How to Chat on the Internet

 

What's on this page:

• Basic rules
• Personal security
• If you plan to meet someone, off-line
• Computer security
• If something online has frightened you

Ready to go for it? Try any GeoCities' chat room! Our own Paris chat is a good place to start.
 
 

Basic rules:

• Ask for help. Turn off your Java and JavaScript before entering chat. In Netscape, that's in "Options", then "Security", then you'll see boxes for Java and JavaScript, if your browser recognizes them.
• Don't run your cursor over anything. Zero. Zip. Nada. Read "Computer security," below, if you want to know why.
• Introduce yourself to people in the room and let them know you're new. Ask questions about them, where they live, what they do, and so on. Don't ask anything private or personal that you wouldn't want to answer yourself. Respect other's decisions to decline answering any questions you ask, and keep in mind that you can do the same.
• If the chatters are not friendly, keep trying to start conversations for a little while (5 -10 minutes). Don't just whine, "Doesn't anyone want to talk to me?" If no one replies to your friendly introductions, visit another chat. Frankly, there are times when the chats get cliquish. However, most of the time you'll find at least one or two fun people wherever you chat.
• Remember to add a little style to your postings. Add descriptions of physical reactions, between asterisks or italics. For example, *turns a somersault* ... *giggles uncontrollably* ... *takes off his bowler, places his walking stick next to the arm of the overstuffed chair, and accepts a cup of black tea* ... or even *pours himself a martini, shaken, not stirred*. You get the idea.
• A few useful abbreviations:

LOL = Laughing Out Loud
BRB = Be Right Back
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
*g* = grin or giggle
*s* = smile
• A couple of terms: "Booted" means the person's browser, server, or the chat monitor kicked him/her out of the room and they had to re-enter. "Crashed" is when the whole room shuts down (a technical glitch) and everyone has to re-enter. "Java bombs" are what send up a series of windows with bizarre messages, and then your browser crashes... or maybe your whole computer freezes and you have to reboot. "Chat monitors" are not always in the room to keep the peace and enforce the chat guidelines. If things stop being fun for you, don't hang around... go elsewhere.
• Remember that people with crude or suggestive "handles" are usually looking for the wrong kind of attention. If they get too bizarre, you can always use the Configure button so you don't have to see their postings. You can also hastily change your name in Config, if you need to evade someone.
• Follow the general chat guidelines:
• No abusive language or insults.
• Don't post large or animated graphics (icons are usually okay). Post links to your graphics or URLs instead.
• No porn or violent images.
• Be friendly.
• Have fun!

Personal security recommendations:

• Never tell anyone your REAL name.
• Never tell anyone your home, school, or workplace address or phone number.
• Remember that you don't really know who you're talking with. A recent study showed that the majority of Internet chatters who claim to be girls under 16 years, are actually men ages 30+. Yuk. (No, I don't recall where I read this online, or how they figured this out.)
• Don't reveal information that anyone could use to locate you in real life.
• Change your chat "handle" if someone is bothering you, or leave the chat completely. You can report them to [chat@oocities.com] if you're really alarmed. If you get the message to the chat staff within 6 hours of the incident, they can read through the postings to identify the person who's bothering you. Make sure you copy and paste into your email exactly what was said, and include the time shown, mentioning which chat room you were in at the time.
• Don't "whisper" anything that would embarrass you. Sometimes malicious hackers are in chat, and they'll suddenly start posting people's whispers for everyone to read.

Computer security:

• Turn off Java and JavaScript before entering the chat room. This protects you from JavaScript bombs and Java Trojans.
• Don't tell anyone in chat your password, even if they say they're a Chat Monitor or someone who works for GeoCities. (I've seen this trick used often.) Anyone who works for GeoCities has access to the password database, should they need it, and no one - not even Community Leaders - will have the need to request your password.
• Don't run your cursor over anything and don't click on anyone's links. If they really have a cool place for you to visit, they'll tell you the URL. If you run your cursor over a JavaScript bomb, you get hit. If you click on a bogus or malicious link, you could lose your hard drive.
• If anything bizarre happens, remember: About 90% of JavaScript warnings are bogus. Even if you pick up a computer virus in chat, you'd have to actually run something for the virus to be activated. (That's another reason not to click on anything.) And even if you were unfortunate enough to do that, it is rarely necessary to reformat a hard drive, to get rid of a computer virus.
• If something happens online that frightens you and you need to know about viruses and malicious hacks, contact a Community Leader immediately. If you don't receive a reply within 36 hours, contact another Leader. Usually, it's nothing to be alarmed about, but if you need someone who understands this stuff, your Leader can help or refer you to a good source.

If you arrange to meet someone from chat:

• Take at least one friend with you.
• Consider having a group of chatters meet at one time, in one place.
• Arrange to meet in a safe, public place. If someone is really okay, they won't mind meeting you in front of the police station in the middle of the day! They'll probably appreciate this kind of suggestion, as they're not certain who you really are, either. Other likely meeting spots include the reference desk at the largest public library in town, at the information desk in the mall, and so on. Be certain it's a place where you'll have security guards available to escort you to your car, if you get the feeling that something just isn't right. Also, take a small camera with you, and take a picture of your online Romeo/Juliet. I'll explain about the photo, in a minute.
• Keep your friend with you. I don't want to sound totally paranoid, but the person who meets you might be just the front/procurer for the person who's really interested in you. Meeting people off-line is becoming common enough that some criminal-types are getting verrrrry good at setting things up to fool you. Don't find yourself totally alone with your new online Romeo/Juliet.
• If you meet them again, always leave behind an itinerary of your plans, plus full info about the person you're meeting. Also keep his photo (the one you took during the first meeting) in a prominent place. Worst case? The police will have a photo of him/her to track with. Ideal scene? You can sigh over the photo every day, while you're online chatting with the object of your affection.
• If your online friends tell you to watch out for someone, listen to them. I've personally watched guys sweet-talk a girl, tell her she's the "only one," and then do the same with another girl, as soon as the first one was out of the room. When I've mentioned this in chat, the guys have turned really ugly, using abusive language I never saw a hint of, when they were doing their routine with the gullible females. And their replies, ten times out of ten, include telling me that all I need is a good.... well, you get the idea. My point is: If the first thing he thinks of is rape when he gets angry with a woman, this is one Romeo you don't want to connect with!
• If you want to see for yourself, disconnect from your ISP, reconnect (now you'll have a new IP#), and come back into chat with a new name. Flirt with the object of your affections and see what happens. Or pretend to be a crude, macho guy, and whisper to your guy to ask if he's gotten any action in the chat.
• The bottom line is: Anyone who's really okay won't mind your extreme caution.