Get started

Registering

Most chat rooms will ask you to log in with a nickname and password before you can chat.

If it is your first time on a particular site you’ll have to register some personal details in order to receive your nickname and password to log in.

Usually you’ll need to enter a valid e-mail address so that the administrators of the chat site can:

email your username and password
contact you if need be
e-mail you a password reminder if you forget your log in details

If you'd like to register on our Chat & Discuss sites follow our simple registration guide.

Get chatting

The process of chatting is surprisingly simple‚ and varies little from site to site:

As a rule you will have a large box on your screen which is where you can read the conversation.

If you want to ‘say’ something you will need to type what you want to say and either click on a button (usually marked ‘send’) or hit the return key on your keyboard.

At first this can seem quite intimidating if you have not had much experience with computers‚ or have difficulty using a keyboard.

You may find it easier the first time to simply watch the conversations‚ rather than take an active part. This will give you time to get used to the speed that information can appear.

To familiarise yourself with how chat sites work why not join our online Chat & Discuss?

Netiquette

There are certain rules to ensure chatters understand one another - here are a few pointers.
Chat room safety

Find out how to protect yourself while chatting online to make the most of what the internet can offer.