Help Me!!! I'm New Here!!!

Welcome to the Room & Have Fun Chatting!

Who Chats here?

We welcome anyone who has been affected by Addiction or Abuse in their lives...
This includes, but is not limted to, those in recovery and those who are wondering, whether it be alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, overeaters, self mutilation, codependance, surivors of physical or sexual abuse, members of al-anon and nar-anon, etc...
We also welcome the families and friends of those in recovery, as abuse and addiction tends to affect most of the people in our lives...

On the lower right hand side of the screen, you will find a button marked "Settings", click this...
Once the 'Settings' window opens, you can choose an icon, as well as change your screenname...
You may also modify your profile here, entering as much or as little info as you wish...

On the right side of the screen, you will find a button marked "Settings", click on this...
Now along the top of this window, there is an "Options" tab, click on this...
Set the Message Scroll Speed as fast or as slow as you like...

On the top right hand side of the screen, click on the "Rooms" button...
You will now see a list of all the user rooms, usually meetings will either be in the A.A. Room or the N.A. Room
Click on the room you want, and click enter...
When entering the meeting room please keep in mind that there may be a meeting already in progress,
Please treat it as a regular face to face meeting, and enter quietly
The chairperson of the meeting will Private Message you to welcome you and tell you the topic of the meeting

As much as possible, we try to follow the same format as a face to face meeting
Each meeting will have a chairperson who will run through an introduction and specific rules for the meeting, introduce a topic, call on or recognize other chatters to share on the topic, and usually close the meeting with a group prayer
Crosstalk (typing in the main screen) is not allowed during meetings, please wait to be recognized by the chair person before typing in the main screen. If you feel strongly about what someone is saying, you may type one or two word comments, or use emoticons
If you need to contact another chatter during the meeting, please do so in a Private Message
To be recognized by the chair, either type an exclamation point !, or use the hand emoticon, which can be made by typing hand
Meetings are generally one hour long, when sharing please be mindful of the time to ensure that everyone who needs to has a chance to share
If you need to enter or leave the meeting while it is in progress, please do so quietly, please say your hello's and goodbye's in a Private Message.
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Usually, no.
Due to the sometimes delicate nature of modern technology and science, some computers and some sytems may conflict with the programs which run the chat room, occasionally disconnecting the room for no apparent reason. We apologize for any inconvenience, but these occurances are beyond our control
It is very rare that anyone is removed, or 'booted', from the room, but if you are, you will be notified that 'You have been kicked from the room by the Chatmster'
Unless you recieve such notice, the disconnection is due to a computer glitch
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First and foremost this is a recovery chat room, and if someone needs help in their recovery, this should come first
We do also like to have fun in here, as it says in the book, "We are not a glum lot"
In the main chat room there is no set topic usually, feel free to talk about whatever you need to, ask questions as you wish, or just read along....
Although we do not forbid or censor cursing or vulgarities, we do try to keep the language clean and respectable...
Overtly rude or abusive behaviour toward another chatter or chatters will not be tolerated, you will be given one warning and then removed from the room...
Continued rude or abusive behaviour will cause you to be removed permanently from the room...
Please, treat everybody with the respect they Deserve.
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You can choose to ignore one or any number of chatters, this is usually referred to as "redline"
In the upper right hand side of the screen, under "Users" and "Rooms", there are four buttons, the one all the way to the right is the redline button, it looks like and ear with a red line thru it
Click on a users name, and then on the redline button. A redline will appear thru their name, and you will be unable to see anything that they type
Also, their are usually Chat Monitors in the room, their names will appear in red
The Monitors are here to ensure a safe and comforatable chatting environment, and are able to remove anyone as they see fit

A private Message ("PM") in a conversation between you and another chatter that none of the other users in the room can view...
If you wish to PM someone click on their name under the user list on the right hand side of the screen
Above the list, their are four buttons, the second one from the left is the "PM" button, it looks like an ear and a cartoon talk bubble
Click the PM button and chat away....
If you see text in the main page which is grey, and says 'click here to reply' this person is trying to PM you...
Click on the grey text to enter into the private conversation

to make chatting easier, most chat rooms use acronyms, shortened abbreviations which stand for longer terms
here are some of the more common ones used here...
- brb = be right back
- ty = thank you
- yw = you're welcome
- lol = laugh out loud
- wtg = Way to go!
- odaat = one day at a time
- tmi = too much information
- esh = experience, strength and hope
- pm = private message
if one is not on this list that you see used in the room, dont hesitate to ask what it means....