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The Wikia Chat is an on-site feature located at Special:Chat that users may utilize to communicate with others in real time. This page is designed to help users communicate and understand the chat features better. If you have any questions about this feature, feel free to ask in the chat.

Joining Chat[]

People with a Wikia account (click here to create one) that are not banned from chat or blocked from this wiki may enter the chat. The page mentions the rules of the chat and banning guidelines for Chat Moderators.

Users can join by searching Special:Chat in the wiki search bar, or by clicking here. People using the Wikia skin can also join by clicking "Join the Chat" or "Start a Chat" on the right navigation rail.

User list[]

Upon entering the chat, you will be able to see a list of users currently in the chat to the right, as well as their avatars. At the very top, you can see your username and avatar. Clicking on a user in the user list will open a menu. The menu may offer you a link to the user's user page and contributions page (links to these pages may also link back to the chat). You may also be given other options, depending on your user rights and some other factors. These options will be explored elsewhere on this page.

Messaging[]

Once you have entered the chat, you can send messages to the chat room by typing text into the text box at the bottom, and hitting your keyboard's enter or return key. Your messages will be highlighted.

Coding[]

Below is a list of codes users can use in the chat to communicate with others. Clicking on links in chat will open them in a new tab or window.

You type You get Description
http://www.wikia.com http://www.wikia.com Linking to a URL.
[[]]:) :) Used to make emoticon pictures not display.
/me * Template:USERNAME Used to talk in third person.

When linking to a URL, placing square brackets ([]) around it will display both the full URL and the brackets around it (for example, entering [http://www.wikia.com] displays [http://www.wikia.com]). In addition, when linking to a file, the file will not be displayed in the chat, but only a link to the file will be given. Templates do not work in chat.

Tab complete[]

Tab complete is a function that allows pressing the tab key to fill in the rest of someone's username after entering the start of the username already. For example if there is an user named Example in the chat, entering Ex and then pressing the tab key would fill in the rest of the name. If there are two users starting with Ex, pressing tab again would fill in the next user's name. It will cycle through all names that start with the entered letters and start from the beginning when it reached the last name. Note that usernames may have spaces in them, but the script will recognise only the part that is entered from the last space. For example, if there is an user with the name "Ex Ample", entering "Ex" and pressing tab will still fill in the rest of the name, but entering "Ex A" will not fill in the rest of the name, but instead it will fill with the first user that has a name starting with an A (if there are any).

Emoticons[]

In addition to those, you can also use emoticons to communicate with others. For example, entering :) displays Emoticon_happy.png. A full list of emoticons for the chat can be found at MediaWiki:Emoticons. Administrators have the ability to edit the page and add/remove emoticons that can be used there. Emoticons on the page must link to the image URL, and should be around 19 x 19 pixels in size.

Private messaging[]

Users also have the ability to private message others in the chat. Private messaging allows a user to talk to another user personally. To private message someone, click on the user in the user list and select the "Private message" option in the menu. If there is no such option, the user may have blocked private messages from you, or the user may already be in a private message chat room with you.

Selecting the option will open a private message room with the user. To talk to the user, just enter a message into the room. If you want to return to the main chat room, just click on the logo at the top right.

To block private messages from the user, click on the user under the "Private Messages" section while in the room, and select the option "Block private messages". This setting is permanent and Wikia-wide. If you decide you want to re-allow private messages with a user, click on the user in the user list and select the option "Allow private messages".

If the user you are private messaging has left the chat, their username and avatar will appear faded in the Private Messages section, although you can still see the private conversation. You will also have the option to block private messages from users, even after they have left the chat, as long as there is still the option to view a private conversation with them.

Rights[]

Kicking/Banning[]

Users with these rights may have the option to kick or ban other users in the chat by clicking on the user in the user list and selecting the option "Kick" or "ban". If these options do not exist, the other user may also have the right to kick or ban users.

Kicking a user removes them from the chat, but allows them to reenter immediately.

In order to ban a user outside of the chat, you can go to Special:Contributions and enter the user's name, where you will be directed to the user's contributions page. Click the link for the "Ban from chat" page. Enter a ban duration and a reason (default is "Misbehaving in chat") and click "Ban this user".

The ban is set for a determined amount of time decided at the time of banning. This can be edited by going to the chat ban log and clicking "change ban". Bans that have expired do not have this option.

Users are generally expected to kick/ban offending users that may not have been following the chat rules. Users are expected to ban the user for an appropriate time. After the user has been banned, moderators should leave a message explaining why the user was banned on their talk page. It is suggested that moderators follow the user page (add the user page to their watchlist) until the user has had their ban removed, in case the user decides to appeal the ban on their talk page.

Modifying Chat[]

Removing the chat navigation rail[]

To remove the chat navigation rail to the right, simply add .ChatModule.module {display:none !important;} to your wikia.css. You can also click here and press "Save page" to remove the rail on this wiki (note: after saving, you have to bypass your browser's cache to see the changes, see here for instructions).

MediaWiki pages[]

Administrators have the ability to edit any MediaWiki pages and make some changes to the chat, other than those to emoticons as mentioned above. For example, they can change the message that indicates a user has joined the chat by changing MediaWiki:Chat-user-joined. To find a list of Chat-related messages, you can go to Special:AllMessages and filter by the prefix chat. You can also use your browser's "Find" feature to find the messages as well.

Personal CSS/JS changes[]

You can change interfaces and/or add scripts to the chat by editing your chat.js or chat.css. If you make any changes to those files, these changes will only apply to the chat. You can edit those pages to make changes in the same way as regular css/js changes.

Chat hacks[]

Chat hacks is a feature created by Monchoman45 (report problems with the feature here). It is an extra extension available for chat users, but not mandatory. It has features that include manual away from keyboard buttons and more. If you wish to have this feature, put

importScriptPage('User:Monchoman45/ChatHacks.js', 'c');
importScriptPage('User:Joeytje50/ChatPMs.js', 'c');

on your global.js (at Community Central) or wikia.js page, or click here and press "Publish" (remember to bypass your browser's cache after saving).

Once you have done so, you can use the feature by entering the chat from the right navigation bar. Note that this feature may not work for people using some browsers, such as Internet Explorer.

Chat hack features[]

At the top left of your chat screen, while using the feature, you may notice a list of ping phrases. Here, you can add/remove phrases that will ping you when someone else enters them in the main chat room. In addition, when looking at messages, you will notice Chat Moderators will have a gold star beside their name, and Wikia staff will have a Wikia symbol beside theirs.

With this feature you also have the ability to have a chat with multiple users at the same time. To do this, you can press the "PM" button to the right of the text box, enter a comma separated list of users you want to talk to (i.e., "Username 1,Username 2" without the quotation marks), and press enter. You will have the ability to continue chatting in the private chat, even if the user you are chatting to has left.

Below is a list of several commands users can utilize in chat. These commands will not work in the private room, and will not work if a user does not add them to the beginning of their message. Some of the commands listed using /help will not work.

Command Message Description
/afk Varies Lets users appear away in chat if they do not currently appear away, and no longer away if they appear away. Note: you can also press the "AFK" button.
/clear ~ Window cleared. ~ Allows the user to clear the chat window that is open. Note: you can also press the "Clear" button.
/nc Nobody cares Displays a link to uncyclopedia:Nobody cares. Entering /nc Text will give Text.
/devoice * ChanServ set channel mode -v This is seen in the IRC and does not affect the chat. Typing in text after the /devoice will display it after the text to the left.
/coppa http://coppa.org - You must be 13 or older to legally have an account on Wikia. Typing /coppa Text will display http://coppa.org Text.
/silence People idle, enjoy the silence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diT3FvDHMyo
/kickban [username], /kb [username], /ban [username] or /kick [username] Varies For example, if you wanted to ban the user Example, you could type /kb Example. Entering this command allows users with the right (Chat Moderators) to ban another user, even if the user is not in the chat.
/mod [username] Varies For example, /mod Example. Entering this allows you to give another user Chat Moderator rights in the chat, even if the user is not currently in chat. This only works for users who have the right to give other users Chat Moderator status (such as admins).
/block [username] For example, /block Example. Blocks private messages from a user.
/unblock [username] For example, /unblock Example. Allows private messages from a user who you have previously blocked them from.
/id ~ id: # ~ Gives you the id of the chat room you are in.
/self [message] (undefined) [message] Used to send a message to yourself that no-one else in the chat can see.
/help Commands: afk, clear, me, nc, devoice, coppa, silence, kickban, unban, mod, demod, block, unblock, private, id, self, help Displays some of the commands available. Typing /help [command] (for example, /help afk) will give you more info on the command.

Exiting Chat[]

Logging out of your Wikia account will not cause you to leave the chat if you are already in it. In order to leave the chat, you can close the tab or browser window that contains it.

While in the chat, you may disconnect from the server. There may be a message informing you that you have disconnected, or there may not be. If you believe you may have disconnected and there is no message informing you of it, try entering text into the chat. If you cannot enter the text, you have probably been disconnected.

If you have been disconnected, try fixing the problem and refreshing the page. If you are still not able to enter, there may be a problem with Wikia's server. Try entering the chat another time.

Glitches[]

You can report chat bugs to Wikia here.

Join/leave glitch[]

Some users on the wiki may experience a join/leave glitch (also called j/qing) which may cause them to disconnect and reconnect to chat frequently. Users experiencing this glitch may get a message such as ~ ~. If you believe you are join/leave spamming, or are getting the ~ ~ message, try refreshing the page.

Other glitches[]

  • When blocking and then unblocking private messages from a user in chat, you may not be able to return to the private room. If this happens and you want to continue privately chatting with the user afterwards, refresh the page and private message them.
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