Public Chat FAQ
From Unofficial Skype Chat Directory
Skype chats are quite different from chatrooms that other service may provide. This FAQ aims to clarify how it works.
Contents |
Chatting (or lack thereof)
Can anyone hear me?
Public chats are text-only. There is no audio. No one can hear you, but they can see what you type in the chat after you press Enter.
Why isn't anyone talking?
Timezones
Chatrooms are a worldwide service. This means many folks are in different timezones from you and are sleeping or going about their daily lives.
Participants
The users in the participant list may not even be online at the moment. Rest assured, they will see your message when they log on. So long as you don't click the Leave button, you'll also receive any messages sent while you were offline later.
How Chats Work
Why does the chat keep popping up?
Persistence
All chats in Skype are persistent. This means that when you log off, your name remains in the chatroom participant list. The advantage of this is that when you log on again, you'll be able to read all the messages sent while you were offline.
Suppressing Chats
There are two ways to temporarily suppress chats from popping up, and one way to leave them permanently.
Suppressing All Chats
To suppress all chats, change Skype to Do Not Disturb mode. In the main client, choose File, Change Online Status, and Do not Disturb. Note, this will also suppress any incoming calls, as well.
Suppressing One Chat
To suppress just one chat, open the chat and select Options, Chat Notification Settings. Here you can specify if it should notify you on each message, never, or only if specific words(e.g. your name) are said.
Leaving a Chat Permanently
To leave a chat permanently, click the Leave button on the upper-right corner of the screen. You may or may not be able to rejoin if you change your mind later.
What do the Grey Question Marks Next to Names Mean?
This means that the users have not authorized you, so you cannot see if they are online or not. To request authorization, right-click on the user's name and choose Add To Contacts. Keep in mind that authorization may be declined if the user does not know you, so make sure you identify yourself in the 'message' box when making the request.
Etiquette
Why are people ignoring my calls?
It is generally considered rude to call people who have not yet authorized you. Make sure you get text permission first.
