How to Create a Dedicated Chat Room
Live chat rooms provide a more interactive environment than websites or message boards. Most Internet users who use live chat rooms are friends who just chat about everyday life. However, anyone can choose a topic and create a dedicated chat room. Businesses can dedicate a chat room to product discussions or customer service, and hobbyists of any kind can create a chat room for that hobby. Anyone who wants to create interactive discussions can simply sign up to a free chat service such as Bravenet and enter a few details to customize the chat room.
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Instructions
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Sign up to Bravenet, a service that offers free chat rooms (see Reference 1). Click on the "Join Bravenet" link at the top to sign up. Some hosts offer paid services, but using a free chat host to create a chat room will suffice for most people so long as it offers customization features.
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Choose a topic. You may want a chat room dedicated just to friends or something like a school math club or study group. The topic is the key element in creating a dedicated chat room because it attracts the people you want--and attracting the right participants keeps the conversations on topic.
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Log in at Bravenet by entering the username and password you chose when you joined. Enter the login details at the top of the page (see References 1). Click on the "Chat Rooms" link under "My Tools." Click on "Look and feel" to customize the chat room. Pick a title that is consistent with the chosen topic. Click on the "Text" button to change the title and welcome message. Personalize the default welcome message to create a more inviting atmosphere. Users can also create a more professional look by clicking on Images and uploading their own images. Save the changes before returning to the main control panel.
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Add additional text under the "Custom HTML" section. Use this section to post rules or additional information that is relevant to the chat room. Those not familiar with HTML can use the HTML Tutorials link in this section for basic pointers.
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Establish a moderation plan. Some users may abuse the chat room by spamming or engaging in harassment or other obstructive behavior. Include an email to report abuse in the welcome message or custom HTML. Use the IP banning section to abuse anyone who disrupts the chat room. Ask any active members if they would like to volunteer for a moderation slot.
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Integrate the chat room with a separate website. Users with a separate website can click on "General Settings" and enter their website address for the chat room's "Return to Site" link. Click on "Copy-paste Code" to retrieve the code for linking to the chat room's home page. Paste that code on any web page to create the link.
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Tips & Warnings
Visit other chat rooms or message boards dedicated to the same topic to find people who might be interested in your chat room.
Do not spam the link to the chat room's main page. Spamming can even cause deletion of the chat room.
