I Fell from the Moon

I'm an IRC regular at OperaNet (IRC is the protocol used by Opera Chat). That's both a blessing and a curse. OperaNet is a very good IRC network with fantastic functions. The regulars there are all friendly. But being a regular is far from just fun. A lot of us get countless unnecessary private messages every day. Skim this document if you just want to avoid being kicked or made a fool of. Read more closely if you want to know why the guidelines are there.

This isn't MSN or AOL Messenger.
Most new people at OperaNet connects, joins a random chatroom (also called a channel), ignore anything said in the chatroom including the topic and the on-join private message. Then they click the users in the chatroom and start talking in a private window just like it's an instant messenger. Don't do this!

Don't question people when they try to make you follow rules or guidelines.
The persons who have been around OperaNet for a while are the ones who know how to behave and how to not behave. If you're not following guidelines and rules you're usually annoying them and everyone else. They're not rule Nazis and not uncool. They just know more about IRC than you.

Here are some guidelines for you as a new user to OperaNet:

1. Read the topic and on-join message.
The topic is visible on top of the window when you join a chatroom. Some chatrooms have on-join messages in a chat window that pops up when you join the chatroom. The topic and on-join message often contains useful information like chatroom rules and such. By following them you'll avoid making a fool of yourself.

2. Chat in the chatroom.
IRC is more social than Instant Messengers are. IRC is designed to make people chat in chatrooms (also called channels). This is what everyone else do. You should too.

3. Don't send private messages.
Private messages are windows similar to the chat windows you use in instant messengers like MSN Messenger. By sending people private messages just to chat, you're usually annoying them. If you don't have anything very private on your mind then chat in the chatroom where you found the person instead. Private messages are however useful in some cases. If you have something private then ask the person in the chatroom for permission to talk in private.

If you're annoyed by private messages you can use this as a standard reply to the person in the chatroom:
nickname: Read the room topic (on top of this page). No private messages. More information at http://operanetiquette.prv.no/

If you're annoyed by private messages from someone in a channel which don't specify rules for private messages try this:
nickname: I don't like private messages. Most others don't like them either. You should really read the guidelines at http://operanetiquette.prv.no/


4. Use normal text.
Some IRC clients have the possibility to style the text. While this may be fun right away it's not something you should test out in front of everyone. Unless you have very good reasons then don’t style your text and don't type all in upper case. Excessive testing of smileys is not a good idea either.

5. Try to follow each chatroom's culture.
This may seem like an odd guideline but it's actually not that silly. Talk the appropriate language, try learning how to behave, and try to not bring your habits from other places with you.

6. Don't excessively notify people of your status.
It's not nice to change nickname or notify all chatrooms every time you're changing status. Give a gentle reminder to the people you're currently chatting with that you're away. You should rather set your status with your IRC client's option. Then all people who have added you as a contact should see your status. Opera Chat doesn't display the status of people that aren't in your contact list. Some rooms don't mind if users change their nickname depending on status. But be careful.

7. Don't spam.
If you think what you're saying is important, repeating it over and over again will not help much. If you're spamming you'll most likely get kicked from the room you're spamming in. A lot of rooms kick people automatically if they write too many lines within a short period. You'll be better off by writing one line at the time.

By following these guidelines and by following normal rules for human behaviour you'll avoid making a fool of yourself. And you'll make less people annoyed.

How to use Operas chat - Anzah have written a good guide to using Opera Chat.

OperaNet chat network: Getting started - If you want get started using OperaNet's features I suggest that you go to OperaNet chat network's page.

Now you're ready to connect to OperaNet.

Click on one of the following links to start chatting:

#opera - OperaNet's IRC channel for chat related to Opera.
#lounge - The lounge is a great place to start if you're looking for a chat.
#operamini – A good place to go if you want to discuss Opera's web browser for Java phones that allow you to use the entire web.

I hope you'll find many good friends. Good luck at OperaNet.

--DrLaunch

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I would like to thank Anzah for linking to me in How to use Operas chat.