How to decorate a room

It takes 3 steps to decorate your room:

1. Find a nice background and/or room icon. There are a number of sites on the net which provide backgrounds. As soon you've found a suitable background or room icon image on the internet -  then proceed as follows:
   • Click the background or any other kind of image with your right mouse button
   • Select "Save Image As" (Netscape) or "Save Picture As" (IE)
   • Save the image in a suitable directory (folder) on your local hard disk.
2. Upload the file(s) to your room directory (folder) on the SOI server. The easiest way to do this is:
   • Click the [Controls] and go to your control room.
   • Click the [FTP Files] (Note: Not the [FTP Controls]!!!) and it will open a form that list all your SOI file directories (folders).
   • Click the room link of your choice and it will open an additional form.
   • Place your cursor into the Upload text box and click the Browse button.
   • Find and open the file on your local hard disk (Note: You will probably have to change the file format in the dropdown list of the Open-box to "All files"
   • Place your cursor into the "and save as" text box to the right and enter a complete filename (either the same as the original one or a new one) - like: stars.gif or babe.jpg - don't forget the file extension!!
   • Click the Upload button.
3. Set up your room.
   • Click the [Controls] and go to your control room.
   • Click the [Room Controls] and it will open a form.
   • Click the room link and it will open an additional form where you can change the properties for the room.
   • Select the background in the "Background File" drop down list
   •  Select the icon file in the "Icon File drop down list" or insert the icon with the proper HTML tag in either one of the "Room Text Left Side Chat Box" - "Room Text Under Chat Box " or  "Text for Top Level of Room " boxes
   • Click the Change RoomStuff Button.

Note 1: Check that the files aren't to big. A background shouldn't be bigger as maybe 30Kb tops - or it will take ages to get into the room. Also get yourself a graphic application of some kind with which you can resize images and/or convert them to a suitable image format.

Note 2: Images which  you want to use at SOI must be either .JPG or .GIF  images! .

Cool Script

This script can be used to make additional formats to your room. It should be added into the "Text for Top Level of Room" box of your room form.

Change the textbox - buttons and scrollbar colors

Note: Change the color codes to your liking. If you leave BACKGROUND without a color code - then the object will be transparent.

<style type =text/css>
INPUT {
BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
BACKGROUND: #black;
BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
COLOR: #cccccc;
BORDER-TOP-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: #7F7F7F
}
TEXTAREA {
BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
BACKGROUND: #black;
BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
COLOR: #f75d59;
BORDER-TOP-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: #7F7F7F
}
SELECT {
BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
BACKGROUND: gray;
BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
COLOR: #000000;
BORDER-TOP-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: #7F7F7F
}
CHECKBOX {
BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
BACKGROUND: #black;
BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
COLOR: #cccccc;
BORDER-TOP-COLOR: #7F7F7F;
BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: #7F7F7F
}
BODY {
scrollbar-arrow-color : #BFBFBF;
scrollbar-base-color : #2F2F2F;
scrollbar-dark-shadow-color : #000000;
scrollbar-face-color : #cccccc;
scrollbar-highlight-color : #9A9A9A;
scrollbar-shadow-color : #2F2F2F;
scrollbar-3d-light-color : #4F4F4F;
}
</STYLE>

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How to manage your room

A room owner has a number of possibilities to manage his/her chat room. The main possibilities are:

Clear the room

You can clear your room any time you want:

1. Click the [Local Controls] and it opens a form.
2. Click the Clear button and clear your room
3. Return to the room

Archive the contents

Another way to clear the room is to archive the contents of it. This way you can reread a conversation you've had at a later occasion.

1. Go to the specific room first.
2. Click the [Controls] and go to your control room
3. Click [Archive] and it opens a form.
4. Select the room you want to archive and click the Archive button.

Note: This works for your mail room too!

Scroll through the posts

If you want to see what has happened in your room during your absence - or if you want to reread a post you can do as follows:

1. Enter the amount of posts which you want to scroll through in the Show box (maximum=999)
2. Click the Talk/Listen button

Note 1: You even can click the [Old]. It opens a form from which you can retrieve old posts by a day/week- or date criteria.

Delete specific posts

As the room owner you can delete any post in your room you want - whenever you want.

1. Click the asterisk (*) or the tilde (~) right behind the date of the post which you want to delete.
2. Delete the post in the following form.

Block unwanted visitors from the room

Room owners can block unwanted visitors from their rooms. It works pretty much as the personal Ignore with the exception that the posts of the blocked person will become invisible for all the chatters in the room except for the blocked person in question. In other words - the blocked person won't be aware of the fact that he or she is blocked.

1. If you block a SOI citizen all posts associated with that particular nickname (handle) will disappear.

2. If you block a common visitor then all posts which match his/her IP number will disappear. There are 4 block options regarding common visitors. If for example the IP number of the visitor is 1.2.3.4 then

• Option A will block all IP numbers that begin with 1.
• Option B will block all IP numbers that begin with 1.2.
• Option C will block all IP numbers that begin with 1.2.3.
• Option D will block only the specific IP number.

In other words - besides the persion in question option A will block all other visitors with an IP# which starts with 1 - and option D will only block a person with the specific IP# 1.2.3.4. -
Read more about IP.

This is how to block a person in your room:

1. Click the asterisk (*) or the tilde (~) right behind the date in any of the posts of the person you want to block.

2. Set up the block 

Note: The block will be active until it is removed.

To annul the block simply click the [Local Controls] - it will open a form from which you can make changes of your blocks.

Assign room administrators

Room owners also can designate (and annul) trusted regulars as room administrators. A room administrator will be able to block unwanted visitors just like the room owner him/herself. Room administrators must be citizens either from the same site - or from a soi sister site. If the room administrator you're going to add is from a sister site - then you've to specify the appropriate site designation - like nickname^@jag

The room owner will be able to review - and remove blocks put in place by a room administrator, as the block will show up in the block list. The block lists also will show the room owner which room administrator has initiated the block.

This is how you add a room administrator to your room:

1. In the room - click [Local Controls]

2. Enter the handle of the person you want to allot room administrator rights.

3. Click the Add button

As soon as you've attached at least one as a room administrator - you'll get an additional dropdown list in your Local Controls form from which you can cancel an assigned room administrator.

end of this part - click a topic to the right!

All the room controls

A chat room contains a number of controls.

[Mail]	Gets you to your personal mail room. A visitor will get to a public Mail room.
[Controls]	Gets you to your control room. A visitor will open a form from which he/she can validate the 28 hour visa which has been granted to him/her.
[SSL]	Opens a form from which you can apply for a secure connection.
[SeeAll]	Gets you to the Tower of Babble.
[Hot]	Gets you to the Hot list.
	Is a way to change to another room.
	Scroll through a defined number of posts.
[Help]	Opens a Help page. Among other things, it even contains a link to this page  *smile*
[Old]	Opens a form from which you can retrieve previous posts.
[Travel]	Opens a form from which you can visit all the SOI sections and lists the rooms which are located there.
[Auto]	Enables you to refresh your screen automatically. In order to deactivate [Auto] you have to click [Stop Auto].
	Resets both the contents of the To:- and the textbox.
[Undo]	Deletes your last post. If you click it again it will delete your next last post -- etc.
[Local Controls]	Opens a form from which you can do a number of things. Undo an "Ignore" clear the room (room owners only) change and override the room's background (this is a personal set up) lock your account (citizens only) reset the room counter (room owners only) add/remove a room administrator (room owners only) remove blocks (room owners and room admins only)
In a post * (non citizen) or ~ (citizen)	Opens a form from which you can: put another vistor on "Ignore" remove that particular post from the room (room owners only). block that particular person from the room (room owners and room admins only) invite and give the person associated with that post access to one of your private rooms. whisper with the person in question - providing that he/she's a citizen or a member from a  sister site. view the person's homepage - providing that he/she's a citizen or a member from a  sister site and has a homepage attached to his/her nickname. Homepages of SOI citizens can also be viewed from Slices Of Life

end of this part - click a topic to the right!