Owners can sometimes face difficulties when managing a chat. This guide is here to help everyone from the inexperienced to the experienced owner make the best out of their chat group.

Owning a chat group

How do I create a chat group?

Go to the create a group page and fill out the form. Make sure to use a valid e-mail address when filling out the form, or you won't be able to activate your group. You will need to complete a CAPTCHA, agree to the terms, and check your e-mail for a link to activate your group afterwards. If you don't receive an e-mail, check your spam folder.

How do I buy an existing chat group?

Go to the transfer group page, enter the group name you desire, and click "Get cost". If the name is unavailable, a red warning error will appear, and you may choose a different name. If error (6) shows, and you are a paid user, make a ticket under the help topic "Short names and Groups" to get the group name unlocked. Note: The group must be ownerless for more than 3 months to be transferred.

How do I create a chat room?

Go to the make a chatroom page. You may choose an optional background and embedding size (if you are planning to embed it), and click the "Update and Get Code" button. To get the direct link for your chat, scroll down to the direct link section.

Chat room and group differences

Unlike a chat group, chat rooms have no official names, and have very limited editing rights. Chat rooms lack a lot of the features that groups have, such as being able to use group powers, being able to include an outer background, or having an official description. Chat rooms also cannot be reset, and therefore are considered less secure.

How do I delete my chat group or room?

While it is not possible to wipe a chat off of xat, it is possible to delete all information off of a chat box, including backgrounds, as well as any edits you have made to the chat. To do this, click "Edit" under your chat group, enter your chat's e-mail and password, and click "Delete". Once you do this, you will receive an e-mail with a link that will allow you to confirm the deletion of your chat. Click on it and your chat information and ownership will be successfully deleted. All information that ties the chat to the main owner will be erased from xat, and the group will be immediately put up for purchase. Please note that the only way to re-gain ownership of a deleted chat is to purchase the chat group from xat.

Note: It may take a couple of hours before the chat becomes completely blank, losing all media, etc.

In the case that the chat group does not become immediately buyable, users may create a ticket under the help department of "Short names and groups" and request that the chat be put back up for sale. You must be a paid user to do this.

How do I change the inner or outer background?

To add or change the inner background of your chat, click the "Edit" button below your chat and then click the "Chat box Settings" button. From there, you can choose from a selection of stock images that xats has for use, or you can also enter a URL to an image that you want to serve as the inner background of your chatbox. To add or change the outer background of your chat, click the "Edit" button below your chat. From there, you can enter a URL to an image that you want to serve as the outer background of your chatbox.

What if I forget my chat's password?

Click the "Edit" button below your chat and enter the email address associated with your chat in the "Email" box. An email will be sent to reset your chat's password.

My chat says that it is for sale and has been inactive for over 3 months. What can I do?

Click the "Edit" button below your chat and enter the chat's password. Then, click "Chat Box Settings" and select "Update & Get Code". This will regain your ownership and update your chat to avoid inactivity.

What abilities do moderators and owners have?

Kick

Moderators and owners have the ability to kick users out of their chat, requiring them to sign in again and wait 15 seconds before being able to talk in the chat. This can be done by clicking on a user's name/pawn, clicking the "Kick" button, typing in the reason why you're kicking the user, and then clicking the "Kick" button again. A message will then pop up informing everyone why that user was kicked. Moderators and owners can also use special powers to change the way that a kick affects a user:

• Boot allows moderators and owners to transfer users to other chats.

• Superkick allows main owners to kick owners, owners to kick moderators, and members to kick banned members/guests.

• Zap allows moderators and owners to kick using an audie.

• Dunce allows moderators and owners to add a dunce hat to a user's pawn.

• Naughtystep allows moderators and owners to limit users' messages to 1 message per 30 seconds in the main pool.

• Yellowcard allows moderators and owners to add a yellow card icon to a user's pawn.

Kicks are meant to serve as a warning to users to discourage them from breaking the rules. Make sure to always include a reason so that other users know what is considered as inappropriate behavior.

Ban

Moderators and owners have the ability to ban users from their chat. To ban a user, click on them, select the "Ban" button, enter a reason and a duration and click "Ban". It is important to note that while adding a reason and duration are optional, it's highly recommended. Once banned, the user will be unable to send messages in the chat for the duration of the ban. A message will also be sent out in the chat to inform everyone why the user was banned. The person that was banned will receive a brown pawn color and their name will be changed to "Banned". They will still be able to view the messages being sent (unless they're banished) but will be unable to send messages or otherwise disrupt the chat. If the chat has Banish assigned, users banned for longer than 1 hour will have "Banished" as their name. They won't be able to see any messages and they won't be able to see guests or members on the user list. Banned/Banished users can still private chat people who have added them as a friend.

The default amount of time that a moderator is able to ban someone for is 6 hours, but this can be raised by 2 hours if the moderator owns either the Mod8 or GControl power and increased by 4 if the moderator owns both. Main owners are able to use the GControl power to raise this default limit to a maximum of 99 hours. Moreover, owners by default are able to ban for any length of time, including forever by entering 0 as the duration of a ban.

You can unban a user by clicking on their name, and clicking the "unban" button. By default, moderators can unban anyone as long as they're not banned forever and don't have a higher rank. Moderators and owners can use special powers to change the way that a ban affects a user:

• Gag allows moderators and owners to gag users up to 1 hour.

• Mute allows owners to mute users up to 1 hour. On the banned user's screen it won't look like they were banned, but a ban message will be issued for everyone else that is a member or higher in rank.

• Reverse allows moderators and owners to reverse ban users. This will make the banned user say everything backwards until they get unbanned.

• Zip allows moderators and owners to zip ban users. This will make all the banned user's messages blank both in main and private chat. They will still be able to use smilies.

• Redcard allows owners to red card users. If a Redcarded user speaks in the main chat before their Redcard time is finished, they will get banned for 6 (by default) times the time left of their Redcard. A Redcarded user will have a Redcard icon displayed on their pawn.

• Codeban, Spaceban, Matchban, Snakeban, Mazeban and Slotban allow moderators and owners to ban users with gamebans. This requires a user to complete a mini game to be unbanned. For these, click on a user, and click one of the gamebans instead of ban.

Bans are meant to punish users for their wrongdoings and should be treated as such. It's recommended that you only ban users who really deserve it so that other users do not view you as abusive.

Make Member

Moderators and owners can promote guests to the rank of member by clicking them and clicking the "Make Member" button. You can make anyone a member but it is advised that you only make your friends and frequent visitors members.

The difference between being a guest and being a member is that members have a blue pawn, are higher than guests on the user list, and can post links in the chat.

If a guest posts a link, it will only be visible on their screen; this prevents the guest from disrupting the chat with advertisements. Since members can post links, it is recommended to not make new users members, or you risk them taking the opportunity to advertise their chat or website in your chat.

Make Moderator

Owners can promote guests and members to the rank of moderator by clicking on them and clicking the "Make Moderator" button. You can make anyone a moderator, but it's advised that you only promote trusted and active members.

Make Owner

Main owners can promote guests, members, and moderators to the rank of owner by clicking on them and clicking the "Make Owner" button. Owners have the ability to kick, ban (for as long as they want, even forever), unban (even forever banned users) guests, members, and moderators. Owners also have the ability to make any user into a moderator, member, or guest, provided that the user is not an owner themselves.

You should be even more careful who you make an owner, and it should only be people you trust undoubtedly. Owners have even more power to ruin a chat than moderators, such as making bad moderators, demoting good moderators, and forever banning everyone who isn't an owner.

Note: The main owner of the chat can use GControl power to modify default settings for maximum ban lengths for moderators and owners, and their ability to unban, kick, make members and moderators.

General Questions and Chat Advice

When should I kick and ban people?

It depends on your group's rules and on how severely the user has broken them. If you are confident that a user is not breaking rules on purpose or the user has broken a minor rule, it is recommended that you give them a verbal warning/kick them first. However, in cases where a user is blatantly breaking rules on purpose, a ban would be appropriate.

You should always provide clear reasons when kicking/banning users. This will allow for them to change their behavior and avoid breaking the same rule in the future.

How many moderators, owners, and main owners should I make?

This depends on different factors, such as how busy your chat is and how active your staff members are. Ideally, you should only make those who you undoubtedly trust as staff members. If you make users that you do not know very well into staff, they're liable to abuse their rank while you're not present. If you wish to make another main owner, you'll need to either give them the chat password, or the "Edit Later" link.

Note: We highly suggest against giving away your chat password, and you should always aim to give them the "Edit Later" link instead. This way, if you change your mind, you'll be able to easily reset the chat to revoke their main ownership.

How do I make my chat more popular?

The most standard way to get more users into your chat is to make friends and advertise your chat to them. Making people aware of your chat, and its purpose, is essential for making your chat popular. Once you've done this, your friends may invite their own friends, and so forth. Make sure not to repeatedly advertise your chat around xat, however, as this may be considered bad etiquette by other users and chat group owners.

Another common way to gain popularity is via the use of "promotion". By using this service, you are able to trade xats or days in exchange for your chat to be displayed on xat's homepage for a limited amount of time. Alternatively, you can trade xats or days to promote your chat through banner ads, again for a limited time. Both options can attract users temporarily or even permanently, provided they enjoy your chat.

Here are some more tips to make your chat more appealing to new users:

• Use an attractive background.

• Make friendly and respectable staff members.

• Add a radio to your chat.

• Embed a feature below your chat.

• Customize your chat via the use of group powers.

• Add a bot to your chat.

• Make your group about a special topic that you are passionate about.

• Put your chat on a website or social media page.

• Choose descriptive tags for your group so that it can be found on search engines.

How do I regain main ownership, and what do I do if someone has wrongfully gained main owner?

To regain main ownership of your chat, you will need to click "Edit" below your chat, enter your chat password, and click the "Chat Box Settings" button. This will make you main owner again.

If a user has wrongfully become main owner in your chat, you should first reset your chat. To do so, click "Edit" under your chat, enter your chat password, and scroll down and click the "Reset chat box" button. This will make every user in your chat into a guest, as well as unbanning any previously banned user.

Once you've reset your chat, it's recommended that you change your chat password and your e-mail password.

What do I do if I have received feedback?

If a user sends feedback through the message button that is located below the chat, it will be relayed to your e-mail. If you receive a message about your staff abusing their powers when you are not around, you should investigate. You should also keep in mind that some people will complain even if they have been banned fairly.

$tealth Mode

Owners can appear on the user list as a guest by putting a "$" as the first character of their name. If you were normally named "WuggyBunch", you would change your name to "$WuggyBunch". Only you will be able to see the "$". You can use this if you just want to talk with your friends and don't want to be bombarded with private chats by new visitors.

Moderators and other owners will still be able to figure out you're an owner by clicking on your name and seeing that the "Ban", "Kick" and the "Make Member/Guest" buttons are grayed out.

Anyone will be able to figure out you're an owner if you perform abilities that owners can usually do.

Adding a chat group tab

To add an extra group chat tab to your chat, click the "Edit your Chat" button above the "Sign Out" button and choose a group. If you have a specific group in mind, type the group name into the edit box located to the right of "Enter Group name here", press the "Get" button and check the checkbox that will appear on the list followed by the group name. To remove a group from the tab, simply un-check the checkbox next to it.

Extra Features

The Extra Features page can be accessed either by pressing the "Extra Features..." button after accessing the "Edit Your Chat" menu, or by clicking "Edit" at the bottom right of the chat, entering your chat password, and then clicking the "Chatbox settings" button. This page is used to regain or make a main owner at your chat, generate an embed code for your group, and also edit other miscellaneous group settings.

Embedding my group

To embed your chat box to your profile, or to another website, you'll need the embed code. To get the embed code specific to your chat box, click "Embed" in the bottom left of your chat box. Once you've done this, you can copy the code that it provides and use it to help spread your chat to other mediums.

Do not list

If you do not want your chat group to be listed anywhere on xats (i.e. promotion, featured, popular pages, and search) you can check the "Don't include this chat box on any lists or charts" checkbox.

Members only

You can set your chat so that only members and above are allowed to chat there. It is perfect if you want to keep your chat restricted to friends.

It is recommended that you keep this off if you are starting a new group as it will discourage new visitors

Live mode

Live mode is a special mode which allows you to host large events at your chat group.

Registered and Subscribers only

You can also set your group to only allow registered users to chat there, unless they are member or above. It is also recommended that this stays disabled if your chat is new.

Likewise, it can be set that only users who are subscribed (have days) can chat, unless they are made a member or above.

Do not store chat messages

This option allows you to have a fresh chat every time that you sign in. No messages will be stored, meaning that any potentially inappropriate messages will not be seen by the arriving members of your chat.

Do not display line of smilies

Demonstration of collapsible smiley line.

When this option is enabled, the line of smilies above the typing box will become collapsible. It will only appear when you hover over the first smiley.

Stricter banning

This option will enable a feature that will try to catch users who keep unbanning themselves by gagging them when they sign in.

Note: This may affect innocent users who have very similar IP addresses to those who have been banned.

Transparent background

This option completely removes the inner background of the chat and makes it transparent. This is particularly useful if you want to see the full outer background.

Group language

You can set your group's language via this drop-down menu. This is the language that the group will be shown as around the website (i.e. promotion and features pages).

Button color

The group's button color can be changed via this box. Click here to make your own customized color or here to see a list of color codes. You simply pick the code you want, copy it, and add the color code to change the chat buttons.

Radio

This box allows you to set up a radio on your chat. To do so, enter the radio's URL into the box.

Group powers

Group powers are a special type of power which apply group-wide changes such as smiley sets, flixes and other features. You can read more about group powers here.

Assigning and unassigning powers

To fully assign a group power, you need to check the box next to the respective power and scroll down and click "Update these options" once done. If the group power has an edit dialog it will now be visible. Unassigning a group power must be done via the chat. Type the power smiley in the chat such as (banish), click on it and click unassign.

Edit later (main link)

Save this link and you will be able to come back to the Extra Features page easily. This link can also be given to other users to allow them to become main owner without acquiring the group's password.