ICQ Tips and Tricks

For all of you who have already joined the list, my biggest Girl Scout thank you. The response was slow at first but it has become truly overwhelming. It is for this reason that I have recently UPGRADED the ICQ list to be "self-sustaning" - which means that YOU, the Girl Scout, will be able to enter your information directly into the Database. To add your information to the ICQ database, please go to the Adult Add ME! Form or the Girl Add ME! Form.

One more note from me on my SOAPBOX
Please DON'T send me chain letters - most of them are rumors about ICQ becoming a charge service - if most of you would take the time to READ the Mirabilis Home Page, you will see it is not true - please, I beg you - I am TOO BUSY to deal with this - THANK YOU!

Tips and Tricks on Using Chat       Chat and Other Info

My Reasons for Starting the ICQ Chat/List

1. I have found a wealth of information out there - much more so than from my own area - don't get me wrong, we have good ideas, but ideas can get "stale" and this is a chance for ALL Girl Scouts/Girl Guides from all over to exchange new ideas and information.
2. I am a member of the WAGGGS-L Mailing List, and when I had the time, I read the posts, but often leaders needed information NOW and (if they were like me) sometimes before I got around to reading them, the timing was too old for me to respond - I am sure that you all know what I mean - a last minute program to plan - a ceremony gone awry - we've all been there - this gives us some INSTANT access to ideas.
3. This is a fantastic opportunity to forge new friendships and bonds with other leaders/girls from around the world - to me, Thinking Day is not just a day, if you are a Girl Guide/Girl Scout, it should be a way of life - I feel that this will promote World Friendship in a way that wasn't possible before.

Some Tips on Using the Chat Function

1. If you are chatting with a whole bunch of people, it is better to use the IRC layout than the others - in order to set your ICQ chat to IRC mode, see the picture below (sorry, Mac and Win 3.1, I don't have a screen shot of anything other than Win 95, but would be willing to put one up if someone sent it to me!)
   
   
   • On the left "window" of the screen, you will see who is saying what - their <nickname> (on ICQ) followed by what they are saying.
   • On the right "window" of the screen, you will have a list of who is in chat with you/us - if their <nickname> is italicised, then they are doing something else on ICQ (possibly sending a message to another user) - that doesn't mean that they are not participating, and also explains why they are going from plain to italic and back again quite often.
   • You can resize both windows the same way that you do for any other Windows program.
   • The small window at the bottom of the screen is where what you are typing will show to just you until you hit the "enter" key on your keyboard - then whatever you have typed will be seen by everyone else in the chat room.

   
   

2. If you are having trouble seeing other people because they are using "custom colors" - the best way to correct for this is to set your chat to "override format" - in order to this see the next picture!
   
   
   • Click on the "Display" option
   • Click on "Override Format"

Chat Schedule and Other Info
I will NO LONGER be able to hold scheduled chats, but that doesn't mean that a chat still cannot take place - there are several knowledgable people on the Girl Scout/Girl Guide Chat List who know how to operate the chat, or feel free to take a shot at it yourself - use the list - it is there for your information!

Please feel free to add all or any of the Girl Guides/Girl Scouts on the ICQ list to your own contact list - I am going to start encouraging everyone to put GGGS ICQ into the reason so that we will know it is from one another. - This is a wealth of untapped infomation available to all on the list - it is free for the asking, please take advantage of it!