Our new chat room software

I've just become a site supporter but can't dock cams or enlarge the cam window?

Close the chat room completely, wait 3 minutes and re-enter chat you'll find you've got access to all the site supporter features :)

(If that doesn't work, close chat, logout of the main site, delete temp internet files, reboot your PC and log back in again.)

My cam won't work in newchat but it works in old

Check the following:

1. There is a 2nd link to activate your cam. If the main one doesn't work, use the secondary one which says in red "(Above not working? Click here)".
2. You need to be using the latest version of Adobe Flash player. You can download Flash at the adobe site
3. Check you don't have any other software accessing your cam. If you do, close it down.
4. Try it in another browser e.g. Google Chrome
5. If you're still not getting any joy, reboot your PC, ensure that any cam software is closed then try the above steps again.

Still got problems? Post to the site help forum with as much information as possible. Include your browser type and version, the operating system you are using, what make and model Cam you have and describe exactly what you see. If you can't access the forum you can contact us directly with your feedback.

I'm using an iPad/iPhone and I can't see cams or get mine to work?

Like nearly all cam technology on websites, our site makes use of Adobe Flash to stream your cam and to display cams. Apple have made a decision not to allow Flash on their devices, so cams won't work on an iPad or iPhone. A related question to this might be: Why don't you use HTML5 for cams/chat. HTML5 doesn't (and won't for the forseeable future) support access to your CAM so at the moment Flash is the best technology for this without requiring you to download special software to your device.

I'm on a Mac / I'm using the Safari browser and chat flickers all the time

Chat isn't tested in Safari and it seems to have some sort of bug. We recommend you use Google Chrome or FireFox instead as your browser.

Turning off sound or closing the browser, the cam sound continues in the background until reboot

This is a bug with earlier version of flash and IE. Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Flash and an up to date browser. We find Google Chrome one of the best for the site and new chat, but the latest version of IE also fixes this problem.

I'm part of a couple can we both be in chat at same time on the same account on different computers?

No. Unlike the old chat, this isn't possible on new chat. If both partners being in chat is important to you, simply register another account and make it clear on your profile that it's a secondary account for chat. Because of how the new chat room works and the fact that if we allowed multiple access under one account our bandwidth costs would not be accounted for (especially for site supporters) it is unlikely we'll ever support multiple people on one account in chat going forwards. Sorry :(

Can you give an overview of how new chat works?

Yes :) Read on...

Opening a room When you first enter new chat, you'll see the room names at the right hand side of the room. Just click on a room to open it. Once you've opened a room you can click the enlarge icon at the top of the room window to enlarge the chat to fill the chat screen.

 

The users in room list In the right hand side of the room window you'll see the user list. Below is an example of a user. If you click the cam icon you will view their cam. The speaker icon shows that they're broadcasting sound. The three yellow links under the username are PM: open a private message window with the user, POKE: poke the user and BLOCK: which blocks the user in chat and on the site.

 

If the cam is highlighted in red, it means it is one of the most viewed in the room. The redder the background, the more people are viewing it.

 

Sorting the user list Using the links shown below at the top of the room user list, you can sort the room. Click the Cam to sort by those on cam, for example. You can also sort by Name, Sex (Sx), Who is viewing you (the Eye), and time in room (h:mm)

 

Viewing a cam Clicking the cam icon in the room user list will show the cam at the bottom left of your screen as the "Active Cam". From here you can dock it (if you're a site supporter) using the green arrow, or pop out in a large floating window (the magnifying glass icon).

 

Docking and floating cams The icons that show above the active cam, below, are (from left to right): Green arrow = Dock Cam, Magnifying glass = Elarge in pop out window, Speaker = Toggle sound On/Off, Red cross = Close active cam.

 

Setting who can PM (private message) or Poke you New chat allows you to open PMs (private mails) with other users and to poke them. You can choose to receive PMs and pokes from anyone, friends only or turn them off altogether using the drop-down at the bottom right of the screen, just above the room list (as shown below).

 

Setting your font colour and style You can choose a colour for your own text in chat. Click the "Choose Font Style" link at the left of the chat input box as shown below.

 

Simply choose the font colour and style you want to use in chat, and click the "Done" button. We'll remember it next time you're in chat, too.

What's new?

If you're used to our existing chat room there will be a lot that is familiar. To view a room, click the room name at the right of the screen when chat first loads. To view a cam, click the cam icon in the userlist. You can sort the userlist by clicking the icons in the sort box at the top of the userlist, so you can sort by who has cam, username, time in room and those looking at your cam, or sex. We've incorporated lots of improvements people asked for: Proper private messaging, higher quality cams and the sex of users accounts in the room.

Why bother with creating a new chat room? If it ain't broke etc.?

We wanted to develop a custom chat solution that had high quality cams, was customisable and reliable. With our old Userplane chat room the reliability of chat is outside of our control and there was a lot we wanted to improve. We'll be improving new chat on an ongoing basis.

What does red background to cam mean?

If a cam has a red background in the user list it means it's one of the most highly viewed in the room (usually where the action is!)

I hate it and prefer old chat

Don't worry, old chat is still available, just look at the right hand side of the chat page. If you don't like the new chat please give us your feedback either through the contact link or the site feedback forum. We'll be incorporating your suggestions in regular releases of the software.