[You might want to print this for future reference. Either select "File" and then "Print" from the menu in Internet Explorer or Netscape, or else select all the text below with your mouse and copy-and-paste it into a word processor.]
1) Go to http://mapopfict.homestead.com/ by clicking on this link or by typing (or cutting and pasting) this address into the "URL" or "location" box on your web browser.
2) Once the page loads, choose the "room" you want to enter, by clicking on your favorite discussion topic.
3) Wait PATIENTLY (as much as 3 minutes!) for the chatroom to load up on your computer. [If you receive error messages or the chatroom doesn't load, see the tips below.]
4) You automatically enter the discussion under a pseudonym assigned by the computer (usually something like "Anonymous345"). CHANGE THIS TO A NAME WE WILL ALL RECOGNIZE (first name+last initial?). Scroll down (using the scroll bar in your web browser, not in the box that surrounds the chatroom) and type your name inside the box labeled "name." Then click the button that says "change" (NOT submit).
5) The chatroom will announce that you have changed your name to a real one. Everyone will probably greet you. To respond, type your comments into the box at the very bottom of the chatroom (beneath where you typed your name) and click "submit." Your comments should appear in the chat screen.
6) Repeat #5 indefinitely. Enjoy the discussion. We schedule these chats for roughly one hour, at a prearranged time, but you are free to continue to use the chatrooms as long as you like -- and whenever you like -- on your own.
7) After joining one chatroom, you should feel free to exit and enter one of the other topic areas (since we're implementing 3 of them). To do so, simply click "back" in your broswer and then select another room. Or, optionally, begin this process with step one above all over again.
8) TO LEARN MORE: Visit the "chatiquette" and "chat shorthand" web page.