Groups

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Revision as of 14:24, 16 July 2015 by Andre (talk | contribs) (Marked this version for translation)

While xat.com offers you a quick method of creating a chatroom for your site / profile, you may also want to consider making a Group chat. Read this guide for information on groups.

What's so special about a "Group"?

Groups get the following features that are different from normal chats:

  • A special xat link, example xat.com/lobby instead of xat.com/chat/room/1/.
  • Ability to appear on xat.com/groups (you may remove yourself from lists at any time via "Extra Features" panel).
  • 6 pages of HTML formatting, perfect for making rules etc.
  • Custom backgrounds on the page your xat chat is on.
  • Comments system (OPTIONAL), to allow members and higher to leave comments on your chat that never disappear (unless you delete them).
  • A "Reset Chatbox" option, to remove all ranks, except yours and change the link to "Extra Features" panel.
  • Ability to make yourself or anybody else a Main Owner, by:
  • giving them the URL from "Edit Your Chat" (recommended)
Your edit chat link should look similar to http://xat.com/web_gear/chat.php?id=3548454&pw=123456789 however, you can use tinyurl.com or bit.ly for a short link.
  • giving them the password to your group.

Sounds great! How do I make one?

There are two ways to make a group. If you already have an xat.com chatbox on your site, you can turn that into a group and keep ALL of your settings, moderators, owners, etc.

I have a chatbox, how can I convert it to a group?

If you're a creator and original Main Owner;

  • Click "Edit Your Chat" then at the top right click "Extra Features"
  • Click the blue "make this chat a group" button
  • Then enter the information (see below).

I don't have a chatbox, can I still make a group?

Of course! Just click http://xat.com/web_gear/chat/creategroup.php to make a group, and fill out the information (see below).

Information

You must fill out the information on the group creation page.

"Your name" Used to personalize the "Activation required" and "Moderator report" emails. Instead of "Hello user," it can say "Hello Bob,".

"Group name" Your group name. This is also used for your special group link. For example, if you type Lobby, your link will be xat.com/Lobby. Choose wisely, group name cannot be changed after.

"Group description" Appears under your group name on the groups list, and on the chat link.

"Password" Your password is something only YOU know, so make it complicated (yet something you'd remember), so you can edit your chat group at any time.

"Tags" Used for search engines etc., example if your chat was about board games, you could make tags like chess, checkers, connect 4, etc.

"E-mail" Please put a VALID email. It's required to activate the group, and to give you your password if you happen to forget it. E-mail address cannot be changed after, so make sure you insert a valid and permanent one.

"URL" Enter a link to a website that "features" this group.

Once you fill this out and click "I agree" and then "Create Group", check your email for the activation link!

Note: The official chat groups of xat can be found here.

Attracting Users

If you are making a chat group to attract others, then you may want to consider making your chat group a bit attractive. This can be done several ways, all adding up to successful chat groups with lots of users. Here are a few ways to attract users:

  • Make, or find someone who makes custom backgrounds for your chat to make it look more professional (try forum)
  • Base your group's topics on something most people can relate to. (for example http://xat.com/trade is a place where users can trade xat's currency, powers etc).
  • Try to make your chat group's name one word. (Chats that are named_like_this are often hard to remember.)
  • Take advantage of xat's Promotion. For 200 xats per hour, your chat will be listed on xat.com's home page. However, you will be responsible to keep your chat appropriate during the promotion and others may be on promote the same time as you.