Chat

**Chat** is a game feature used for communication among players or entering commands.

## Chat interface

The chat interface consists of the bottom two panels of the interface which display chat and game messages. It has a drop down list of chat channels including names of all the players online for private messaging. The 'Send' button or 'Enter' key can be used to send messages.

The bottom-left panel shows server announcements, player logins and disconnects, commands, Chat All, Ads Chat, Chat Near and Chat Island.

The bottom-right panel shows game messages, events, Chat Buddies, Chat Here, private messages, Mod Chat and Admin Chat.

### Chat Box

The chat box is at the bottom of the chat interface where messages can be typed and sent.

Pressing Ctrl + A can be used to highlight the entire message. Using Ctrl + ↑ shows the previous message sent in the chat box.

If something is typed in the chat box, the player will be unable to use the arrow keys to move.

### Chat channels

Chat channels can be selected using the drop down list next to the chat bar.

#### Chat All

Chat All is a global channel through which messages are sent to all players. Messages will be sent in the bottom-left chat window in this colour for players and in this colour for moderators.

Messages can be sent once every two minutes for non-subscribers and once every minute for subscribers. When not using Chat All, these can be saved up to a total of 15 messages.

The shortcut '/a' can be used before the message to send the message in Chat All.

#### Ads Chat

Ads Chat is where players are able to post advertisements. Advertisements will be sent in the bottom-left chat window in this colour.

All players are limited to one post per minute.

The shortcut '/$' can be used before the advertisement to send the it in Ads Chat.

#### Chat Near

Chat Near sends your chat to Players Nearby as indicated in the top-right panel, which is approximately one screen's width away. Messages will be sent in the bottom-left panel with a [# near] indicating the number of people to which the message was sent.

The shortcut '/n' can be used before the message to send the message in Chat Near.

#### Chat Buddies

Chat Buddies allows players to send messages to players on the Buddy List. Messages will be sent in the bottom-right panel in this colour with a [# buds] indicating the number of buddies to which the message was sent.

The shortcut '/b' can be used before the message to send the message in Chat Buddies.

#### Chat Here

Chat Here is only visible to other players standing on the same tile. Messages will be sent in the bottom-right panel with a (# here) indicating the number of people to which the message was sent.

The shortcut '/h' can be used before the message to send the message in Chat Here.

#### Chat Island

Chat Island sends messages to other players on the same island as indicated in the top-right panel. Messages will be sent in the bottom-left panel with a [# on isle] indicating the number of people to which the message was sent.

The shortcut '/i' can be used before the message to send the message in Chat Island.

#### Private Message

Private Message (PM) relays chat to and from individual players. Private messages can be sent using the following methods:

* Selecting the player's name in the drop down chat menu. If the player logs out, the drop down chat selection will default to Chat All.
* Left-clicking the 'PM' button corresponding with the player in any of the Player lists or when the player is standing on the same tile.
* Typing '/' then the player's name before the message. Sending a private message to an offline player will result in the game message "Could not find player to Private chat!".

Messages will be sent in the bottom-right panel in this colour. Only the player the message is sent to and the one sending it can see these. Sent messages will appear as "Player1>Player2:" and received messages will appear as "Player2:".

## Word filters

The chat has word filters in place "in order to protect the chat from any violations, or obscene content". All messages sent in chat channels are recorded and monitored by game administrators. As such, only English chat is allowed.

The full list of words that are filtered and corrected can be found in the List of filtered words.

### Profanity filter

The profanity filter blocks inappropriate words and phrases from being sent. It will block any of the following words:

* Swear words, hate words or obscene words;
* Components of URLs and search engine names (except reference sites) since sharing websites is in violation of the Horse Isle Rules;
* Words or phrases used to ask for personal details;
* The player's password. Doing so will result in the game message "Your Password was included in the chat you attempted to send! DO NOT Give ANYONE your password! If someone was asking for your password, please report them immediately!".

Messages that are blocked will be flagged with the following message and reviewed by an administrator:

> "**Your last chat was flagged as a possible violation of chat rules to be reviewed by an admin. If it is severe or you have many violations your account may be suspended. We require at least 10 violation points before examining an account, so if it was a simple misspelling do not worry. Remember this is a family friendly game! Thanks for keeping it as such! (REASON: Profanity detected / No giving out personal info/websites.)**"
>
>

If the chat was confirmed as having inappropriate content, violation points will be added to the player's account. Typing accidents or misspelled words will not result in any violation points. Deliberate attempts to dodge or avoid the filter are strictly not tolerated and often result in additional violation points.

### Word corrections

The filter corrects offensive words or phrases and common chat acronyms. Offensive words are replaced with similar words deemed less rude. Chat acronyms are replaced with the full phrase instead.

## Break suggestion

Every two hours that the player is logged in, "You have been playing for # hours." along with one of the following messages will appear in the players chat box at random:

* Aren't you sleepy? It's okay to go to bed. We'll all be here tomorrow.
* Don't forget to pet your kitty/dog/fish/stuffed animal.
* Don't forget to stretch once in a while. Are you running late for school/work?!?!
* Please take a break and check on your family/pets/world. :)
* Please take breaks once in a while. Hmmmm.. This game isn't THAT cool. :)

## Trivia

* Several unicode symbols can be used in chat shown in the List of unicode symbols
* If a message contains too many capital letters, the message will be not be sent and the following game message will appear: "Please **do not use all CAPS**, it looks as if you are yelling.

## References

1. ↑ https://hi1.horseisle.com/web/rulesdetail.php