Deal With Problem Users

Unfortunately, a chat system may have users that do not play nicely with others. RealChat provides several options for dealing with users that simply cannot get along with other people and either harass other users, use profanity, or simply refuse to follow the rules you outline.

Becoming an Administrator/Operator

In order to access the controls for managing problem users, you will first need to become an operator or an administrator. An operator can warn users, freeze them, and kick them off the server. Administrators can also ban users and moderate conversations. For more information on each type of user's permissions, see the Chat Room Administration page.

Warning Users

If a user is not behaving appropriately, the first step is to warn them that their behavior is not appropriate. To warn a user, simply click on their name in the participants list and then select Warn from the context menu.

Freezing Users

If a user continues to misbehave, you can Freeze them. Freezing causes any messages which a user types to not be displayed by the chat server. The server will also also tell them that they have been frozen and how much longer the freeze will last. This is a great option if the discussion gets heated and the participants need a chance to settle down. To freeze a user, simply click on their name in the participants list and then select Freeze from the context menu.

Kicking and Banning Users

If a user does not respond to a warning or a freeze, the next step is to kick them from from the server. When a user is kicked, they will be automatically logged out of the chat server and a short ban will be placed on the user. After the ban expires, the user will be able to log in again. To kick a user, simply click on their name in the participants list and then select Kick from the context menu. The length of time the user is banned is determined by the Default Ban Timeout setting on the Behavior Control page.

If the user is a repeat offender or if you would like to ban the user for a longer period than the default, you can Ban the user instead of kicking them. To ban a user, simply click on their name in the participants list and then select Ban from the context menu. RealChat will display the dialog below:



The ban dialog lets you enter the reason for why the user is being banned with a length of time for the ban. You can also control whether the individual IP address is banned or if the entire subnet should be banned.

Using Profane Word Filtering

If you want to avoid profanity within your chat rooms, you can use the profane word filter which is setup on the Behavior Control page. After the profane word filter is setup, any profanity will be replaced with ---. You can optionally have the server kick any users that are using excessive profanity.

Moderating Chats

If you would like complete control over a chat, you can use the moderation functionality. When you moderate a chat, all messages must be approved by an administrator before the chat server will display them.