Chat Rooms

A chat room allows users to carry on a live conversation (a chat) with other members of The Microsoft Network. A chat session on The Microsoft Network is similar to a conference call. However, instead of speaking words, users type them and they are displayed on-screen by The Microsoft Network for other people to read. To participate in a chat session, users should know the following:

• Each member in the chat session is either a participant or spectator according to how the host defines the participation rules. A chat session may have one or more hosts. To become a host, you have to be a designated owner of the chat.
• A host can control the participation rights of members in a conversation. The host uses the Host Control dialog box to change the status of a member from a participant to a spectator and vice versa.
• There are several types of conversations, from one-on-one conversations to large "talk shows" in which there are a few participants and numerous spectators, to general purpose, multi-member conversations.
• To join and send messages in a chat room, the conversation must not have exceeded its capacity, that is, the maximum number of members allowed in the conversation, and users must have the necessary security privileges.
• Before users contribute to the conversation, they can observe it for a while to see if they'd like to join in. When they're ready and if they have participant status, they can send a question, answer, or comment to the other members.
• Users can view information about a member in the Member Properties option under the View menu, if the member completed a member profile in Microsoft Exchange. For details, see "Using Microsoft Exchange with The Microsoft Network" later in this chapter.
• Users can download a conversation history, which is a record of all messages sent to the conversation from the time a participant joined it.

To join a chat room

1. In a forum's window, double-click the Chat icon.

   The Microsoft Network informs other participants that you have joined the conversation.

2. Type a message in the lower box and then click Send.

   Pressing ENTER also sends text and, therefore, cannot be used within a message. However, you can press CTRL+ENTER to insert a carriage return in your message.

3. To exit, click the File menu, and then click Exit.