Cautions

If you do not wish to receive unsolicited email ("spam" by any other name), be sure to leave the check box above the Password field unchecked.  This will prevent Microsoft from sharing your email address with other Passport sites.

You should print a copy of the "Get a Passport" sign up page, write in your password, and keep the printed copy for your records and for future BHS reunion chats.

Be sure to reply to the email verification message that is sent to you after you set up your Passport account or your account may be canceled.

Click the "Sign Up" button.

You should be returned to the BHS76 Community Page and see the "Join BHS76" screen below.  If you are not returned to the BHS76 Community page or do not see the screen below, return to Step 1 and follow the instructions to open the BHS76 Community and "Join This Community" from the menu option on the right side of the page.

Follow the instructions as shown below.  (You might want to use a first initial last name (e.g. - jbaglien) as your nickname so we can identify each other easily)

Be sure to check the box beside the "I accept" for the code of conduct statement.  Then click the "Join Now" button.

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3. MSN Chat Software Download (first time setup only)

Once you have signed in with your Passport account and Joined the BHS76 Community, you are now ready to join the Chat for the first time.  Click on the "Chat" link from the menu on the left side of the screen.

MSN requires that you download a small piece of Chat software.  You will have to conduct the download even if you have participated in previous BHS76 reunion chats due to MSN Chat upgrades.  You should see the screen below.  Click the "Download" button to begin.

Follow the instructions (sample below).  Once the chat software download is complete, you should see the "smiley face".  Click on the link "I see the Smiley Face!".  You should be directed into the BHS76 Chat room.  If you are not directed to the BHS76 Chat room, follow the instructions in Step 4 below.

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4. Join a Chat (after first time setup is complete)

Once you have completed Steps 1-3 above (a one-time set up process), you can join a scheduled BHS76 Reunion chat by going to the BHS76 Community page located at:  http://communities.msn.com/BHS76  and selecting "Chat" from the menu on the left side of the page.

Be sure to sign in with the Passport account you created in Step 2 above.

When you arrive in the BHS76 chat room, your nickname and those of your classmates who are currently in the chat room will appear in the column on the right side of the page.

FYI - my nickname (Joel Baglien) as chat room manager is Baglien76

You will see the main chat window occupying the majority of your screen.  Feel free to identify yourself by your real name.  I will only be allowing our classmates and friends into the BHS76 Community and the BHS76 Chat room.  Below the main chat window you will see a text entry field as show below.

To join in the chat, type what you want to say  in the text entry field and press your "Enter" key or mouse click on the "Send" button.

The " ! " button allows you to display an "emoticon" in the main chat window.  For example, if you type  :)  in the text entry field to represent a smiley face and mouse click on the " ! " button, your text will be displayed as  .  Emoticons that have been tested for our chat room include:

Each response you add to the text entry field can be a maximum of 255 characters (including spaces) - about 2 medium length sentences.
By comparison, the above sentence contains 107 characters.

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5. Whisper Sessions (private chats)

If you wish to hold a simultaneous "private chat" with someone in the BHS76 chat room, mouse click to highlight the person's nickname.  Then click on the "Whisper Session" icon (example to the left).  Your intended recipient will see a blinking button on their Windows taskbar (typically at the bottom of your screen - see example below).

If you see a blinking button on your Windows Taskbar, someone is attempting to contact you privately to conduct a "Whisper Session".

You must mouse click on the blinking button to begin responding to a "Whisper Session".  Your "Whisper Session" window will look like the example below.  Type your response in the text entry field and press the "Enter" key or mouse click on the "Whisper" button to send your reply.

Note:  "Whisper Sessions" are private conversations that cannot be seen by the other participants in the chat room.

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6. Controls and Buttons

You can initiate a "Whisper Session" with another person in the chat room.  The "Whisper Session" is a private conversation that is not viewable by the rest of the chat room participants.  See Step 5 above for more information.

This button allows you to ignore selected chat room participants.  I do not recommend using this feature.

This button makes it easier to keep track of chat room participants that you select. 

Click on the "coffee cup" to tell others that you have temporarily left the chat room or that you have returned (useful for trips to the bathroom or to refill your rum and Coke).  Please use this button as a courtesy to other classmates when you take a temporary break from the chat room.  You don't want your classmates to think you are ignoring them.  Note - when you use this button, a small coffee cup will appear beside your chat nickname in the list of those currently in the chat room.  Personally I think the icon should be a Panama beer bottle.

Clicking on the "Chat Room Options" link at the bottom of the page opens a dialog window that allows you to customize your chat settings - see example below.  You may need to enter your Passport account password to access the Options area.

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7. Chat Guidelines

I may be engaged in private "Whisper Sessions" with some of you but I will also be engaged in our main conversation.  If I cannot answer your questions or comments quickly, please bear with me.  There is a lot of behind the scene action going on for the chat room moderator.

Although our BHS76 Chat room is "hidden" within our BHS76 Community Page, it is possible that some people may wander in and out.  For those individuals who are exploring or stumble into our chat room, I will open a private whisper session with the person to inform them that this an invitation only chat room for our class reunion.  I don't want to appear unneighborly or rude but I want to keep stray traffic to a minimum.

If someone enters our chat room and has an obviously offensive or sexually explicit nickname, stop chatting until the person is gone.

If a non-classmate enters the chat room and begins making rude, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate comments, stop chatting until the person leaves the chat room.

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