How to navigate the chat options on the Website

[TNTease]

Webchat - how-to
General information if you connect to the chat network through the webpage options

go to:  icq-chat.com
click on Channels in the menu up top
You can jump right in by choosing one of the offered channels or scroll a bit lower, where you will see
"Other Available Web Clients"  and the choices are "FlashIRC" and "The Lounge (recommended)"

Opton A:
If you choose one of the offered channels, you will get a login screen where you can enter the Nickname you want to use, and if you have a registered nickname already, check the box for "I have a password" and you will get a box to enter your password into.  The Channel box will have the channel you already chose but you can change it if you know another channel you would prefer.  Click on "Join the Chat!" and start chatting.

You will be joined to your chosen chat room, and you will see your list of windows on the left side (ICQ-Chat is your "status" window, and rooms that start with "#" are chatrooms), and your chat window for the current room is the larger area in the middle.  To chat, type your message in the entry box below next to your name, where it says "Send a message".  The column on the right lists the other nicknames in the room/channel.

Just above the chatroom area, on the right, you will see an "i", an icon for people and a number, and a gear icon.  The "i" is the info button for the room, with a little information about the room.  The people icon with the number shows how many nicknames are in the room, and clicking it will show or hide the Nicknames list.  The gear icon is the settings, which you may see some of the basic settings of the channel (and be able to make some changes if you have admin access for the channel), and your own settings, which you can switch on or off if you wish. (Clicking the gear icon will hide this window again.)

An option on the lower right lets you switch to the fullscreen, which is handy if you're on a laptop or smaller screen.  Just above this button you will see three lines, and a smiley-face.  The smiley brings up the smiley emoticons for you to choose from. (clicking the same face will close the selections.)  If you click on the three lines, it just slides the smiley out of sight.

There is a button bar to switch to the old Flash Chat Client, but this option will be discontinued at the end of the year, as Flash is being discontinued by it's maker.

Scrolling lower will show you some links and info about the network.  You also have access to play the current ICQ-Chat Radio broadcast on the lower right side. It includes a volume button for on or off in case you need to mute the music.

-if you click on the bar to switch to the Flash Chat Client, see info on Option C: below-

Option B:
If you choose one of the other chat options/clients from the site, we recommend "The Lounge".

This will load TheLounge client, and then open full-screen, where you have a connection screen, partially pre-filled. You will see a default Nick, which you may change to your preferred nickname.  You may change the Username, although we suggest you either leave it as-is or put your nickname there too.  If you have a registered nickname for our network, you can put in your password, otherwise just leave it blank.  For Real name, you can leave it or again put in your nick (we suggest you do not use your actual real name).  Channels is usually set to #chat which is our 'main' chatroom, but you can change this to another channel if you like.  Then click the Connect button.

You will be joined to the channel, with your chat window in the center, nick list to the right and channels list to the left. (ICQ-Chat in the channels list is your 'status' window).

On the top right you will see three vertical dots, and a "people" icon. The vertical dots will give you some information/options in the channel, depending on your channel access.  The "people" icon will show or hide the channel nick list.

On the lower left side, at the bottom of the channels list section, you will see a "+", a settings gear and a question symbol.  The "+" will open your login screen, which may allow you to connect to another channel at the same time. (Clicking on a channel in the channels list will return you to that room.)  Clicking on the "?" button will give you some interesting information and shortcuts for some things.  Clicking on the gear icon will allow you to toggle some limited settings.

Option C:
The Flash Client --- Note: Flash is being discontinued by it's author.  By the end of Dec 2020 it will no longer be supported, and we will be discontinuing it here, so I won't go into detail on this option.

Clicking on FlashIRC from the website will take you to the options to connect to our channels with the Flash Client. You will see a list of rooms to choose from, and clicking on one will open a screen that will have an icon to click on to download the Adobe Flash Player, if you do not already have it on your computer.

[TNTease]

The webchat offers several options for "Message Layout".  If you find you are getting youtube or other 'windows' that open when someone posts a link, here is how you can turn that off:

Click on the settings gear symbol in the upper-left corner of the webchat.  Look for Chat Messages, and unmark the box where it says Inline Messages. Click the settings gear again to close that.

[TNTease]

The colored circles with initials in them that precede people's posts in the channel were found to be annoying to some, so we have changed the default Layout to not show those, but you can switch back and forth from the Traditional layout, which shows these.

Click on the settings gear symbol in the upper-left corner of the webchat.  Look for Chat Messages, and you will see a box with a drop-down option where you can choose one of the three layouts.