What's new with the xat online chat rooms and groups

Check back here for information on new xat features. For new powers, see Powers.
You also can follow xat's twitter, click here.


Connect xat to facebook (beta)


Easily bring your updates from xat to facebook! All you have to do is connect your facebook account to your xat account.
To visit someone's facebook profile, you must click on the facebook icon and then you will be sent to their facebook profile.
For more information, see Facebook


xat Auctions


xat made a new feature where you can bid for IDs, shortnames, and powers! There are two phases for selections and good prices.

• Read more about ID and Shortname Auctions.
  
• Read more about Powers_Auctions.
  
• Bid on ID's and Short names here.
  
• Bid on Powers here.
  

Improve your xat account security


If you have an iOS, Android, Windows phone or Blackberry device you can turn on Google Authenticator.
This will make it a lot harder for unauthorized users to gain access to your account. Read more on how to use it here


New smilies


xat has added many smilies. Check: (babythrow) (candyeat) (cute)
(flowerthrow) (gloomy) (hey) (hula) (loving) (meloneat) (shadesoff)
(stressing) (waiting). Enjoy.


xat for Android


xat has added a new way to stay connected on xat.com more easy with Android.
This application will work on any Android phone that has Adobe Flash player incorporated. Read more about how to use it here.


New kisses


Hippo2, Dove, Dart, Ilu, Ufo, Rocket, Bubbles, Balloons, Empty, Car,
WildHorses, StreamTrain, Vegas, ILoveYou, Dancing dog kisses have been
added. Enjoy!


Gifts released!


You can now give a Gift to your friends. To give one, click their
name and click Gift. Gifts cost 50 or 100 xats (depending on what you
give). For more info see gifts article.


Group Powers!


You can now purchase Group Powers. These powers affect everybody in the chat instead of a particular user. Read up on them here and buy at xat.com/powers


xat mobile V0.10b Live


xat mobile V0.10b is now the default version on m.xat.com. This
allows for private chatting, banning/kicking, etc. To view these actions
simply select a users name.

Note if you're going to go on xat mobile, be sure to MANUALLY
type in m.xat.com into your mobile browser, to ensure you're really on
xat and not another site.


AS3 on all chats


All chats are now running on Action Script 3. This will allow for a
smoother chat experience, and new features that were previously not
possible.


Win xat ID 67M!


Enter for a chance to win xat ID 67M! Design a new smilie, and the winner will receive this rare ID. For details see: http://bit.ly/byJZ7e


New smilies and kisses


Five new smilies are added! (sad),(rolling),(no),(jolly),(pty), and new SHARK kiss added. Enjoy!


xat mobile V0.10b


A new version of xat mobile is now available! You can now private
chat on it, ban/kick/change a users rank (assuming you have the
ability), ignore, and users/messages are tabbed separately. To access
the new xat mobile go here and give feedback here.


$200 in xats now available for purchase


You can now buy a $200 package of xats at a time via pay by cash!
This will get you 33,000 xats and 1980 days! Instead of having to
purchase the $40 package numerous times you can just simply purchase the
$200, plus you get 10% more xats and it comes with no reserve. What are
you waiting for? Get yours now! *Click buy xats at top page*


Macros


Macros are preset messages that can be sent to the chat with ease. To learn more about this exciting feature, go to Macros.


xat Twitter


Follow xat's official twitter for updates on power releases, information, and other going-on's! xat.com/twitter


xat Live


xatLive is a special mode for xat boxes for online events. It allows
easy management of chats with large numbers [100,000s] of spectators.
For more information go to http://xat.com/Live. xat Live is an experimental feature being tested, please report glitches and suggestions to http://xat.com/vote For assistance go to http://xat.com/support


Remove your xat's reserve limit!


Today we have released a new function that allows you to remove your
xat's reserve after you made a paypal payment, you can go to http://xat.com/reserve; this page will allow you to confirm your account idenity and xat's robot will remove your xat's reserve.


Submit and Vote on Suggestions and Glitches


Go to http://xat.com/vote to make suggestions and report glitches. See what others are saying and support their ideas by voting.


Buy a short name


You can now use your xats to buy a short xat name (4-9 letters) e.g. "Fred". Buy now!


Account deletion


Account deletion has been restored but with some restrictions. You
can't delete an account that has xats, days or powers in it. You can't
delete an account if the name was changed in the last 14 days or if the
account was already deleted less than 14 days ago.


Promote with days


You can now use days as well as xats to pay for promotion.


Trade 3.50 released!


Trade 3.50 was released today which contains minor new features, the
features of this release is that you can no longer double click "Accept
trade" and "Confirm Trade". Once you click "Accept Trade" it will move
to the left side to make you move your mouse so you cannot double click
anymore, this is a security measure to stop people from double clicking
and getting scammed. Another added feature is an unfair trade warning
Message, for example if you put in 1000 xats for 14 days, you will Get a
message saying "Warning: Unfair trade! Continue?" you have the Option
to click Ok or Cancel. Happy trading!


Webcam feature added!


You can now video chat / video call with a person in private chat! To
simply use the wbecam feature, click the games tab and click Webcam,
Make sure the person you are pc'ing is in the same pc as you and then
press voice call or video call. If you start to lag, Simply use the
slider on the right and raise it lower, this will result in making your
webcam quality a bit lower and then you wont lag. If you experience any
high pitch sounds, try turning the volume down on your speakers.


Translate feature added!


You can now translate your language into a foreign language in
realtime! Translate allows you to translate your language to a different
language. Set your, "Chat Language" to Auto-Detect Language, set, "Your
Language" to whatever language you speak and set,"Speak In" to whatever
language that you want it to be translated in. It's used to help people
with all sorts of interesting stuff like telling people it's an
"English Only" chat, etc. To access this feature, it is accessed the
same way as doodle is, simply click the translate tab under the doodle
image. If you want to learn more about the translate feature, you can go
to Applications To read all about the functions of it.


Get Powers for the chat!


You can now buy extra powers and abilities for the xat chat. Click here to get started.


Lots more ways to get xats


If you don't have a credit card there are now more ways to pay. If
you live in the US or Canada then the ultimate game card is easy to buy
in stores. PayByCash offers other ways to pay. Click on the
button in the chat and then click the PayByCash button to find out what
options are available for your country. Options may include mobile
phone, cash and many electronic card systems.





Trade xats <-> days safely


If you want to swap xats for days you can now do so safely without
having to trust the other person. To start click on their name, and
click trade. Make sure the url in your browser is on http://xat.com.
Next start a private chat with the person you want to trade with. Then
put in one of the top two boxes the number of days or xats you want to
trade (your offer). The other person's offer will appear below their
name. Put your registered user password in the password box. When you
are happy with the trade press "Accept trade". If the other person
presses the "Accept trade" button as well the server will check the
trade and execute the trade. Click here for a picture of xat safe trade.


Protect your group from invaders - Shields up captain!!


If your chat is being raided you (owners) can enter protect mode by
typing /p in the main chat. For 1 hour guests (green) will not be able
to talk (gagged) for 3 minutes: You can exit protect mode at any time by typing /p again. Note kicking users now gags them for 15 seconds.


Who done it?


If you are an owner you can find out who changed the scroller,
entered/exited protect mode, or hushed the chat by typing /i in the main
chat. The ID of the last owner to set the scroll will appear next to
/s, the last user to hush will appear next to /h and the last user to
enter protect mode will display next to /p.


Transfer a dormant group


You can now use your xats to get hold of groups that have been dormant for a long time. Get started here.


Promote your group on xat!


You can now have your group promoted by using your xats. Promotion will place your chat on the xat.com home page. Get started here.


Upload doodles to Photobucket or download to your PC


You can now easily transfer doodle pictures to your PC or directly to
Photobucket. Press one of the buttons in doodle to save your work!


Add photos to your profile


The xat profiles have been updated to include a photo section. Enter a photobucket
picture URL in the box labled "Picture album" and the album that
picture is in will be automatically displayed on your profile. The
Photobucket album must be public (not require a password).


Add music and media to your profile


The xat profiles have been updated to include a media box where you
can add pictures and flash widgets, e.g. music players, chats,
sideshows, games etc.


Get xats with your phone!



No credit card? No problem if you go to the buy xats page you can now use your
landline phone or mobile to get xats and days charged to your phone bill.
Click the 'Pay By Phone' button.

(USA and UK only)
More functionality for Ignore

Ignores
now last for 12 hours, so if you ignore someone they will be back
tomorrow. Previously ignores were for ever which meant they couldn't be
used for temporary ignores very easily. Also if you are a moderator or
owner you will still see messages from ignored users in the main chat
but you won't receive private chats or messages.

Volume controls

The radio and general sounds now have independent volume control controls.

Mouse over the radio or speaker and drag the volume control knob up and down.
If you drag the control to the bottom you will turn the sounds off. You can also
switch between on and off by click on the radio or speaker as before.


Drop shadow on your picture (avatar)



If you see someone has a drop shadow on their picture it means
they have an extended profile. Click on their picture to see it! To get
you're own drop shadow make a xat profile. If you have made a xat profile and you still have no shadow, edit your profile and then login.

MSN and AIM invite

You can now invite your MSN and AIM contacts to the chat.

Click on the Friends tab, then click:

You need to log in to your MSN or AOL account. When you are
logged in your MSN and AIM friends will appear on your friends list. To
private chat or invite them click on their name in the usual way.

To invite all your MSN/AIM friends click:

xat profiles

Add
a xat profile! When chat users click on your picture in the chat they
are taken to your xat profile. You can now add stuff to your profile to
make it more interesting. You need to be a registered user so if you
aren't registered click on your name in the chat and press the
'Register' button. .To create or change your profile, click on your
picture in the chat to go to your profile, and press the word 'edit'
(bottom right of your picture).

Scroller Update (owners)

If you are an Owner or Main Owner you can send a scroll message to the bottom of the chat.



For example type:

/sWelcome to my chat. Please behave well or you will be banned.
(N.B. This has changed from previous release and is now /s from $s)

You can change the color by adding a color code, for example add #FF0000 to the end of the message for Red.

User picture grid

The user slide show has been replaced by a grid (matrix) of user pictures...

Click the 'grid' tab on groups pages for a cool display of all the pics of everyone on the chat.

Move your mouse over the grid

If you click their pic you can see their profile

If you click their name you can interact with them

If there are more pictures than will fit up and down scroller arrows will appear.
To scroll hover your mouse over the arrows.



Changing the colors of the buttons on a chat. (Main Owners)



The button style has been updated on chats. You can also change the color of them.
First press 'Edit your chat' on the chat box. Scroll down, until you see a small text box that says 'Button Color'.
In that box, type the hex code you want for the color, or type the color word eg Red.

In chat radio player (Main owners)

If
you are a chat box owner you can add a radio into the chat. The radio
appears next to the smilies. The radio works without any extra plugin's
and is excellent for internet radio stations who want a live chat. To
add the radio click the 'Edit your chat' button, then click the 'Extra
features button'. Scroll down and find 'Radio station' and enter your
station url in the box.

MySpace chat app

You can add the xat chat easily to your MySpace profile by adding the xat chat application. There is also a poll and quiz.

Games You can challenge other chatters to games. Click the 'games' tab and choose between Pool, Chess, 4 in a row and shoot. Then private chat someone and challenge them to a game!

Subscriber features and xats


You can now buy xat money (xats) to purchase stuff in the chat box.
Note that most things are free and will continue to be free. In general
xats are used to buy things that cannot be free i.e. Kisses would be
over used and used for spam if they were free, and marriages wouldn't
mean anything if they were free. If you can't afford any xats you can
still see all the stuff and if you are lucky someone might marry you and users can also give other users xats and subscriber time.

To buy xats you need to be registered (Click on your name and then the Register button).
When you are registered, click your name, click the Register button and select "Get Subscription and xats"

To send a kiss click on your name and click on the coins bottom right.

You can buy Kisses for 25 xats, marriages or "Best Friends Forever" for
200 xats and divorces are free. xats include a free subscription which
allow you to use "Ultra smilies" and "Ultra Avatars"

Kisses
are a full screen movie that appears on top of the chat box to everyone
on the chat box (unless they are ignoring you). Kisses include a
message so don't forget to fill that in.

Marriages or "Best Friends Forever"
allow you pair up on xat. Your icons and names will be next to each
other and a symbol will show you are paired. If you are Main owner and
you are married your partner will sit next to you even if they are a
member or guest. You can marry anyone you want (as long as neither of
you are already married) but remember they can divorce you for free so
make sure the person you are marrying wants to be married to you. To get
married click on the person's name and click the "Marry/Best Friend"
button.

Divorces are free. To get divorced click on
someone else's name and click the Divorce button. If you change your
mind and want to remarry it will be another 200 xats so maybe you should
sleep on it? You can get divorced publicly or you can go to a room with
no one else on and do it privately. You can only have one partner!

Transfer
To give someone xats or subscriber time click on their name in the
Visitors list and click the Transfer button. Then type in the number of
xats and days you want to give them.

Ultra smilies are
special smilies that have extra features or only work for subscribers
but don't worry if you're not a subscriber, all the existing smilies
will continue to work and we will be adding more. Current Ultra smilies
are (X) (CLOVER) (GHAT) (AIRPLANE) (HEARTS) (HIPPO) (SURPRISE) (PAINT)
(CONFETTI) (CHAMPAGNE) (CRY) (ARGUE) (PARACHUTE) (DYNAMITE) and regular
smilies improved for subscribers (D) (DMD) (N) (BBY) (LI) (GST) (C)
(BIN) (NOTE) (WWE) (ROFL) (EGG)

Ultra Avatars are jazzed
up avatars/picture. Instead of using a picture you can use most smilie
codes instead, for example you can put (CD) or (CIR) as your picture.
You can also add effects to your avatar. To add an effect put #hearts ,
#lips , #glitter , #beams, #blood , or #equ , #walk, #up, #down after
your picture. To add a smilie effect add #up#xtre where xtre is the
smilie you want. (Note that only smilies that are in brackets work, so
(ninja) works and |-) doesn't.
Examples:
http://tinypic.com/mypic.gif#hearts
(airplane)#up#ninja
(CIR)#glitter
(ROFL)#lips#star
(D)#blood#0000FF