Getting Started with PCCC

When you start up the Perl CyanChat Client, you will be presented with the Main Window, where a message by "ChatClient" is already visible on screen, welcoming you to PCCC.

To connect to the CyanChat room, select "Connection" from the menu bar, and choose "Connect". This will attempt to connect you to the CyanChat server. Once connected, you will see a lot of "lobby messages" sent by "ChatServer", and moments later the Who List will display the list of users logged into the chat room (if there are any logged in).

Chat Presence

To enter the chat, type in a nickname for yourself in the "Name:" box, and then press the "Join Chat" button. Note that your nickname must be less than 20 characters long, and cannot contain a caret (^), pipe symbol ("|"), or a comma. If your name is accepted by the server, you will "link in" to the room. Otherwise, ChatServer will tell you that your nick was invalid.

When a user links in to the chat room (in other words, enters the room), a message will display similar to the following:

\\\\\[Nick] <links in from somewhere on the internet Age>////

When a user links out of the chat room (in other words, exiting the room by clicking the "Exit Chat" button), a message will display similar to the following:

/////[Nick] <links safely back to their home Age>\\\\\

Finally, when a user disconnects from the chat room, the following message is displayed:

/////[Nick] <mistakenly used an unsafe linking book without a maintainer's suit *ZZZZZWHAP*>\\\\\

All users in the chat room also have a unique address assigned to them. This is a mangled up form of their IP address, so multiple nicks from the same computer will probably have the same address. To see a user's address, right-click their name in the Who List.

Standard Messaging

To send a message to the chat room, simply type it into the entry box at the top of the Main Window and press the Return key. Note that you must be logged in before you can send messages!

See Private Messaging and Action Messages for information about different types of messaging.