Communicating Clearly in Internet Chat Rooms

This is really a very simple task so there is no rocket science being discussed here. Most chat rooms have a limit on how much text you may enter into it each time so keep the messages brief but not so brief as to not make your point understood. Often people use acronyms like those used in text messaging and nothing is more confusing than that new language used today due to the limitations of the latest cell phones.

As an example you might say “Mount Gay is OK but I prefer Cockspur” but that may only confuse the other folks so you might want to broaden it to “Mount Gay rum is OK but I prefer Cockspur rum both from Barbados”. They are both brief messages as chat windows go but the second one provides a much clearer message to the readers since you are indeed painting a picture with words.

…If you want to send us a gift a nice bottle of Cockspur Old Gold will do nicely, thank you

Some rooms allow you to copy the content which is a great way to deal with content that is in another language and I happen to use Google translate and Word to deal with it and paste back a response in another language. It isn't a perfect way to deal with it since the translations are not perfect all the time but it does make it much more understandable. (Like Zorro means a male fox and Zorra is a female fox in Spanish).

Sometimes chatting is easier to do than talking on the phone with another person on the Internet as I recently found out with my new friend in Alabama (I happen to live in Canada and haven’t been down the Deep South in some time).

…Creo que ella está hablando Inglés, pero no entiendo lo que está diciendo
…Lorenzo she lives in Alabama and that is what is called a southern drawl and hers is very strong, just like her personality
…No puedo hablar demasiado tiempo en el teléfono con ella porque me duele la cabeza de tan concentrado, lol
…Just be patient with her and ask her to talk a little slower and don’t get her mad
…You will have to ask her oldest son to work as a translator then, lol
…Yo puedo hacer eso con seguridad, ella es muy divertido
…Yes she is and we always look forward to talking with her
…She is smart and understands that it is difficult for us and will use Facebook chat to continue talking and has already started off slowing down her speech for like the first 10 sentences in the call

If you didn't understand the conversation there, then try using Google Translate to follow it to give you an example of what is going on. Lorenzo the Lover is talking in Spanish if you did not get that.

Games are about having fun and winning is the result of having way too much fun.

… ¿Qué quiere decir cuando dice "huh"?
…It means No entiendo, or what or eh (pronounced like day) if you are Canadian like us
…but it could also mean WTF if you use something that catches her by surprise
...Ella dice que soy muy dulce, como la barra de Mars ???
...No you bozo, sweet like in caring and thoughtful

…La bella zorra es muy divertido y ella es hermosa tanto en el interior y el exterior
…We totally agree!

...I think we have a new member being added to the team
...Red the Redneck
... ah OK he has always been here but we never noticed him like Dick the Detective
...Dick and Infinity the Internet Explorer ( who never uses Explorer ever, btw) have been really busy of late studying stuff together

Bella Zorra