Silversurfers Local Community is the best way to stay informed about what's going on in your local neighbourhood.
A place to chat ‘one to one’ with other Silversurfers community members. If you wish you can add other members to your chat for a lively discussion amongst the safe environment of the Silversurfers community.
You will need to be registered and logged in to use Silversurfers Chat.
Chatting with Siversurfers Chat is easy and intuitive. We'd recommend exploring the functionality before reading this guide. However, if you are struggling to make head nor tail of it all, please read on.
Refer to the videos 1a and 1b to see how to initiate a chat
To start a new chat, navigate to the chat page using either the Community sub-navigation (see the blue bar at the top of this page or refer to video 1a), using the "chat with" button which features in comments sections and next to forum posts (see video 1b),or using the "Start a new chat" button located in the silversurfers tools menu by clicking the chat icon on the right (see figure 4c).
(1a). Starting a chat from the chat page.
(1b). Starting a chat using the "chat with" button.
When you initiate a chat you become the chat administrator.
A chat administrator has more control over a chat session. They have the ability to rename, add members, and close down the chat session for all members.
Figure (2a). represents the administative view of a chat.
A click this to rename the chat session (for you and all members).
B click here to add more members to the chat session.
C click this to remove the relevant chat member. Once you have confirmed removal, you will be offered with an option to "block" this user from communicating with you through chat in the future.
D click this to leave the current chat session permanantly. If you leave a chat session which you are administrator of, it will permenantly close the chat for all members.
E this indicates activity of members in the chat session. If one or more chat members are currently on the silversurfers site, this indicator will be green. Orange denotes recent activity, and grey denotes no active members.
F this indicates activity of a single member in the chat session.
Figure (2b). shows you how to add a member, rename your chat, and remove and block a member.
Figure (2c). shows you how to leave a chat session. Remember that leaving a chat session as an administrator will permenantly close the chat session for all users.
If you simply want to close the chat window so that the chat can be resumed later, click the white cross in the top right section of the chat window.
(2a). Administrating a chat.
(2b). Administrative functions.
(2c). Leaving a chat as an administrator
When you are invited to a chat session, you are a chat member.
A chat member has less control over the chat than the administrator. A member can leave a chat, but cannot add new members, close the chat session permenantly for all members, or remove other members from the chat.
Figure (3a). represents the member view of a chat.
A click this to leave the chat. Once you have confirmed your desire to leave the chat, you will be offered the opportunity to block the chat administrator from communicating with you through chat in the future.
Figure (3b). shows you how to leave a chat.
(3a). Chat member view.
(3b). Leaving a chat.
When you visit the chat page you will be presented with a list of active chat sessions - or, if none exist, a prompt to creat a new one. To open an existing chat session, click the "view" button for the chat session you want to open.
You will notice chat sessions have a coloured trianle in the top left of each session. Green denotes that this session has unread activity. Blue denotes the session you are currently viewing, and grey denotes a session that has not changed since you last viewed it. See figure (4a). for more information. You will notice that there are no "blue triangles" in figure (4a). This is because no chat session has been selected.
The chat widget shows unread chats and is present on most pages of the site when you are logged in. It is not present on the chat page as you can see this information in the chat sessions window. Once you view a chat, it will be removed from the widget untill there is new messages on it.
Video (4b). shows you the widget being used when you have unread chat sessions waiting for you to view.
Figure (4c). shows you the widget when there is no unread chats.
(4a). Your chat sessions.
(4b). The chat widget.
(4c). The chat widget with no unread chats.
Silversurfers chat is a private chat service for you to chat with friends you have made on Silversurfers. As such, we do not filter course language, or monitor for abusive behaviour, as we do in the public comment sections and silversurfers forum.
If you are unhappy with the way a user is talking to you in chat, you have the ability to block them, permenantly. They will no longer be able to chat with you untill you release this block by visiting their profile page and clicking the button to unblock.
If you are the chat administrator you have the ability to remove people from a chat session. When you remove a member you will be given the opertunity to block this member from chatting with you. It is up to the chat administrator to administrate the addition or removal of members. If you do not like the way that an administrator runs their chat sessions, we advise you leave the chat session.
If you are a chat member, you cannot remove abusive people from a chat - you can, however, leave the chat. When you leave a chat, you are presented with the opertunity to block the chat administrator from chatting with you in future.
Be aware: when you block a user from chatting, you will be removed from all of the chats they are administrating, and they will be removed from all chats that you are administrating.
Click here to start chatting!
(5a). The block user dialogue.
