To communicate in the chat room, type into the text box towards the bottom of the chat applet and press Enter or click the Send button to send your message. Your message will appear in the chat box above.  Others may then read what you have typed and respond to you.

Above the text box are a row of buttons which provide access to various chat room features:

	Color Button  Allows you to change your current text color.
	Bold Font  Allows you to type in bold text. (Press to turn on and again to turn off.)
	Italic Font  Allows you to type in italic text. (Press to turn on and again to turn off.)
	Underlined Font  Allows you to underline text. (Press to turn on and again to turn off.)
	Audio Emoticons Button  Allows you to select an audio emoticon from the popup window.
	Avatar Button  Allows you to select an avatar from the popup window.
	Font Zoom In Button  Allows you to increase the current font size.
	Font Zoom Out Button  Allows you to decrease the current font size.
	Clear Screen  Allows you to clear the contents of the chat screen.
	Audio Button  Allows you to enable or disable audio within the chat room.
	Float/Dock Button  Allows you to float or dock the chat room.
	Logout Button  Logs you out of the chat room.
	Help Button  Allows you access to this chat help page.

Singles Chat allows you to open multiple private chat windows simultaneously and you may initiate a private message session with anyone currently logged into the chat, even if they are in a different public room than you are.


Online/Away Status

You may indicate whether you are available for chat or temporarily away by using the drop-down menu above the User's List.

Selecting "Away" places a small hourglass icon () next to your name so other chatters are aware of your status. Selecting "Online" removes the hourglass.

Regardless of your chosen status, you will be automatically logged out of the chat room after 30 minutes of inactivity.


Ignore User

As stated on our chat page, "Our only rule is that you treat fellow chatters with respect."  Unfortunately, not everyone follows the rules.  If a fellow chatter is in some way disturbing you, you can ignore them by right clicking their name in the User's List and selecting "Ignore" or by typing /ignore username.  Any posts from that user (in public or private chat) will now be invisible to you.

To view your personal list of ignored chatters, type /ignore.

To stop ignoring an individual chatter, right click their name again and un-check Ignore or type /listen username and you will once again be able to view their posts.


Graphic Emoticons

Emoticons are textual representations of emotions. Certain text emoticons are recognized by Singles Chat and will automatically be translated into their graphic counterpart.

A list of the presently recognized graphic emoticons can be found here. Simply type in the text you see in the second column of the listing and the graphic will appear in the chat room.

You will also find a clickable list of the graphic emoticons by right clicking your mouse in the area where you type to chat.


Audio Emoticons

Audio Emoticons work similar to graphic emoticons except instead of displaying an image they play a sound for all to hear.  You can turn the audio off/on by right clicking anywhere in the chat area and selecting (or de-selecting) Audio.

You will find a clickable list of the audio emoticons available by clicking the Audio Emoticons button or right clicking your mouse in the area where you type to chat.


Acronyms

Acronyms are abbreviations often used in chat to represent common phrases quickly.

Here is a list of some of the more common acronyms:

You can also use the Font Zoom In and Font Zoom Out buttons to adjust the text size.


Text Color

You may change the color of your text by clicking on the Colors button located below the main chat area.  After clicking on "Colors", a popup window will appear allowing you to select a color then click "Ok".


Commands

Singles Chat recognizes various commands.  Below is a partial list of commands presently recognized.  You will notice that these commands are IRC-like in nature.  Macros allow you to quickly perform some of these functions by reducing keystrokes.

Do not use brackets.  Brackets are shown for demonstration purposes only.

URL's, such as http://www.vpsingles.com may be entered into the chat at any time to share with others.  Once a URL is sent to the chat room, it automatically becomes a link that will open in a new browser window when clicked.


Permanent Chat Rooms

Here's a brief description of the chat rooms available at The Virtual Playground. To switch rooms, simply double click on a room name in the User's List.

• TheLobby - The Main Room where you can meet and greet a wide variety of interesting people.
• TheLounge - The perfect spot to visit with friends and make new ones.
• CoffeeShop - Take a coffee and conversation break.
• Poolside - Relax, order a tropical drink, then dive right in.
• ParkingLot - A little wild for those who prefer unmoderated chat.

If a room name has a plus or minus sign beside it, that means there are chatters currently in that room. You may click the plus sign to display those chatters or the minus sign to hide their names from view. VP Chat Administrators (admins) who are currently chatting will have a symbol beside their name () so you can easily locate one if you have a question or problem.


Temporary Chat Rooms

In addition to our permanent chat rooms, Singles Chat allows users to create their own temporary rooms. You may create a public room or password protect it to accomodate privacy.  There is no limit to the amount of rooms that may be created, however rooms are automatically removed when they are empty.

To create a new room, simply click the "Add a Room" button () below the User's List. Once you have created your room, you will automatically be placed in it. If you password protected your room, all users wishing to visit will be required to enter the password you have chosen.


Float & Dock

Click the Float/Dock button to remove the chat room from the browser page and resize it to your liking. When you wish to return the chat room to its page, simply click the Float/Dock button again.


Chat Name Registration

To register your chat name, click the "Register a Username" link on the Login Page and complete the form.  There is no guarantee you will get the registered name you request and The Virtual Playground For Singles reserves the right to deny name registration to anyone.

A note about registered names:  Once you have registered your name, you "own" that sequence of letters so you may capitalize all, some or none of the letters when logging into the chat.   No one else can register the same sequence of letters by simply capitalizing the name or typing it in lower case.


Chatters' Profiles

A profile system is integrated within the chat room to allow registered users to add/edit their own profile information and to allow anyone to view the profiles of registered chatters.

To view a chatter's profile, right click* on his/her name in the User's List and select "View Profile". (Profiles will appear in a new browser window.)

If you are a registered chatter and wish to add your own profile, right click* on your own name in the User's List and select "Edit Profile". You may also add/edit your profile from outside the chat by clicking here.

A form will appear in a new browser window allowing you to add your information and upload a photo from your computer (photos optional). Photos must not be X-rated, must be in .jpg format and can be no larger than 32K in size.

If you have trouble using the right click menu, the probable cause is pop-up blocking software installed on your computer. In most cases, holding down the "Ctrl" key while right clicking will bypass the software. If not, you can set the software to allow pop-ups from this site. Check for an "OPTIONS" or "PREFERENCES" setting of the program where there should be a selection for "ALLOWED SITES" or "WHITE LISTS" and add vpsingles.com to your list.

*Note for Mac users:  Ctrl-click will substitute for right clicking.