e who follows our fair and simple rules are welcome to make use of the public chatrooms. 

Visit the Help & Advice section to find out how you can register your nickname, register your own #channel and get your own web based chatroom for your site all FREE.

The Text, Audio & Video Chat Network

To make use of audio and video chat you will need to Download Visual IRC 1.1 software, its completely free, get it here. chat uses a client server design

Downloading and Installing Microsoft Chat

The file you need to download is 1.8 MB and is called MSCHAT25.EXE. 

We recommend that you print this page, so you can follow the instructions below.

Download the software from: 
http://www.chat.org.uk/MSCHAT25.EXE 

1. Download the software using the above link..

    

2. A dialog box will pop up asking you where to save the mschat25.exe file.
   1. Select and write down the location on your computer to save the file to so you will be able to find it later. The location it suggests should be fine. Keep the file name "mschat25.exe". Alternatively save it to your desktop.
   2. Then click on the Save button. It should take about 10 minutes to download if you are using a 28.8 Kb/sec modem.

    

3. Find the mschat25.exe file on your computer and install it, you do this by:
   1. Double-clicking on the mschat25.exe this will install Microsoft Chat.
   2. Confirm that you want to install Microsoft Chat by clicking Yes.
   3. Then it will ask you to accept license terms. Read and then click Accept.
   4. Then it will ask you where you want to put the Microsoft Chat files. The location it suggests should be fine so click next
   5. Click Yes when it asks you if it is ok to create the Microsoft Chat folder.
   6. Click Ok to finish.

Connecting to a Chat.org.uk

You must be connected to the Internet before you can connect and start chatting.

Launch the Microsoft Chat program. Now that you have installed Microsoft Chat, you can launch it using the Windows Start button. From the Programs menu, choose Microsoft Chat. 

Now you will see a Chat Connection dialog box. If the Chat Connection window does not appear, you can use the File menu and select New Connection to make the box appear.

On the Connect tab, you will need to enter the name of the server hosting the chat. Type irc.cheapnet.co.uk where it says Microsoft Chat Server (as illustrated above)

You will also need to enter the name of the chat room (channel) you will be using. 

Delete the text that says #Microsoft Chat following the Go to Chat Room: text. Then type #allnitecafe  or the name of another room you want to join (you can always move rooms later). DO NOT forget to type # before the name of the room.

Next you will need to configure the Personal Info tab. Click on the tab to make it active (bring it to the front).

In the Nickname Field choose a nickname that you want others to know you by (sometimes called a handle).

We advise you to leave the EMAIL FIELD blank - if you really want to share your email address you can "whisper" it to someone later.

The WWW Home Page and Description can also be left blank, but we encourage you to put a brief description about yourself (don't reveal personally identifying information though). In the WWW Homepage Field you could always include a link to your favourite website.

When you click on Okay the program will attempt to connect to the server. This may take up to 90 seconds. You may see a welcome window reporting on the number of users, channels, etc. 

If there is already someone in the chat who has the same handle as you (the name you used in the Nickname field), you will need to change your Nickname and try to log into the chat again. 

Chatting in the Chat Room

Now that you are connected to a server, and are inside a room, or channel, you can begin chatting. You should see a window like this:

Notice that the tab with a speech cloud indicates which room, or channel, you have joined. (This is shown with a blue arrow above.) You can choose to use either TEXT MODE or COMIC MODE. If you use text mode then users who use comic mode will send a little bit of gibberish before each message. Just ignore it, it is simply telling other comic users what the cartoon character looks like and its actions (turn comic mode ON to see what we mean). To turn COMIC MODE ON simply click the little smiley face in the toolbar (6th button along).

To begin chatting, type a message in the small box at the bottom of the chat window. When you are ready to send the message you can press the enter or return key on your keyboard. You can also click on the Say button at the right side of the message box. (This is shown with a yellow arrow.)

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 small box 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!

Whispering in a Chat Room

If you want to say something in the chat room that only one person sees, it is called "whispering." To whisper, you must select someone other than yourself from the chat user list on the right hand column of your chat window. Click once on the person's name to select him/her. Then type in the text you wish to send to them. Finally, click on the Whisper button to send the text. (This is shown with the purple arrow.)

Switching to Another Chat Room

The chat server has many different rooms/channels you can chat in. You can chat in two or more rooms at once.  To enter a new chat room use the toolbar at the top of the chat window and click on the door icon with the list/page next to it (entering the door). This icon is the 8th icon from the left. Then double-click the name of the room you want to enter.

To switch between rooms you can click the tabs, just under the buttons, they will have the room names on them.

Closing a Chat Room

The 4th icon from the left is a green arrow leaving a door. Click on this to leave the chat room you are in at the time. Don't forget to say Good bye ;-)

Just click on any of the Java clients to the right to get right into the chat. More advanced users often like to use special chat programs that run on your computer we have also listed the best of these. If you want to use these you will have to download them and configure them yourself.

Visual IRC, or ViRC for short, is a scriptable next-generation IRC (Internet communications) client, currently available in 16-bit and 32-bit flavours. ViRC combines top-notch functionality and features found in few other IRC clients with unparalleled ease of use.
ViRC's unique features include an Office 97-like user interface, a powerful, object-oriented scripting language (ViRCScript), support for Active Scripting, allowing VBScript and JavaScript code (and any other Active Scripting language too,including Perl and Python) to be seamlessly combined with ViRCScript code for the ultimate in flexibility. ViRC combines ease-of-use with extensive customizability and features never seen before in an IRC client to create the most powerful IRC client ever produced, suitable for the novice and expert alike.