The Chat feature allows you to participate in a “community-wide” live chatroom as well as private chats with other members of Online Grief Support.  The chat feature is a fun and easy way for us to connect. There is a Chat bar at the bottom of every page, and you can see what’s going on at a glance.  You can also click on the “Chat” tab at the top of the page.

You can:

• start private chats with other members on the network
• turn notification sounds on or off
• pop out the chat window
• disconnect from Chat by setting your status as offline

The Chat bar will display the public chat area called the “Main Room” as well as the number of members online. When the Main Room tab is minimized, a red indicator with the number of unread messages appears. Clicking on either tab will expand the windows to let you see messages or message other members privately. You can also stretch the chat windows to make them taller by clicking the center of a chat pane and dragging it upwards. The taller chat windows will even stay the same height when you move between pages on the network.

Clicking on a member’s profile photo in chat allows you to initiate a private chat with them. When the member accepts, the two of you will be placed in your own separate chatroom. You can hop back into the main chatroom by clicking the “Main” tab.

When you receive a private message, a new tab with that message will pop up. If you minimize it (by clicking within the header that contains the member’s name) and receive another message, another red indicator with the number of unread messages is displayed.

The icon furthest to the right toggles your online status — the green circle indicates that you’re online, while the red circle indicates that you’re disconnected. You can also use this icon to toggle sound on or off.

We hope you enjoy the chat feature. Grieving is a difficult journey. Don’t go it alone. It helps to connect with others and chatting helps us heal.