reflected in the views of anybody using the relevant chatroom, but if a new user joins, or if somebody refreshes the room, they'll see the changes.

Deleting messages

To delete a chat message, simply go to its edit page, and tick the "Delete" box, then submit the page. The message will be completely erased from history. Please note that this might take a significant chunk out of a conversation, so should be used sparingly; editing is probably a better way to go.

Deleting all messages

The link to delete all messages in a room

Sometimes it's necessary to delete all the messages in a chatroom, whether to preserve sanity, or simply to clean up. To delete all the messages in a chatroom, navigate to the specified chatroom's moderation page (where all the messages are listed), and click the "Delete all messages" link. A confirmation page will appear. Clicking "Proceed" will permanently delete all the messages, and going back in your browser will leave the messages alone.

Administration

Selecting a chatroom for administration

The administration interface to the chat system allows the manipulation of chatrooms themselves. It is found in the Admin Zone, and the default page presents a list of all the chatrooms on the system.

Adding chatrooms

The administration interface to add a chatroom

The form to add a chatroom to the system is on the main page of the administration interface.

Submitting the form will create the chatroom, and it will be immediately visible an accessible to all eligible conversants.

Editing chatrooms

The administration interface to edit a chatroom

Clicking on the name of a chatroom on the main administration interface page brings you to the edit form for that chatroom.

All the options are the same as for the add chatroom form, and submitting the form makes the changes immediately visible to users of the chat system.

Deleting chatrooms

To delete a chatroom, simply go to that chatroom's edit page, and tick the "Delete" box, then submit the page. The chatroom will be completely erased, and so will all messages in that chatroom. Any conversants using that chatroom will receive an error the next time they refresh, or the next time the system checks for messages.

Deleting all chatrooms

The link to delete all chatrooms

Confirmation for deleting all chatrooms

If you want to delete all the chatrooms, and all the chat messages on the system (this is a drastic measure), you must click the "Delete all chatrooms" link on the main page of the administration interface. You will be presented with a verbose confirmation page. Clicking "Proceed" will delete everything. You may go back in your browser to cancel the procedure. If you do delete all the chatrooms and messages, be sure to recreate a chatroom for the shoutbox to feed from.

Advice

You may hear many stories of chatrooms being dangerous and that you should stay away from them. We endeavour to make our chat system as fool-proof as possible, but as an administrator, you must place some emphasis on common sense, and make sure your users are aware of the following guidelines:

Do not arrange to meet people met in a chatroom away from that chatroom
Do not trust anybody you meet in a chatroom - no matter what they tell you, they don't have to be telling the truth
Do not show your face, reveal your name, or do webcam sessions without serious thought about who you're talking to, and if it's necessary to reveal your identity
Remember: anybody could be using the chatrooms; not just people like you

If users of your chatrooms are aware of this advice, and take heed of it, no problems should arise. However, it would be wise to occasionally (or frequently) check on what's going on in each chatroom, just to be sure. Remember: the moderation facilities are there for a reason.

Concepts

Chatroom: An online congregation point, where many people can talk simultaneously - over the internet - in one big text-based conversation (similar to IRC)