ChatNet is available only for Macintosh. The URL for downloading contains the following: basic information about the software, fees, and system requirements. The participants will receive ChatNet installer, registration, user's manual, and "What is ChatNet?"
Since this is a real-time chat program, participants must all be available at a pre-arranged time.
- Ability to download the ChatNet software onto the computer you are using (i.e. internet connection, web browser, ability to write new files on your computer, and 5M available disk space)
- Connection information from your facilitator such as the name of the chat server you will connect to, the name of the chat channel/room to go to, and license information. Find out from your facilitators whether a set of licenses was purchased for your course, or whether you need to make the purchase.
- Basic keyboarding skills
To communicate online with other participant(s) and facilitator(s)
ChatNet is an easy-to-use, real-time chat software program. It requires:
ChatNet Pricing Options: Personal Edition, $25; 10-User License, $99; 50-User License, $249; 250-User License, $499. Check with your facilitator if you can obtain one of the multiple user licenses instead of a personal edition. Prices quoted as July 1, 1998.
Basic instructions taken from the ChatNet User's Manual v2.1 are included on this page to get you started. There is a detailed manual, including graphics, that is available to the user upon downloading. It is recommended that the participants read this manual as needed. However, the features needed in this course are all described on this page. The last page contains the registration form or you may register online.
ChatNet uses the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol. To use it, you need to download the ChatNet software for users. Note that this is not the same system as AOL chat, or MSN chat, or a chat you use inside of a web page!. If you are using these, you will not be able to attend class and talk to your colleagues because they will be using a different system. Instead, please download the ChatNet software using the instructions below.
The file you need to download is 1.4 MB and is called chatnet2.3.hqx. It is a self-extracting archive. We recommend that you print this page, so you can follow the instructions below on this web page while you are using the download site. Download this software from:
http://www.elsinc.com/chatnet.html
This list of servers and ports appear at the login screen in the server pop-up window just below the User Info box.
Using the information from your facilitator, enter the server name followed by a colon and then the port number in this window. For example, if our IRC server was computername.uchicago.edu and the port number was 6667, you would complete the following steps: highlight one of the semicolons in the IRC Server List window, then type computername.uchicago.edu:6667
Upon successful connection to the IRC server, the IRC Console window is displayed and the IRC server's welcome messages scroll by.
You are now ready to enter a chat room. A chat room is the same thing as a chat channel. Always check the chat schedule before starting ChatNet. You will find what topics are going to be discussed and what channel/room you will need to enter. The schedule is completed for your convenience giving you time before the chat to prepare for the discussion. There are two ways to enter a chat channel/room.
Click on the Enter button.
In the IRC Console window, click on the Enter button. Type in the channel/room number given by your instructor. Example: 1. Then in the Enter Channel box, click on the Enter button.
After joining a channel, the channel window opens, you are now ready to chat with the other participants and facilitators.
Keep your IRC Console window on your screen even though you have entered a channel. This will make it easier to use the enter button to join a different channel later as needed.
The channel window is where all public conversation is performed. A channel window is made up of five parts: the buttons initiate commands, the topic and mode display the current channel settings, the body displays all message text, the message preview area is where your messages are typed, and the user list displays all current users in the channel.
Look at the window above. The channel name or number is on the top; notice that there is a # sign in front of the name. You do not need to put this in front of the number of the channel; ChatNet will do this for you. Underneath and next to the topic button is the topic name and mode. Under this is the conversation window; remember that this window keeps scrolling up and if you need to see an earlier message, you will need to scroll the window. If your facilitators are keeping a chat log, refer to it for a transcript of the entire conversation. Under this window is the message preview area, where you will type your messages.
To begin chatting, type a message in the small box (message preview area) at the bottom of the chat window. Press return or send when you want your message shown to other people in the chat channel.
If no one else is in the chat room, you can still test that your chat is working by "talking to yourself". The text you type into the message preview area at the bottom of the chat window will be displayed in the larger "conversation" window above, once you press enter or return. Then you know you are chatting successfully!
At the end of the chat session, simply go to the File, and choose Logoff or Quit.
There might be times during a chat/discussion when you want to send a message to just one person rather than the entire group. This is called whispering. If you are working with someone from another state or even from the same school, you might need to set up times to meet for a separate chat, to discuss a problem with the project, etc. This private chat is not meant to consume the entire chat time but might be used for a quick message sent to clarify something or make arrangements. The participants can arrange times to chat other than the scheduled course chats/discussions as needed. Sometimes your facilitator may arrange another time to chat with participants, for example, scheduled office hours.
To whisper to someone, first click on that person's nickname in the user list on the right column of your chat window. Then click on the Private button and a new private chat window will pop up for a conversation between just you and your selected user. You can still chat in your main chat window after the private chat window has popped up. Use the square in the upper left corner to quit the private chat window once you are done with it.
The chat server has many different rooms/channels you can chat in. We will use this to have different small groups work together in different rooms. To switch and chat in a different chat room:
Another method of joining a chat channel is to use the Channel List. The channel list window displays all channel names, the number of current users in the channel, the channel topic, if set, and the number of channels loaded. Only those channels meeting the filter criteria are displayed. This window is useful when you are not sure what channel you need to enter or if you want to see what topics are under discussion in the different channels.
Highlight a channel name and click the Enter button to automatically join the channel. If no channel is highlighted, a window is displayed allowing the name of a channel to be typed. The channel window is then displayed and you are automatically entered as a user.
The Topic button allows the topic of a channel to be set.
When the topic is set, users in the channel see a message stating who changed the topic and the new topic name. The channel topic is displayed as users join a channel or a channel list is initiated. This option is useful for setting up participants with common problems, concerns, grade levels, and similar topics.
If you have never used a real-time chat tool before, a good reference for proper netiquette when "chatting," is Chatiquette.
Just for fun, here are some typing shortcuts from the ChatNet User's Appendix.
brb | be right back | ppl | people |
btw | by the way | gmta | great minds think alike |
afk | away from keys | ic |
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laughing out loud | k |
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rolling on floor laughing | bbl |
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see ya | <eg> |
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in my humble opinion |
:) or 8) | smiley faces |
:( or 8( | frown |
:P | sticking out tongue |
:/ | halfway between a smile and a frown |
:{) | person with a mustache smiling |
:* | a kiss |
A person's name in brackets indicates you are hugging them; i.e. hugging Mary would be {{{{{{{{Mary}}}}}}}}. The more brackets you use, the bigger the hug.