How to Chat

Q. Are there any rules about chatting here?

A. Learn more about the Breastcancer.org Terms of Use, Rules of Conduct, Privacy Policy relating to these Chat Rooms. By entering the chats, you agree to abide by these terms, rules and policies.

Q. I'm having trouble connecting to the chat.

A. Learn more about solutions to technical or access problems.

Q. I don't want to read what another chatter is saying. How can I stop seeing their text?

A. If you don't want to read what another individual is saying, you can choose to Ignore that person. Click on their name, and then click on "People" and "Ignore NAME."

Q. Someone is causing a problem in the chat. What can I do?

A. Please let us know as soon as possible. Until help arrives, you can let everyone in the room know that they should add the intruder to their Ignore list, and tell them how to do this. If a person is ignored by everyone in the room, it's likely s/he will leave quickly.

Q. What kinds of problems should I report?

A. Please let us know about anyone making rude or blatantly insensitive remarks, advertising or promoting cures, treatments, or products, trying to get personally identifiable information about another chatter, or if you're experiencing technical problems that aren't addressed in the technical help link. Although we're not always able to deal with reports immediately, we will review each one, and take appropriate action.

Q. What kinds of problems should NOT be reported?

A. Chatters will sometimes walk away from their computers to go to an appointment, have a nap, or to get some work done, and forget they're still connected. Most of the time when someone hasn't said something for a long time, this is all that's happened; they're not lurking or spying on anyone and don't need to be reported. breastcancer.org moderators do check the rooms for long idle times, and will help someone who's been idle for many hours by closing that person's connection.

Personal disagreements are best handled by using the Ignore option under the People Menu, or through private messaging, rather than by reporting. Just as in real life, not everyone gets along, and personality conflicts cannot be resolved by our moderators.

Q. What are the abbreviations and acronyms I see others using?

A. Acronyms and abbreviations are often used to speed up typing. You can also use symbols to express emotions. Select some favorites from the "Smileys" pull-down menu.

This list is by no means complete, but is a good reference for shorthand used frequently online.

• AFK - Away from keyboard
• ASL - Age/Sex/Location
• BBS - Be back soon/shortly
• BRB - Be right back
• BTW - By the way
• CYA - See ya
• FYI - For your information
• IMHO - In my humble opinion
• LOL - Laughing out loud
• LTNS - Long time no see
• LTNT - Long time no talk
• NBD - No big deal
• OIC - Oh I see
• ROFL - Rolling on the floor laughing
• THX - Thanks
• WTG - Way to go

Q. What are some of the abbreviations specific to these chats?

A. Some short forms have become fairly standard when talking with others who are familiar with breast cancer. You'll often see these shorter versions:

• chemo - chemotherapy
• DCIS - ductal carcinoma in situ
• dx - diagnosis
• meds - medications/medicines
• mets - metastasis/metastases
• rads - radiation therapy
• tx - treatment