News/archive

From xat wiki

What's new with the xat online chat rooms and groups

Check back here for information on new xat features. For new powers, see Powers.
You also can follow xat's twitter, click here.

New free smilies

The following smilies were added in recently for free usage:

a_(hi)_40?.png
a_(meh)_40?.png
a_(ugh)_40?.png
a_(peach)_40?.png
a_(xana)_40?.png

Offline Messaging

You can now send offline messages to users. Simply click their name in Friends List and click Private Chat, even if they are offline. They will receive it when they sign in.

New Homepage design

A new layout has been released.

  • Most of the homepage should now be mobile friendly.
  • Modern new design.
  • Easily able to select languages from the top-right. This enables you to see chats in your language.
  • Entire page translations on the way.
  • Plus more!

For any issues or suggestions please see the forum.

Play Hearts with your friends!

Now you can play the Hearts card game with your friends!

  • See Hearts wiki page for information.

Add a poll to your chat!

xat's new power allows you to add a poll to your chat. For more information click here.

  • You can set the poll title and its options.
  • You can set it for members only, moderators only, registered users only etc.
  • You can change its background image.

New Protect features!

New chat Protect features have been added for more chat security.

  • Protect with registered users only by typing /pr in the chat.
  • Protect with members only by using /pm in the chat.
  • Any chat Owner can use this in a chat.
  • The duration of the protect is still 60 minutes, regardless of normal, registered, or members.
  • With Protect enabled, new users will not be able to talk for 3 minutes.

Create your own custom avatar!

With Xavi power, you can create your own custom avatar. The avatar also imitates certain keywords that your avatar reacts to.
See Xavi for more information.

Customize your chat's language

(LANG) power allows you to modify the language of your chat's words and/or titles/ranks. See more at LANG wiki page.

Ruby Pawn introduced!

Now users who have every power released by xat can display a shiny ruby pawn.
It is free when the user has every power. See EveryPower for more information.

You can now submit a 728x90 banner advertisement for your chat here. See Advertise for more information.

Race your friends with xat games

Now you can play against your friends with DoodleRace, MatchRace, SnakeRace and SpaceWar!
These games are Group Powers

Updated style for xat chat boxes

A newer, more appealing design has been updated to xat chat boxes.

xat Auctions

You can now bid on IDs, shortnames, and powers. There are two phases for selections and good prices.

Improve your xat account security

If you have an iOS, Android, Windows phone or Blackberry device you can turn on Google Authenticator.
This will make it a lot harder for unauthorized users to gain access to your account. Read more on how to use it here.

New smilies

Xat has added many smilies for us to enjoy and many more to come!

xat for Android

xat has added a new way to stay connected on xat.com more easy with Android.
This application will work on any Android phone that has Adobe Flash player incorporated. Read more about how to use it here.

New kisses

Xat has added many kisses so we can enjoy them. Enjoy all of these wonderful kisses created by our smiley makers!

Gifts released!

You can now give a Gift to your friends. To send one, click their name and click Gift. Gifts cost 50 or 100 xats (depending on what you give). For more info see gifts article.

Group Powers!

You can now purchase Group Powers. These powers affect everybody in the chat instead of a particular user. Read up on them here and buy at xat.com/powers

xat mobile V0.10b Live

xat mobile V0.10b is now the default version on m.xat.com. This allows for private chatting, banning/kicking, etc. To view these actions simply select a users name.

Note if you're going to go on xat mobile, be sure to MANUALLY type in m.xat.com into your mobile browser, to ensure you're really on xat and not another site.

AS3 on all chats

All chats are now running on Action Script 3. This will allow for a smoother chat experience, and new features that were previously not possible.

New smilies and kisses

Five new smilies are added! (sad),(rolling),(no),(jolly),(pty), and new SHARK kiss added. Enjoy!

xat mobile V0.10b

A new version of xat mobile is now available! You can now private chat on it, ban/kick/change a user's rank (assuming you have the ability), ignore, and users/messages are tabbed separately. To access the new xat mobile go here and give feedback here.

$200 in xats now available for purchase

You can now buy a $200 package of xats at a time via pay by cash! This will get you 33,000 xats and 1980 days! Instead of having to purchase the $40 package numerous times you can just simply purchase the $200, plus you get 10% more xats and it comes with no reserve. What are you waiting for? Get yours now!

Macros

Macros are preset messages that can be sent to the chat with ease. To learn more about this exciting feature, go to Macros.

xat Twitter

Follow xat's official twitter for updates on power releases, information, and other going-ons! xat.com/twitter.

xat Live

xatLive is a special mode for xat boxes for online events. It allows easy management of chats with large numbers [100,000s] of spectators. For more information go to http://xat.com/Live. xat Live is an experimental feature being tested. Please report glitches and suggestions to http://xat.com/vote. For assistance go to http://xat.com/support.

Submit and Vote on Suggestions and Glitches

Go to http://xat.com/vote to make suggestions and report glitches. See what others are saying and support their ideas by voting.

Buy a short name

You can now use your xats to buy a short xat name (4-9 letters) e.g. "Fred". Buy now!

Account deletion

Account deletion has been restored but with some restrictions. You can't delete an account that has xats, days or powers in it. You can't delete an account if the name was changed in the last 14 days or if the account was already deleted less than 14 days ago.

Promote with days

You can now use days as well as xats to pay for promotion.

Trade 3.50 released!

Trade 3.50 was released today which contains minor new features. One feature of this release is that you can no longer double click "Accept trade" and "Confirm Trade". Once you click "Accept Trade" it will move to the left side to make you move your mouse so you cannot double click anymore. This is a security measure to stop people from double clicking and getting scammed. Another added feature is an unfair trade warning Message. For example, if you put in 1000 xats for 14 days, you will get a message saying "Warning: Unfair trade! Continue?". You have the option to click Ok or Cancel. Happy trading!

Webcam feature added!

You can now video chat / video call with a person in private chat! To use the webcam feature, simply click the games tab and click Webcam. Make sure the person you are PCing is in the same PC as you and then press voice call or video call. If you start to lag, simply use the slider on the right and adjust it lower. This will result in lowering your webcam quality, potentially reducing lag. If you experience any high pitch sounds, try turning the volume down on your speakers.

Translate feature added!

You can now translate your language into a foreign language in realtime! Translate allows you to translate your language to a different language. Set your "Chat Language" to Auto-Detect Language, set "Your Language" to whatever language you speak and set "Speak In" to whatever language that you want it to be translated in. It's used to help people with all sorts of interesting stuff, like telling people it's an "English Only" chat, etc. To feature is accessed the same way as doodle is: simply click the translate tab under the doodle image. If you want to learn more about the translate feature, you can go to Applications to read all about the functions of it.

Get Powers for the chat!

You can now buy extra powers and abilities for the xat chat. Click here to get started.

Lots more ways to get xats

If you don't have a credit card there are now more ways to pay. If you live in the US or Canada then the ultimate game card is easy to buy in stores. PayByCash offers other ways to pay. Click on the GetXats.png button in the chat and then click the PayByCash button to find out what options are available for your country. Options may include cash and many electronic card systems.


PayByCash.png

Trade xats <-> days safely

If you want to swap xats for days, you can now do so safely without having to trust the other person. To start click on their name, and click trade. Make sure the URL in your browser is on http://xat.com. Next start a private chat with the person you want to trade with. Then put in one of the top two boxes the number of days or xats you want to trade (your offer). The other person's offer will appear below their name. Put your registered user password in the password box. When you are happy with the trade press "Accept trade". If the other person presses the "Accept trade" button as well the server will check the trade and execute the trade. Click here for a picture of xat safe trade.

Protect your group from invaders - Shields up captain!!

If your chat is being raided, you (owners) can enter protect mode by typing /p in the main chat. For 1 hour guests (green) will not be able to talk (gagged) for 3 minutes: Gagged.gif You can exit protect mode at any time by typing /p again. Note: kicking users now gags them for 15 seconds.

Who done it?

If you are an owner you can find out who changed the scroller, entered/exited protect mode, or hushed the chat by typing /i in the main chat. The ID of the last owner to set the scroll will appear next to /s, the last user to hush will appear next to /h and the last user to enter protect mode will display next to /p.

Transfer a dormant group

You can now use your xats to get hold of groups that have been dormant for a long time. Get started here.

Promote your group on xat!

You can now have your group promoted by using your xats. Promotion will place your chat on the xat.com home page. Get started here.

Upload doodles to Photobucket or download to your PC

You can now easily transfer doodle pictures to your PC or directly to Photobucket. Press one of the buttons in doodle to save your work!

Add photos to your profile

The xat profiles have been updated to include a photo section. Enter a Photobucket picture URL in the box labeled "Picture album" and the album that picture is in will be automatically displayed on your profile. The Photobucket album must be public (not require a password).

Add music and media to your profile

The xat profiles have been updated to include a media box where you can add pictures and flash widgets, e.g. music players, chats, sideshows, games etc.

Get xats with your phone!

No credit card? No problem! If you go to the buy xats page, you can now use your landline phone or mobile to get xats and days charged to your phone bill. Click the 'Pay By Phone' button. (USA and UK only)Surfpin.png

More functionality for Ignore

Ignores now last for 12 hours, so if you ignore someone they will be back tomorrow. Previously, ignores lasted forever, which meant they couldn't be used for temporary ignores very easily. Also, if you are a moderator or owner, you will still see messages from ignored users in the main chat but you won't receive private chats or messages.

Volume controls

The radio and general sounds now have independent volume control controls.

Mouse over the radio or speaker and drag the volume control knob up and down.

If you drag the control to the bottom you will turn the sounds off. You can also
switch between on and off by click on the radio or speaker as before.

ChatVolume.png

Drop shadow on your picture (avatar)

DropShadow.png

If you see someone has a drop shadow on their picture it means they have an extended profile. Click on their picture to see it! To get your own drop shadow make a xat profile. If you have made a xat profile and you still have no shadow, edit your profile and then login.

MSN and AIM invite

You can now invite your MSN and AIM contacts to the chat.

Click on the Friends tab, then click: Add MSN AIM.png

You need to log in to your MSN or AOL account. When you are logged in your MSN and AIM friends will appear on your friends list. To private chat or invite them click on their name in the usual way.

To invite all your MSN/AIM friends click: Invite MSN AIM.png

xat profiles

Add a xat profile! When chat users click on your picture in the chat they are taken to your xat profile. You can now add stuff to your profile to make it more interesting. You need to be a registered user, so if you aren't registered click on your name in the chat and press the 'Register' button. To create or change your profile, click on your picture in the chat to go to your profile, and press the word 'edit' (bottom right of your picture).

Scroller Update (owners)

If you are an Owner or Main Owner, you can send a scroll message to the bottom of the chat.

WelcomeToMyChat.png

For example type:

/sWelcome to my chat. Please behave well or you will be banned. (N.B. This has changed from the previous release and is now /s from $s)

You can change the color by adding a color code. For example, add #FF0000 to the end of the message for Red.

User picture grid

The user slide show has been replaced by a grid (matrix) of user pictures...

Click the 'grid' tab on groups pages for a cool display of all the pics of everyone on the chat.

Move your mouse over the grid
If you click their pic you can see their profile
If you click their name you can interact with them
If there are more pictures than will fit up and down, scroller arrows will appear.
To scroll hover your mouse over the arrows.

Grid.jpg

Changing the colors of the buttons on a chat. (Main Owners)

ColoredButtons.png

The button style has been updated on chats. You can also change the color of them.

First press 'Edit your chat' on the chat box. Scroll down, until you see a small text box that says 'Button Color'.

In that box, type the hex code you want for the color, or type the color word eg Red.

In chat radio player (Main owners)

If you are a chat box owner, you can add a radio into the chat. The radio appears next to the smilies. The radio works without any extra plugins and is excellent for internet radio stations who want a live chat.

To add the radio, click the 'Edit your chat' button, then click the 'Extra features button'. Scroll down and find 'Radio station' and enter your station URL in the box.

MySpace chat app

You can add the xat chat easily to your MySpace profile by adding the xat chat application. There is also a poll and quiz.

Tgames.png

Games

You can challenge other chatters to games. Click the 'games' tab and choose between Pool, Chess, 4 in a row and Shoot. Then private chat someone and challenge them to a game!

Subscriber features and xats

You can now buy xat money (xats) to purchase stuff in the chat box. Note that most things are free and will continue to be free. In general, xats are used to buy things that cannot be free i.e. Kisses would be over-used and used for spam if they were free, and marriages wouldn't mean anything if they were free.

If you can't afford any xats, you can still see all the stuff and if you are lucky someone might marry you! Biggrin.gif Users can also give other users xats and subscriber time.

To buy xats, you need to be registered (click on your name and then the Register button). When you are registered, click your name, click the Register button and select "Get Subscription and xats"

To send a kiss, click on your name and click on the coins in the bottom right.

You can buy Kisses for 25 xats, and marriages or "Best Friends Forever" for 200 xats, though divorces are free. xats include a free subscription which allow you to use "Ultra smilies" and "Ultra Avatars"

Kisses are a full-screen animation that appears on top of the chat box to everyone on the chat box (unless they are ignoring you). Kisses include a message, so don't forget to fill that in.

Marriages or "Best Friends Forever" allow you pair up on xat. Your icons and names will be next to each other and a symbol will show you are paired. If you are Main owner and you are married, your partner will sit next to you even if they are a member or guest.

You can marry anyone you want (as long as neither of you are already married) but remember they can divorce you for free, so make sure the person you are marrying wants to be married to you. To get married, click on the person's name and click the "Marry/Best Friend" button.

Divorces are free. To get divorced, click on someone else's name and click the Divorce button. If you change your mind and want to remarry it will be another 200 xats, so maybe you should sleep on it? You can get divorced publicly or you can go to a room with no one else on and do it privately. You can only have one partner!

Transfer To give someone xats or subscriber time, click on their name in the Visitors list and click the Transfer button. Then type in the number of xats and days you want to give them.

Ultra smilies are special smilies that have extra features or only work for subscribers, but don't worry if you're not a subscriber - all the existing smilies will continue to work and we will be adding more. Current Ultra smilies are: (X) (CLOVER) (GHAT) (AIRPLANE) (HEARTS) (HIPPO) (SURPRISE) (PAINT) (CONFETTI) (CHAMPAGNE) (CRY) (ARGUE) (PARACHUTE) (DYNAMITE), and regular smilies improved for subscribers are: (D) (DMD) (N) (BBY) (LI) (GST) (C) (BIN) (NOTE) (WWE) (ROFL) (EGG). Ultra Avatars are jazzed up avatars/pictures. Instead of using a picture, you can use most smilie codes instead. For example, you can put (CD) or (CIR) as your picture. You can also add effects to your avatar. To add an effect, put #hearts , #lips , #glitter , #beams , #blood , or #equ , #walk , #up , #down after your picture. To add a smilie effect, add #up#xtre where xtre is the smilie you want. (Note that only smilies that are in brackets work, so (ninja) works and |-) doesn't.

Examples:


http://tinypic.com/mypic.gif#hearts
(airplane)#up#ninja
(CIR)#glitter
(ROFL)#lips#star
(D)#blood#0000FF