Chat

The Chat Section lets you talk with other users in real time — multinode chat, private node-to-node chat, paging the sysop, talking to the BBS's AI Guru, and reaching out via Internet Relay Chat (IRC), InterBBS instant messaging, or finger. The menu is provided by the Chat Section loadable module (default chat_sec); a sysop may have replaced it.

To enter the Chat menu, press the key your command shell binds to the Chat Section. In Classic, that's C from the Main or File Transfer prompt.

A live capture from vertrauen (Synchronet v3.22, UTF-8 / ANSI):

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Join a Chat                         │
│  J  Join/initiate multinode chat    │
│  P  Join/start private node chat    │
│  C  Chat with Sysop: On Another Line│
│  T  Talk with The Guru (AI)         │
│  F  Finger (query) remote user/sys  │
│  R  Internet Relay Chat (IRC)       │
│  I  InterBBS Instant Messaging      │
├── Toggles ──────────────────────────┤
│  D  Chat availability    state: On  │
│  A  Node activity alerts state: On  │
│  S  Split-screen chat    state: On  │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Q  Quit chat menu                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
Anytime: ^U Users online  ^P Private msg

Chat:

Drops you into a 99-channel multi-user chat system, starting on channel 1. Anything you type is broadcast on the channel when you press <CR>. Type / to switch to chat command mode — see below.

Ctrl-U (list users online) and Ctrl-P (send private message) work everywhere, including inside chat.

Initiates or joins a two-way private chat with another user. Two cases:

• Initiating — you're prompted for the username you want to chat with. The system pages them; if they accept, you both enter a private session.
• Joining — if someone has paged you, P from the Chat menu joins them in private chat.

Inside private chat, / enters chat-command mode. All chat commands work except /P (you can't add a third party to a private chat) and /# (no channels in private chat). The extra /E command toggles local echo on/off — useful if your terminal program supports split-screen chat (e.g. Telix's Alt-Y).

Alerts the sysop that you'd like to chat. The sysop's status (“On Another Line”, “Programming in C”, “AFK until 9pm”, etc.) is shown next to this menu item — sysops set it in real time. If the sysop is available and accepts, you'll enter a chat session.

The Synchronet Guru is a configurable AI engine — modern Guru implementations may use real LLMs, classic ones used pattern-matching scripts. The Guru can be programmed to help users navigate the BBS, answer FAQs, or just be entertaining. Whether the Guru is configured at all is up to the sysop.

Sends a finger query to a remote user or system to fetch their finger-info file (typically: who's logged in, idle time, plan/profile data). Synchronet's Finger server is the receiving side.

Launches an IRC client (usually ''irc.js'') to connect to an IRC network. The Synchronet Synchronet IRC Network is reachable from most Synchronet BBSes; other public IRC networks may also be configured.

The Synchronet Instant Message system — talk in real-time with users on other Synchronet BBSes that have it enabled. Like Ctrl-P but cross-system.

These don't open new contexts — pressing the key just flips a state, and the menu redraws to show the new state.

Allows other users to page you (state: On) or blocks them (state: Off). Default: On. When Off, your node-status display shows (P) to other users (so they know not to bother).

Whether you receive realtime notifications about other users' activity (logons, logoffs, etc.) — state: On shows them, Off suppresses. Default: On. (A) next to your node status indicates alerts are off. Useful when you're trying to read messages without interruption.

Whether multinode chat splits the screen between local and remote text — state: On uses split-screen, Off is line-mixed. Default: On. Modern terminals handle this well; older or dumb terminals may want it Off.

While inside multinode or private chat, type / to switch to the Chat Command prompt. Available commands:

• ? — display the Chat Command menu
• P — page another user to chat (multinode only)
• # — change channel (where # is the channel number; multinode only)
• L — list node activity
• E — toggle local echo off/on (private chat only)
• Q — quit the chat session
• Ctrl-U — list users online
• Ctrl-P — send private message to another user

Use Ctrl-U to see who's on which channel. To switch, type the channel number at the chat-command prompt. If you're the first user to enter a previously-empty channel, you're offered the chance to password-protect it — anyone joining will need to know the password. The protection is lifted when you (the protector) leave. Only the first user gets the choice. The number of channels available to you is determined by the sysop.

Q from the Chat menu returns to the previous prompt (typically Main).
Q (or /Q) from inside a chat session ends the session and returns to the Chat menu.

• User Documentation
• Users-online listings
• Ctrl-U / Ctrl-P — work anywhere, including inside chat
• Synchronet Instant Messaging
• Synchronet IRC Network
• chat_sec module — sysop reference