764 lines
38 KiB
HTML
764 lines
38 KiB
HTML
{{define "index"}}
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<!DOCTYPE html>
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<html lang="en">
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<head>
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<meta charset="utf-8">
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<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/static/css/bulma.min.css">
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/static/css/bulma-prefers-dark.css">
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<link rel="stylesheet" href="/static/fontawesome-free-6.1.2-web/css/all.css">
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/static/css/chat.css?{{.CacheHash}}">
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<title>About BareRTC</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<div class="container is-fullhd p-2">
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<div class="content my-5">
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<h1>About BareRTC</h1>
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<p>
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This chat room software is called <strong>BareRTC</strong> and this
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page contains information about the software and how to use it.
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</p>
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<p>
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BareRTC is an open source project released under the GNU General Public
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License with code available
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<a href="https://git.kirsle.net/apps/BareRTC" target="_blank">here</a>.
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</p>
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<h1>About {{AsHTML .Config.Title}}</h1>
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<p>
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<strong>{{AsHTML .Config.Title}}</strong> is the name of this particular
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BareRTC server. The administrator may have left some links to more
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info below:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>Website:</strong>
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<a href="{{.Config.WebsiteURL}}" target="_blank">{{.Config.WebsiteURL}}</a>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<hr>
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<h1 id="help">
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Help & Support
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<a href="#help" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#tour">Tour of the user interface</a></li>
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<li><a href="#video-sharing">Video Sharing How-To's</a></li>
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<li><a href="#features">Feature Highlights</a></li>
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<li><a href="#browsers">Supported Browsers</a></li>
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<li><a href="#privacy">Privacy</a></li>
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<li><a href="#troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 id="tour">
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Tour of the user interface
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<a href="#tour" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h1>
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<div class="has-text-centered mb-4">
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<img src="/static/img/screenshot.png" width="1269" height="582" alt="Screenshot of the user interface on desktop">
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<br><em>Pictured: Screenshot of the user interface on tablet or desktop-sized screens.</em><br><br>
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<img src="/static/img/mobile.png" width="720" height="703" alt="Screenshot of the user interface on mobile">
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<br><em>Pictured: Screenshot of the mobile interface</em>
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</div>
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<p>
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Above are screenshots of how the chat room looks on desktop and mobile displays, respectively.
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For a description of some of the features pointed out above:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<strong>Your camera controls:</strong> Clicking on the
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<button type="button" class="button is-small is-success px-1">
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<i class="fa fa-video mr-2"></i>
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Share webcam
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</button>
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button will enable your webcam and your video may be watched by other people
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in the chat room. While broadcasting, you can Stop your webcam, Mute your
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microphone, and see who is currently watching you by clicking on the
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<button type="button" class="button is-small is-info is-outlined ml-1 px-1">
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<i class="fa fa-eye mr-2"></i>
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0
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</button>
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button, which will show the number of watchers inside the button itself.
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<ul>
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{{if .Config.PermitNSFW}}
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<li>
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The <button type="button" class="button is-small is-outlined is-dark px-1">
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<i class="fa fa-fire has-text-danger mr-1"></i> Explicit
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</button>
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button will toggle the setting on your camera. If you are going to be
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behaving sexually on cam, we ask that you please mark your own camera
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as 'Explicit' by using this button. The button will illuminate in red
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when active, and look like:
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<button type="button" class="button is-small is-danger px-1">
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<i class="fa fa-fire mr-1"></i> Explicit
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</button>
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</li>
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{{end}}
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<li>
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You can also see who is Watching your camera by clicking on the "Watching"
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tab on the Who's Online list.
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li>
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The <strong>Who Is Online</strong> list shows all of the people who are currently connected
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to the chat room. The Who List is global to the entire chat - it is the same list
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of people no matter which Channel you are currently looking at. In the Who List
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you may also find buttons to open a Direct Message (DM) or tune in to somebody's
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webcam if they are currently broadcasting.
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<ul>
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<li>
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<button type="button" class="button is-small px-2 py-1">
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<i class="fa fa-user"></i>
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</button>
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This button will open their profile page, if they have one. The icon may
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be color-coded for the user's gender, if available: <i class="fa fa-user has-text-gender-male"></i> male,
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<i class="fa fa-user has-text-gender-female"></i> female, and
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<i class="fa fa-user has-text-gender-other"></i> non-binary/trans/other.
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</li>
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<li>
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<button type="button" class="button is-small px-2 py-1">
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<i class="fa fa-message"></i>
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</button>
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This button will open a Direct Message (DM) chat with this person.
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</li>
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<li>
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<button type="button" class="button is-small px-2 py-1 is-info is-outlined">
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<i class="fa fa-video"></i>
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</button>
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This button will open the user's webcam, if they are broadcasting.
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A <strong class="has-text-info">blue</strong> button means they're live,
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a <strong class="has-text-danger">red</strong> means their video feed is
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marked <abbr title="Not Safe For Work">NSFW</abbr> or explicit. A greyed
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out button means they are <em>not</em> currently broadcasting their video.
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li>
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The <strong>Channels & DMs</strong> panel lists the available public chat channels
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you may participate in as well as any currently open DMs for private one-on-one chats
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with other people. Some channels may have notification counters beside them to indicate
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unread messages have appeared.
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<ul>
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<li>
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<strong>Note:</strong> the Chat Rooms are just public channels that <em>everybody</em>
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is "in" and is designed to organize public conversations into various topics. For example,
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one chat room may be a dedicated space for people to share photos on chat so that the
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main conversation channels don't get spammed too much with those photos.
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li>
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The <strong>Message entry box</strong> at the bottom of the screen is how you type a
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message and send it to the currently selected Channel or DM conversation.
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<ul>
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<li>
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In public channels you may <strong>send a picture</strong> by clicking on the picture
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button to the left of the message box.
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</li>
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<li>
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You may <strong>add an emoji</strong> to your message by clicking on the smile icon
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to the right of the message box.
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</li>
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<li>
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You may <strong>at-mention</strong> people in chat by typing the "@" symbol, which
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should prompt an auto-complete of users currently online. You may hit the Tab key
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to insert the currently selected name into your message.
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li>
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In the upper right, the <i class="fa fa-bars"></i> <strong>Menu</strong> button houses
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some options such as the <i class="fa fa-gears"></i> <strong>Chat Settings</strong>.
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Some interesting features in there include:
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<ul>
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<li>
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<strong>Video scaling:</strong> you can make the webcam videos larger on
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your screen to see your chat partners in better detail.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>Sound effects:</strong> by default it plays a sound when you receive
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a new Direct Message but you can also turn on sound effects for public chat
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messages and when people join or exit the room. If the chat room is currently
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empty, you could set a sound effect when somebody joins so you know there may
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be someone to chat with then!
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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On <strong>mobile web browsers</strong> that don't have large enough screens to show everything
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at once, the Chat Room screen is shown by default and buttons appear in the corners to get to
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the two side panels (to change channels or manage your DMs, and to see Who Is Online and tune
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in to their webcams, respectively).
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</p>
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<hr>
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<h1 id="features">
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Feature Highlights
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<a href="#features" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h1>
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<h3 id="emoji-reactions">
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Emoji Reactions
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<a href="#emoji-reactions" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h3>
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<p>
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You may add emoji reactions to chat messages by clicking on the
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<button type="button" class="button is-small has-text-grey is-outlined px-2">
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<i class="fa fa-plus mr-2"></i> <i class="fa fa-heart"></i>
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</button>
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button at the bottom right corner.
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</p>
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<p>
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Reactions added by yourself or others will appear at the bottom of their message. You can
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see who reacted by hovering your mouse cursor over the button, or you can 'upvote' their
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reaction by clicking on it.
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</p>
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<h3 id="mute">
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Muting spammy users
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<a href="#mute" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h3>
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<p>
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If somebody on chat is bothering you, you may <strong>mute</strong> their messages by clicking
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on the red <i class="fa fa-comment-slash has-text-danger"></i> button on their message.
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</p>
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<p>
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While they are muted:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>You will no longer see their future messages in public chat rooms.</li>
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<li>You will no longer receive any of their future Direct Messages (DMs).</li>
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<li>
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They will not be allowed to watch your webcam if you are sharing. The chat
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server will lie and tell them your camera <em>isn't even online</em> so they
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will not know they had been muted.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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The mute is <strong>temporary</strong> and will last for the remainder of your chat
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session (until you log off).
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</p>
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<h3 id="markdown">
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Styling Your Messages
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<a href="#markdown" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h3>
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<p>
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BareRTC supports Markdown syntax for your chat messages. You can make text <strong>bold</strong>
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by putting asterisks around part of it, <strong>**like this**</strong> or make text italic with
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<em>*single asterisks*</em>.
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</p>
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<p>
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Hyperlinks you paste that begin with https:// will be clickable as-is, or you can create a custom
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label for it by typing e.g. <code>[click my link](https://www.wikipedia.org/)</code>.
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</p>
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<p>
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To learn more about Markdown, please check out the <a href="https://www.markdownguide.org" target="_blank">Markdown Guide</a>
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website.
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</p>
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<hr>
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<h1 id="video-sharing">
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Video Sharing How-To's
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<a href="#video-sharing" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h1>
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<h3 id="webcam">
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About webcam sharing
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<a href="#webcam" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h3>
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<p>
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The WebRTC technology used by this chat room allows for direct, <strong>peer to peer</strong>
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connections between you and the other chat members to stream video and audio directly to one
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another, without needing a server in the middle to relay all that data. In many cases, WebRTC
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should "just work" but you may run into trouble broadcasting if your local network is heavily
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firewalled (for example on a corporate or school network).
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</p>
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<p>
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In many WebRTC video apps (such as Zoom, Jitsi, Google Hangouts, etc.), when one or both parties
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are on such difficult networks, a server in the middle is used to transfer the video data between
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them. BareRTC does not have any such server, as the bandwidth costs to carry your video could get
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expensive! If your video sharing is not working, it's unfortunate but you should still be able to
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have text chat conversations as normal.
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong>Notice:</strong> because of the peer-to-peer nature of the webcam feature, it is possible
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that your chat partner may discover your <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address" target="_blank">IP address</a>
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if they check their local computer's connections. This is true of all WebRTC-based video chat systems.
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Also, it is possible that your chat partner may "screen record" your video -- also true of all video
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sharing systems. Please inform a moderator if you know somebody is violating your privacy in this
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way so that they may be banned from the chat room.
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</p>
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<h3 id="broadcast">
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How do I go on video?
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<a href="#broadcast" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h3>
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<p>
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To share your webcam, click on the green
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<button type="button" class="button is-small is-success px-1">
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<i class="fa fa-video mr-2"></i>
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Share webcam
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</button>
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button at the top left of the web page. This will open a modal with some options for
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your camera:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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You may start with your microphone muted by default.
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</li>
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{{if .Config.PermitNSFW}}
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<li>
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You may mark your camera as "Explicit" to begin with. If you are intending immediately to
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behave sexually on camera, please mark this box so that your camera will appear 'red' by
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default and other people on chat can know what they're getting into when they click to
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watch your camera.
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</li>
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{{end}}
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<li>
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You may opt-in to some "mutual webcam settings":
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<ul>
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<li>You may require your viewers to also be sharing their own camera first before they can open yours.</li>
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<li>You may automatically open your viewer's cameras when they open yours (and they are also broadcasting).</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<h3 id="stop-webcam">
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How do I stop my camera?
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<a href="#stop-webcam" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h3>
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<p>
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When you are broadcasting, the red "<i class="fa fa-stop"></i> Stop" button at the top of the
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page will turn your camera off.
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</p>
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<h3 id="mute-microphone">
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How do I mute my camera's microphone?
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<a href="#mute-microphone" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h3>
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<p>
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The button to <i class="fa fa-mute"></i> Mute will be at the top of the page next to the
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<i class="fa fa-stop"></i> Stop button. Alternatively, you can click on the microphone inside
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your own webcam video preview to toggle the mute that way. Either button works!
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</p>
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<h3 id="watching">
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How do I see who is watching me?
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<a href="#watching" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h3>
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<p>
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You may click on the <button type="button" class="button is-small is-info is-outlined ml-1 px-1">
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<i class="fa fa-eye mr-2"></i>
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0
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</button> button at the top of the page to see who is watching you. The number inside the
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button will be your current number of viewers.
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</p>
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<p>
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You may also click on the <i class="fa fa-eye"></i> Watching tab in the Who's Online list.
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</p>
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<h3 id="boot">
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How do I stop somebody from watching me?
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<a href="#boot" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
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</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>
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On the Who's Online list, click on the <i class="fa fa-eye"></i> Watching tab to see who
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is currently watching your camera.
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</p>
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|
|
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<p>
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To 'boot' somebody off your camera, click on the
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<button type="button" class="button is-small px-2 py-1"
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title="Kick this person off your cam">
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<i class="fa fa-user-xmark has-text-danger"></i>
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</button>
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button next to their name. This will kick them off your camera and they will not
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be allowed to re-open your cam for the remainder of <em>your</em> chat session.
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</p>
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|
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<p>
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To people who have been booted from your camera, the chat server will tell them that
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your camera <em>isn't even broadcasting</em> at all! They will see a greyed-out video
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button and may think you have simply turned off your camera, and they won't know for
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sure that you have booted them!
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</p>
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|
|
<h3 id="video-size">
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|
How do I make videos larger on my screen?
|
|
<a href="#video-size" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
|
|
</h3>
|
|
|
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<p>
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|
There are a few methods available to change the size of videos on the chat room,
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depending on whether your device has a mouse cursor or is a touch screen (such as a tablet).
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
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<p>
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Options that may work with all devices (with mouse or touch screen):
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</p>
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|
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<ul>
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<li>
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|
Chat Settings: by clicking on the blue menu button on the top-right corner of the page, the
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Display tab has a "Video size" dropdown with some options to change the size of all videos
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open on your screen.
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</li>
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<li>
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On wide screens (such as an iPad in landscape orientation): when you have videos open, look
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for the <i class="fa fa-magnifying-glass-plus"></i> <i class="fa fa-magnifying-glass-minus"></i>
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buttons in the header just above the video dock. Clicking on these buttons will scale the docked
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videos larger or smaller (in similar increments as the Chat Settings dropdown).
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</li>
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</ul>
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|
|
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<p>
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If you are on a device with a mouse cursor, such as a desktop or a laptop with a touchpad, there
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are a couple of ways to resize individual videos how you see fit:
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</p>
|
|
|
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<ul>
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<li>
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When videos are docked in the top of the page, hover your mouse over the bottom-right corner
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of a video. It should show a 'resize' cursor, and you can click and drag from the bottom-right
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corner to resize the video.
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</li>
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<li>
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Videos can also be "popped out" of the dock at the top of the page. The pop-out button appears
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on top of videos, next to the mute audio button. When popped out, you can drag videos anywhere
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on the page and you can resize them by dragging from any edge except the top.
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
And finally: you can put a video "full screen" too. In the control buttons at the bottom of each
|
|
video (beginning with the mute audio button), the one on the right will toggle the video into a
|
|
full screen view.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
|
|
<h1 id="browsers">
|
|
Supported Browsers
|
|
<a href="#browsers" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
|
|
</h1>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
All features of the chat room, including webcam sharing, should generally work on all current
|
|
web browsers and devices (Firefox, all Chromium browsers including Google Chrome or Microsoft
|
|
Edge, Safari, Androids and iPads).
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
|
|
<h1 id="privacy">
|
|
Privacy
|
|
<a href="#privacy" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
|
|
</h1>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Some of the privacy considerations with this chat room include:
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>
|
|
The server does not maintain long-term state of chat history. Messages are pushed out as
|
|
soon as they come in, and users are forgotten when they log off.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
However, the server does keep temporary <strong>log files</strong> to help the server admin
|
|
troubleshoot issues and check on the health of the server. These logs may include chat
|
|
messages sent to public channels. Private chat (DMs) are <em>not</em> logged by default.
|
|
If the server is running in debug mode (which provides a ton of telemetry to diagnose issues),
|
|
the contents of DMs may be logged since debug mode will record the low-level chat protocol
|
|
messages sent between the server and clients.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If the administrator has enabled it, your <strong>recent direct message</strong> histories
|
|
may be recorded (for your convenience) in a database. Old messages expire off after about 90
|
|
days, and you can clear all your DMs history from the Chat Settings -> Misc tab. DMs are only
|
|
logged when the associate website logs you in to the chat room, so that only you can access
|
|
them to remember where you left off with a chat partner.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
Chat moderators <strong>DO NOT</strong> get to see the contents of your Direct Message
|
|
conversations - that feature is not programmed in to this chat room. The server logs which
|
|
might capture your conversations are usually not actively monitored. Consider taking your especially
|
|
sensitive conversations to a different platform if you are very concerned about it.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
Webcam sharing is <strong>peer-to-peer</strong> so it is possible that your chat partner
|
|
could identify your IP address by checking their computer's open connections. But this is
|
|
true of basically all WebRTC webcam services and is part of how WebRTC works.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
As with all video sharing services, it is always possible that your chat partner may screen
|
|
record their computer and thus record a copy of your video. This is a risk inherent with all
|
|
video sharing platforms - you can't control what software the other party may be running,
|
|
so choose your risk tolerance accordingly.
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
|
|
<h1 id="troubleshooting">
|
|
Troubleshooting
|
|
<a href="#troubleshooting" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
|
|
</h1>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
This section contains some troubleshooting advice for issues commonly experienced in the chat room.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<h2 id="webcam-troubleshooting">
|
|
Webcam Sharing
|
|
<a href="#webcam-troubleshooting" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
|
|
</h2>
|
|
|
|
<h3 id="NotAllowedError">
|
|
Permission Denied, or NotAllowedError
|
|
<a href="#NotAllowedError" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
|
|
</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
If you see an error message from <strong class="has-text-danger">ChatClient</strong> that says
|
|
something like "Webcam error: Permission denied" or a "NotAllowedError," this section is for you.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
The reason for this error is that your web browser did not grant access to your Camera and Microphone
|
|
for the chat room to use. This may be because you accidentally clicked on the "Deny" button when your
|
|
browser asked you for permission, or because your web browser <em>itself</em> does not have permission for
|
|
these devices on your computer.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
When you encounter this error, there are two places to look to resolve this:
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ol>
|
|
<li>
|
|
In your web browser's settings (e.g. in Google Chrome or Firefox), make sure that you are granting
|
|
permission for your Camera and Microphone to the chat room's website ({{.Hostname}}).
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
In your operating system's settings, ensure that your web browser itself has permission to use
|
|
your Camera and Microphone. <strong>Notice:</strong> on recent Mac OS and Windows systems, your
|
|
web browser might not have permission by default to access these devices!
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ol>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Please see the following sections for in-depth guidance on where to look.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<strong>Notice:</strong> webcam sharing will require both your Camera <em>and</em> your Microphone
|
|
permission - if either one is denied, webcam sharing will fail.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<h4>1. Check your web browser's permissions for {{.Hostname}}</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Go into your web browser's settings, to the "Privacy" or "Permissions" section and verify that
|
|
<code>{{.Hostname}}</code> has permissions to use your Camera <strong>and</strong> your Microphone.
|
|
Or at the very least: make sure that these settings are not set to "Deny" for {{.Hostname}}.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
For example, on <i class="fab fa-chrome"></i> <strong>Google Chrome:</strong>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>Go into your browser Settings -> "Privacy and security"</li>
|
|
<li>Click on "Site settings" <small>("Controls what information sites can use and show (location, camera, pop-ups, and more")</small></li>
|
|
<li>From here you can check the permissions in two ways:
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>Under the "Recent activity" section, look for {{.Hostname}} or click "View permissions and data stored across sites" to look for it there.</li>
|
|
<li>Or: under the "Permissions" section, click into the "Camera" and "Microphone" settings to see the list of sites you've given/denied
|
|
permission for, and change {{.Hostname}} to "Allow" or remove {{.Hostname}} from the list of sites.
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Or for example, on <i class="fab fa-firefox"></i> <strong>Mozilla Firefox:</strong>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>Go into your browser Settings -> "Privacy & Security"</li>
|
|
<li>Scroll down to the "Permissions" section where you see buttons for Camera and Microphone.</li>
|
|
<li>Click on the "Settings..." button for Camera and Microphone to see the list of websites you've given/denied permission for.</li>
|
|
<li>Find <code>{{.Hostname}}</code> and remove it from the list.</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
After changing your browser settings, <strong>exit and restart your web browser</strong> and log on to the chat room.
|
|
When going on webcam, hopefully your browser should ask you for permission for your webcam and microphone: be sure to
|
|
click on "Allow" when prompted.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
If the change in your web browser's settings doesn't resolve the permission error, then check in your operating system's settings.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<h4>2. Check in your operating system's settings</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
For example, <strong>if you are on <i class="fab fa-apple"></i> Mac OS:</strong>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>Click on the Apple icon in your top menu bar and open "System Settings"</li>
|
|
<li>Click on "Privacy & Security"</li>
|
|
<li>Look for the Camera and Microphone settings and ensure that they are <strong>allowed</strong> for your web browser.</li>
|
|
<li>For more information, try: <a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/control-access-to-your-camera-mchlf6d108da/mac">https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/control-access-to-your-camera-mchlf6d108da/mac</a></li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Or for example, <strong>if you are on <i class="fab fa-windows"></i> Windows 10 or Windows 11:</strong>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>Click on the Start button > Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera, and make sure Camera access is turned <strong>on.</strong></li>
|
|
<li>Make sure that "Let apps access your camera" is also turned on.</li>
|
|
<li>Ensure that your web browser (e.g. Google Chrome) has permission to access your camera and microphone.</li>
|
|
<li>For more information, try: <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/manage-app-permissions-for-your-camera-in-windows-87ebc757-1f87-7bbf-84b5-0686afb6ca6b">https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/manage-app-permissions-for-your-camera-in-windows-87ebc757-1f87-7bbf-84b5-0686afb6ca6b</a></li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<h3 id="other-webcam-errors">
|
|
Other Webcam Errors
|
|
<a href="#other-webcam-errors" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
|
|
</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
The most common error is a Permission Error as described above, but there are some less common
|
|
error messages you may experience. Here is a short list of some of them:
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<strong>AbortError:</strong> e.g. "Starting videoinput failed"
|
|
<br><br>
|
|
A common cause for this error may be that your webcam device is already in use by a different program,
|
|
so that your web browser was not able to open it. Please make sure that you are not running another video
|
|
chat program (such as Skype or Zoom) which has your camera active, and try again.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<strong>NotFoundError</strong> or <strong>NotReadableError</strong>
|
|
<br><br>
|
|
This error may indicate that your camera device was not available to your web browser. For example, your
|
|
webcam might not be plugged in to USB or you may be missing hardware drivers for it. To begin diagnosing
|
|
this problem, check whether <other>other</other> websites or apps are able to use your camera: if none of
|
|
them can either, it heavily points toward a hardware or driver error.
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Other possible errors should be uncommon. If this troubleshooting guide has not been helpful, try copying
|
|
the error message into a search engine and find information online: all of the text following "Webcam error:"
|
|
will be coming from your web browser, so relevant results may be found online. A possible place to start may
|
|
be the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/MediaDevices/getUserMedia">Mozilla documentation for getUserMedia.</a>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<h3 id="webcam-not-loading">
|
|
Other peoples' webcams don't load
|
|
<a href="#webcam-not-loading" class="fa fa-paragraph is-size-6"></a>
|
|
</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
It may sometimes happen that you clicked to watch somebody else's webcam on chat, and their video doesn't
|
|
load. If it only happens with <em>some</em> cameras (but other cameras load correctly), then the problem is
|
|
most likely on <em>that person's</em> side and not your own: their camera likely doesn't work for anybody
|
|
else who is trying to watch it, either.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Webcam sharing on the chat room works by "peer to peer" direct connections between chatters. Usually, this
|
|
tends to "just work" for most people, but sometimes your network connection or firewall can get in the way
|
|
and prevent a connection from being established.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
The most common kinds of network conditions that cause problems connecting to webcams include:
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If you are on a heavily firewalled network, such as in a school or workplace.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If you are on a cellular network, e.g. from a smartphone or tablet. Some cell phone carriers
|
|
add firewalls to their network to prevent direct peer-to-peer connections with mobile devices.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If you are using a Virtual Private Network, or VPN: some VPN providers don't forward the kind
|
|
of network messages that are needed to establish a peer-to-peer connection.
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
For some specific advice:
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If you can not connect to <strong>any</strong> webcam at all (e.g. many people are on webcam but you
|
|
can not get <strong>any</strong> of them to work): most likely it is because you are on a firewalled
|
|
network, like those listed above. If you are on a cell network, try switching to WiFi; or if you are
|
|
using a VPN, try turning off your VPN.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If <strong>only one or two webcams</strong> won't open for you, but others on the chat room are working:
|
|
the problem is likely not on your end! It is likely that the people whose cameras are not working are
|
|
on a firewalled network, and they are likely having worse problems than you are!
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If somebody's webcam button has a slash \ through it, like <i class="fa fa-video-slash has-text-info"></i>
|
|
then it <em>probably</em> means that this person requires <strong>you</strong> to share your webcam first
|
|
before you can open theirs. You can click on their camera button to see an exact reason why their camera
|
|
has the \ slash through it.
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html>
|
|
{{end}}
|