________________________________________________________________ About Chat You can use the chat feature of FirstClass to engage in real-time online discussions. The users with whom you are communicating are known as the “chat participants”. There are two types of chats: public and private. ____________________ Public chats Public chats are set up by the FirstClass administrator, and usually deal with a specific topic. Each public chat is represented by an icon in FirstClass. If users are currently participating in the chat, a chat balloon is shown beside the icon. To enter a public chat, select the item from the list of items in a conference. You are placed in Chat Mode and your entry into the chat is announced to the other participants. ____________________ Private chats Private chats are initiated by users. They are usually impromptu chats. To start a private chat, type CHAT. You are placed in Chat Mode with yourself as the sole participant. You may then invite other users into the chat. ____________________ Chat mode When you enter a chat, you are placed in Chat Mode. Lines typed by other users are displayed along with their names. To contribute, begin typing. A > prompt appears, indicating that you are in the Line Editor. You may use the arrow and backspace keys to edit the line. When you are finished, press RETURN (on a Macintosh keyboard), or ENTER (on an IBM-compatible keyboard). Your line is sent to all the other participants, and displayed on their screens. Note that no chat lines are displayed while you are typing in the Line Editor; this is to avoid disturbing your typing. To access the special chat commands, press RETURN or ENTER without entering any other characters. When the prompt appears, select a command. Use the up and down arrow keys to cycle through the commands, or type the first letter of the command. Special chat commands are: Leave                   Leave the chat Participants    List the chat participants Invite          Invite a user into the chat Return          Return to the chat All commands except Leave return you to the chat after they complete. When you use Invite, a list of the names of all logged-in users appears, and you have the option of inviting them in. ____________________ The Invitation prompt When you are invited to chat, a Chat Invitation prompt appears, accompanied by a beep. The invitation shows the name of the chat and the person who is inviting you to chat. To accept the invitation and join the chat immediately, press RETURN or ENTER. To decline the invitation, type NO and press RETURN or ENTER.