MetaFilter Chat is a group space where MetaFilter members can talk to each other in real time. It was first set up for the 2012 US election night (MeTa thread), and has been running on a trial basis since.

We ask that people:

1. Keep Chat separate. Don't bring interpersonal stuff to Chat from the main site, and vice versa.

2. Keep Chat civil. Normal "Don't be an asshole" guidelines apply. Harassing or bullying other members is a bannable offense.

Users should be aware that Chat transcripts are logged. Contact us if you are having trouble connecting or want to report a problem.

(MetaFilter Chat is different from MetaChat, which is an independent site.)
(tags: chat social subsites jabber ) December 15, 2012 - permalink - back to questions

You log in using your MetaFilter username and password, but with some small changes. You can use Chat from a web browser or a chat client.

Using a web browser:
The easiest way to try it out is to click on the "Chat" link at the top of the page, or visit chat.metafilter.com in your browser.

To log in to browser-based Chat, format your username as follows. Use all lowercase, even if your MetaFilter username contains uppercase letters, but you can include spaces and other special characters as normal:

username@chat.metafilter.com


Using a chat client:
The chat server uses the Jabber/XMPP protocol. If you don't want to use a browser-based chat, you can also connect with various Jabber clients that support group chat. These include Adium, Pidgin, or Spark. On an iPhone, JabberB and OneTeam both work with the MeFi chat server. Android users can try Xabber.

To log in with a chat client, format your username as described above, being sure to use all lowercase. (This whole string is your Jabber ID.) If your username contains spaces or punctuation, for chat clients you'll also need to escape those characters. To escape a space, use \20. (For other special characters, see this link.) So a name like Example User would login using:

example\20user@chat.metafilter.com

If you use an alternate client, you'll also need to know the name of the group chat room:

mefi@conference.chat.metafilter.com

You can join that room once you're connected to the chat server.
(tags: chat login troubleshooting social subsites jabber ) May 28, 2013 - permalink - back to questions