Login Problems??
Due to a recent software upgrade, some member's passwords were erased from the system. This was a software issue and should not have happened. Now your login may not be recognized.
There are 2 remedies for this: 1) email your username and password to billie. Please include in your message that the login information is for the CS chat and that you are experiencing login issues. 2) You can reregister for the chat with a new user/pass.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

Using & Configuring FlashChat

What IRC commands are available for FlashChat?
There are several command-line options that users and moderators can use for advanced functionality. These options do not exist in the FlashChat interface, but they are available to you by typing them directly into the message input box. These commands are "IRC-like" since they begin with the backslash. The following table summaries these options:

Command Description
/away Sets user as away. Typing this command again sets user as "here".
/here Sets user as here. This reverses the "away" and "busy" states.
/busy Sets user as busy. Typing this command again sets user as "here".
/back ## Shows the last ## entries of the room's chat, including any chat text that was present before arrival to the room.
/backtime ## Shows the last ## minutes of the room's chat, including any chat text that was present before arrival to the room.
/clear Clears the chat screen. This only affects your screen, not the screen of other users.
/me <action> Issues an IRC-like "action" to the chat. "/me" will be changed to your user name, and the text in <action> will appear as a system message. For example: "/me is thinking" would translate to "Joe is thinking".
/join <room> Switches the user to <room>. For example: "/join The Lounge"
/part Logout of the chat.
/quit Logout of the chat.
/logout Logout of the chat.
/version Shows which version of the chat you are using.
/invite <user> Invites "user" to the room that you are currently in.
/ignore <user> Ignore "user".
/broadcast <msg> Only available to moderators. This broadcasts a message to all users in all rooms. For example, "/broadcast Hello everyone!"
/kick <user> Only available to moderators. This kicks "user" from the room.
/boot <user> Same as /kick.
/ban <user> Only available to moderators. Bans "user" from the chat.
/banip <user> Only available to moderators. Bans the IP address of the user from all chat activity.
/gagX <user> Only available to moderators. Gags the user for X minutes. For example, /gag5 joe. If the user's name has more than one word, then it must be enclosed with quotes. For example: /gag5 "Joe Shmoe"
/alert <user> <msg> Only available to moderators. Sends a popup alert to the user. If the user's name has more than one word, then it must be enclosed with quotes.
/roomalert <msg> Same as /alert, but sends the message to all users in the room.
/chatalert <msg> Same as /alert, but sends the message to all users in all rooms.

If there is some command that you would like to see in FlashChat but which is not in this list, please post your suggestion on the TUFaT.com Support Forum, and it will likely be added in a future release.

Does FlashChat connect to actual IRC servers?
In release 3.8 no, although this is a planned upgrade for a future release of FlashChat. The ultimate the goal of FlashChat is to create a sort of "universal" chat system, which would be able to connect to all known chat servers, including desktop instant messaging programs like AIM, ICQ, and MSN Messenger. This is an upgrade which is probably very far into the future, however.

The purpose of the IRC commands listed above is to make the use of FlashChat more familiar and intuitive for users who may be accustomed to IRC systems. Thus, many of the commands that they already know can be used in FlashChat.

How frequently does FlashChat check the server for new messages?
By default, every 3 seconds. However, this setting can be adjusted easily in the FlashChat configuration file. Setting this to a lower value will cause messages to be displayed more quickly, but it will increase the bandwidth requirements for the system. It is strongly recommended that you keep the 3-second interval setting unless you have a dedicated server. If you anticipate that a very large number of users will be chatting (>100), then you may want to change this to 4 or 5 seconds instead of 3, to reduce the server load. This will produce small delays in the message processing, however.

How do I change the background images?
The background images in FlashChat can be changed very easily in the PHP configuration file which comes with the software. Users can change the transparency of the images, and toggle the images on/off. However, you must have access to the chat installation to change the image completely. When changing images, it is recommended that you use a low-resolution JPG file, preferably 1024 x 758 pixels, under 50KB. For the best results, use an advanced image editor like Macromedia Fireworks or Adobe Photoshop. Also, you should NOT save the file as a "progressive JPG", or it will not work. After you change the background image for any theme, be sure to clear your browser cache before reloading the chat to see the changed background.

How do I disable various buttons or options in FlashChat?
This can be done very easily in the PHP configuration file which comes with FlashChat by editing the appropriate file in /inc/layouts. The default layout for a standard chat installation is called "user.php". The "customer.php" layout is used on in Live Support mode. There are over 100 different options available to the chat administrator to help customize the look and feel of the software, including customizations for sound, color, layout, language, CMS parameters, login modes, and more!

How do I send a private message?
There are two ways to send a private message in FlashChat. You can either find the user's name in the room manager and click on the name, or you can type "/username:" in the chat input box, followed by your message. The recipient will be alerted of the private message, regardless of the room that they are in. If you send a private message by clicking on a user's name in the room list, then a small private message window will be opened, which you can keep open indefinitely. This is useful is you want to send multiple private messages to one person, or if you want to engage in several private chats simultaneously.

How do I insert text in bold or italic print?
In version 3.8 this is not possible. The reason is that FlashChat uses a pixel font which does not support bold or italic symbols. However, to emphasize text you can underline it using <u>...</u>, for example <u>This is underlined</u>, or you can use a different font color for your text. Support for bold and italic text will likely be available in a later version of FlashChat.

How do I use smilies?
You may send a smilie in one of two ways: select the smilie from the list of available smilies, or type the smilie code into the chat input area. For example, :red: is the code to display the blushing-face smilie. The chat administrator can enable or disable any smilie.

What is the sound "Pan" feature?
This option allows you to set the amount of sound coming from the right and left speakers on your computer system.

Norton Internet Security
Flash Chat seems to have an issue with this product for some reason.. It is recommend that you allow flashchat in norton.

Pop up Blockers
Its important to turn off your popup blocker for this site. The software soem times requires the ability to pop up a window.

How do I logout of the chat?
The best way to logout is to click on the "X" in the upper right corner of the screen. However, if you simply close your web browser, then you will also be logged out after a period of time. The system will "time-out" after some interval, which is specified in the PHP configuration file. Thus, users who close their web browsers to logout will still be visible to logged-in users for a short period of time. However, clicking on "X" immediately logs you out of the system.