This section describes these additional tabs on the "Community" sub-menu:
- Friends - add friends from the Impulse community, track their activities on Impulse's blogs, forums and more.
- Chat - join in live IRC (Internet Relay Chat) with the Impulse community, friends, skinning community, and
even Stardock support and developers. Supports both public and private chat rooms.
- Forums - read and post messages on a number of message forums for Stardock and other software publishers,
games, Windows software and computer topics.
- Community - read blogs articles from the Impulse community.
- Drivers (i.e. ATI, NVIDIA) - Impulse will detect your video card and display options to download
the latest video drivers from the manufacture. This allows you to keep your Windows video drivers up to date.
Often times, the video drivers get out of date and are the root
cause of many issues with software not running correctly. If you do not have a video card that supports
either brand, you will not see this tab.
Friends
The "Friends" tab allows you to add friends so you can watch their activity on the blogs, in games, etc.. When you first use Impulse you will not have any friends, so you need to type their nickname into "Find A Friend" and click 
. When it finds your friend, type in a short message and click 
(or 
to cancel). The request will be sent to your friend, and stored until they log into Impulse to accept or decline the request.
When you have friends, the "Friends" tab will display anything they have blogged about, etc. on Impulse.
If you want to write a blog, click on "Create Your Blog!" link in the upper right corner. It is free to blog on the popular Impulse Community site.
Chat
Impulse includes an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client (program) that allows you to type messages
to people in the Impulse community from around the world. To join chat, you type in a nickname (your name from the Impulse login will appear, but you can change it to anything not already in use or registered) and
select a "Room" (also called a "channel") you want to join by selecting it from the
pull-down menu, then click 
.
Your nickname can be the same as your Impulse account (i.e. Stardock.net, WinCustomize.com or GalCiv2.com) or something different. If the
nickname you choose is already in use, Impulse will automatically append a number to the end of it.
Two people cannot be in chat with the same name, at the same time. Some nicknames are "registered"
with the server, in which case the server will change your name to something else if you do not
enter the correct password within 60 seconds. To type in a password, type "/pass mypasswordhere"
(without quotes). If you have not logged into Impulse yet, Impulse chat will use the user account you logged into Windows with (i.e. Bob, Administrator, Mom).
English is the language used in the chat rooms. After you have joined chat, you could create a new
chat room to talk to friends in your local language. As an example, to create a new room called our_room,
simply type in "/join #our_room" (without quotes). A new private room will be created
(if not already in use) by that name & you will be added to it. Then you can invite others
to join it by sending them a PM (Private Message), more on that later. The pound sign (#) is
required in front of the room name, and there is no space between the pound symbol and the room name.
There is one blank space between "/join" and "#our_room". The underscore (_)
symbol is required in place of a blank space. Or you can create a room name like "ourroom".
If you try to create a room name like "our room", the created room will be
called "our". Blank spaces are not allowed within a room name.
Here is a list of the common rooms in Impulse Chat and the topic for each. Check the pull-down
menu from time to time, as new channels are added/changed. You can also check what rooms are available once
you are in chat mode, by selecting the status window and scrolling back to see the list of
"...permanent channels...". If you join a room and no one is there or it is slow,
you can join other room(s) simultaneously and then chat in any that you joined.
Room |
Topic |
|
#impulse |
Covers anything related to Impulse, including questions, problems, etc.. Impulse will add you to this room/channel by default, unless you select a different room from the pull-down menu before logging into chat. |
|
#stardock |
The main room where most people hang out chatting about all sorts of
things. |
|
#demigodgame |
This is related to the Demigod game by Gas Powered Games
& published by Stardock. Chat with other players looking for a game to join. Demigod has a built-in IRC chat client, so you can chat while in game with other players in-game, waiting or in Impulse chat. Sometimes the actual developers are in here and
you can chat with them, or people from Stardock. |
|
#galciv |
Anything related to Stardock's popular "Galactic Civilization" game
series. |
|
#sins |
"Sin's of the Solar" Empire game chat. |
|
#elemental |
Chat about Stardock's new game "Elemental" in development. |
|
#joeuser |
Chat with other bloggers from Joeuser.com & Impulse. |
|
#wincustomize |
Talk to skinners from the famous WinCustomize.com site where you can
download thousands of free skins for your Windows computer. |
After clicking , you will see a lot of text scroll by quickly in the
status window. Then Impulse will automatically switch to the desired room
(i.e. #impulse). At the top of the window is the room name (i.e. #impulse) and
below that maybe a Topic of the Day. In the
center is where people chat with the time to the left of what they typed. Old messages scroll upward, so use the
vertical scroll bar to read past (old) messages. On the bottom of the chat window
is where you type in your message. Simply type it in and hit the <Enter>
key to send it. You will see your nickname (i.e. TheProf77) followed by what
you typed.
The chat window may seem busy with a lot of strange messages in different
colors, including people chatting. Some nicknames may seem strange
(e.g. [2of3], WR_Away), while others may be a variation of someone's real name (e.g. JennyT,
kimk). Here are some of the messages you might see and why they appear:
Action |
What you see in chat window |
|
Type "/me is shocked!" (without quotes), and
press <Enter>. |
TheProf77 is shocked! |
Right-click on a nickname
and
select "Slap!". This is meant in fun usually, with the herring being a reference to "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" movie. |
TheProf77 slaps qrush around a bit with a large herring. |
Right-click on nickname
and
select "Tickle!". |
TheProf77 tickles qrush until qrush cries uncle |
|
Seen when someone
joins the room. (/join) |
Joins: qrush (qrush!DoctorNick@irc.stardock.com) |
Seen when someone leaves the
server
(all rooms). (/quit)
(Using "/quit some message here" allows you to display a message after the "Quit:" like mittens did. Ex.: Quit: bbl) |
Quits: mittens (mittens!mittens@irc.stardock.com)(Quit: bbl) |
|
Seen when someone
leaves the room. (/part) |
Parts: jsmith (jsmith!~jsmith@*.somewhere.com) |
Typical chat message, simply type
"hi" and
press <Enter>. |
<TheProf77> hi |
Channel Operator "qrush" promotes
Channel User "Hippy" to a Channel Op.. |
qrush sets mode: +o Hippy |
The messages are color-coded so they stand out from other text so it is easier to read.
In addition to a message like "qrush sets mode: +o Hippy", you may see other messages
like "qrush sets mode: -o Hippy" (note the subtraction symbol in place of the plus sign),
which means "qrush" demoted "Hippy" from channel operator to channel user.
There are various codes in chat, but you can ignore them. At the top of the chat window you may
see something like "+rntPL" (without quotes) which is technical information regarding
that room. Most chat rooms have a Topic under the green bar at the top. This may be used to
pass on important information (e.g. Impulse is Here! -=(http://www.impulsedriven.com)=-.) or
something funny. Most rooms require a channel admin. (administrator) or operator to change the
topic (if a lower case "t" is seen in the title bar).
Some people use common Internet abbreviations when chatting, such as: FTW (For The Win / this
is the best), IIRC (If I Remember Correctly), IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), BBL (Be Back Later) and more. (For more
information on other abbreviations, check out the About.com site:
http://netforbeginners.about.com/cs/netiquette101/a/abbreviations.htm.)
Who is in the Room?
On the right of the chat window is a list of who is in the room with you. If a room has
different colored avatars, here is what they mean:
The Channel Admin. (orange) is the big boss who can do anything, followed by the Channel
Operator (or "op") (blue) who can remove (kick) a person from a room, mute them (so they cannot type messages),
etc.. The normal user has the role of Channel User (gray). You can also find the role a
person has by placing your cursor over the person's name in the list, and a popup will display their
nickname & role. If you find someone causing trouble in one of the chat rooms, report it to
either a channel admin. or channel operator. Some rooms may have a lot of people, but few chatting.
This is because people sometimes login, then may chat in other rooms, or are away and will return
later. Sometimes a person may change their nickname to show they are away, such as: KarmaGirl
becomes KarmaGone. Or Zoomba is changed to Zoomba_Away. Some people use a different IRC chat client (i.e. mIRC) than the one built into Impulse.
Rooms
On the left side of the chat area is a list of the room(s) you joined. When you first join
Impulse Chat, you will only see the status window at the top (i.e. irc.stardock.com) and the
"impulse" room below it. If you click on the status window, it will list various
system messages, including all of the text that scrolled by when you logged in. To view the
text that scrolled by, use the vertical scroll bar to scroll back through the messages. It
will include a list of other chat rooms, how many people are on the server, server host name,
how to join other channels (rooms), and more. Clicking on the down 
arrow next to the
status window in the list (seen below) allows you hide (or collapse) / un-hide (expand) the
rooms you joined.
You can join several rooms, but you can only view one chat room at a time. However, if you
miss something in another window you can scroll back. In the example (above), the green bar
shows which room is selected (i.e. stardock) viewed in the chat window. Any rooms that turn
red (i.e. impulse) mean that one or more people have typed in new message(s) since you left. Rooms that
remain black (i.e. sins) mean nothing has changed since you changed rooms.
You can hold a private conversation with another person in one of two ways:
- Right-click on their nickname in the list & select "Private Message".
A new window will open addressed to that person. To close it, either right-click on the
window (or name in the room listing) & select "Close" or type "/close" (without quotes).
- In any chat room, use the command: /msg nickname message.
Example: /msg mittens I enjoyed your blog. (where "mittens" is the nickname
of the person and "I enjoyed your blog." is the message.) You will see the message in the main chat window (i.e. >> *SlyFox* Hello) but no one else will see it. The person you typed the message too will have a new "private message" with your name appearing under the list of rooms on the left of their Impulse chat window. Clicking it, will open the private chat so they can read your message.
Tip: Clicking on a name in the chat area will select the name in the list of users on the right. Double-clicking the name will open a private message window to that person.
Chat Commands
There are a number of chat commands with some being on a right click menu and others you
have to type in. If you right click on a nickname in the right pane, a small menu will appear.
Two sub-menus are "Control" and "CTCP", as a channel user you only have
access to the CTCP options. The Control sub-menu is reserved for Channel Operators &
Channel Admin's. and will appear grayed out (inactive) to you.
List of commands in the right-click menu as shown above:
Command |
What it does |
|
GreenAway |
Name of the person you right-clicked on. |
|
Whois |
Displays information in the current chat window about this person.
Only you can see the listed information. Same as the "/whois"
typed command (without quotes). |
|
Private Message |
Opens a private chat room between you & the person you clicked on.
The other person will not see you opened private chat until you type in
something & hit your <Enter> key. Then they will see your nickname
in red added to their list of rooms on the left panel. Once they
click on your name, they can read your message. However, Impulse
will not let you know if the person read it. You will only know if
that person types a reply to you. |
|
Control (sub-menu) |
If you are ever granted Channel Operator status, you will be able to use
these commands: Op (promote a user to Channel Operator status), Deop
(demote Channel Operator to Channel User), Voice (this person can chat
even if room is moderated (shows a "+m" for room), Devoice (remove
ability to chat in moderated room), and Kick (remove user from room).
The Voice/Devoice options are rarely used on Impulse. |
|
CTCP (sub-menu) |
Client To Client Protocol (CTCP) is a method of sending short requests
to other users chat software (client), which may or may not return
information. Results of these commands are displayed in the status
window: Ping (time in milliseconds (ms) from the selected user to the
chat server), Time (the local time of the user), Version (name & version
of their chat software), Finger (gives more info. about a user, but it
is rarely used), Source (URL where the chat software can be obtained). |
|
Slap! |
Allows you to virtually slap someone in a funny way.
Displays "TheProf77 slaps qrush around a bit with a large herring." in
the chat window, where "TheProf77" is your nickname & "qrush" is the
user you clicked on. |
|
Tickle! |
Allows you to virtually tickle someone.
Display "TheProf77 tickles qrush until qrush cries uncle" in the chat
window, where "TheProf77" is your nickname & "qrush" is the user you
clicked on. |
The following table details a number of common chat commands that can be typed into: a chat room,
private message chat room or the status window. After typing each command, you must press the
<Enter> key on your keyboard.
Common Chat Commands
Command |
What it does |
|
/me |
Displays a message on the screen prefaced by your nickname.
Example: /me jumps up & down!
Seen in chat: TheProf77 jumps up & down! |
|
/nick |
Changes your nickname to something else, if the new nickname is not in
use.
Example: /nick TheRock
Seen in chat: TheProf77 is now known as TheRock
Some people use this to append "away" to their nickname to show they are away, eating, in a meeting, etc.:
Example: /nick TheProf77_away
Seen in chat: TheProf77 is now known as TheProf77_away. |
|
/join #roomname |
Allows you to join an existing room (channel) or create a new room if no
room by that name currently exists on the server.
Example: /join #stardock |
|
/quit |
Disconnects you from the Impulse chat server, removing you
from all chat
rooms. Using "/quit some message here" allows you to display a message after the "Quit:".
For example, typing: /quit See you later!
Displays: mittens (mittens!mittens@irc.stardock.com)(Quit: See you later) |
|
/msg nickname message |
With this you can send a private (one on one) message to another user.
The person does not have to be in the same room as you to send a private
message. When you send the message, it will appear in their room
listing as "private message" with your nickname & flash red until they
open the window (then it turns black).
Example: /msg greenreaper How are you today?
Seen in chat: ยป *greenreaper* How are you today?
Note: Even though you see this in the chat window,
no one else can see
it, except you. |
|
/part |
Leave the room you are currently in. This will remove the room
name from the room listing on the left side. This is different from changing to a different room to see what is going on there. This command will remove you from the room, so if you want to go back to it later you will need to /join it. |
|
/away |
Tells other users you are away from the
keyboard, however the message is not displayed in the chat room or status
window. If a user is using a different chat program , there is a
way to see the message, but it is not obvious. So a better way is
to use the /me command or change your nickname to include your status (i.e. TheProf77_away):
Example: /away Off to get something to eat.
Seen in chat: (nothing)
Example: /me is off to get something to eat.
Seen in chat: TheProf77 is off to get something to eat. |
|
/whois |
Displays information about the person, like how long they have been idle,
etc.. This information is only seen by you in the chat window, no one else can see it.
Example: /whois greenreaper
Seen in chat:
GreenReaper is GreenReaper@irc.stardock.com * Laurence Parry
GreenReaper on @#GalCiv @#impulse @#stardock @#demigod @#demigodgame
GreenReaper using irc.stardock.com Stardock IRC server
GreenReaper is an IRC Administrator
GreenReaper is a registered nick
GreenReaper has sensitive ears
GreenReaper has been idle 00:03:06, signed on Wed Apr 15 02:36:18
GreenReaper End of /WHOIS list
The first line tells his real name, second line lists what rooms he has joined, third line shows he is an administrator, fourth line shows it is a registered nick, so only he can use it. Fifth line says he has sensitive ears (swear words blocked), seventh line shows how long he has been idle and when he signed on. The last line simply states it is the end of the /WHOIS information. |
|
/msg nickserv help |
This will display instructions in your status window on how to register
your nickname with the chat server so other people cannot use it.
You can do this if the nickname is not already registered by someone
else. Registering is free, automated and requires a password.
If not used within 90 days, Nick Services (nickserv) will drop it and
anyone can register it. Nickserv is an automated program on the chat server.
Tip: If you changed from your registered name (i.e. TheOne) to something else (i.e. TheOne_away), then disconnected from the server and reconnected. You would not be prompted for a password, until you tried changing to your registered nickname (i.e. TheOne). If you were a channel operator, you may not be upgraded to ops (operator status) after entering your password for your registered nickname. If this happens, disconnect, then re-connect and your ops status will return. |
|
/pass <password> |
If you have a registered nickname on this IRC server, then you may at
times be required to enter the associated password. If you do not,
the chat server will automatically change your nickname after 60
seconds. This command can be entered in any room, though it is best to
type it in the status window. Because if you mistype the command
(e.g. pass mypassword) it will display it in the chat room! Notice
the slash "/" is missing in front of the "pass" command. Making this mistake will display your password to everyone in the room! |
Additional information on IRC chat commands can be found at: http://www.inspircd.org/wiki/Commands. IRC servers vary so you may find some commands either do not work or are disabled in Impulse chat. Not all users in Impulse chat rooms use Impulse to chat. Some people may use a dedicated IRC client program, such as: Mirc, IceChat, or others. Some users may chat through their IM (Instant Message) program (i.e. Trillian). Using the CTCP Version command (right click on their name) will display the name & version of their chat software in your status window.
Forums
The Impulse message forums are a great place to talk to other users about software sold by Stardock. You may find Stardock Support Staff, developers, employees and even the CEO (Brad Wardell, known as "Frogboy") in the forums & chat! You can post problems you are having with Stardock products in the Support forums and someone will reply. Or maybe you would like to talk with graphic artists who create skins on WinCustomize.com. Thousands of people use the forums from around the world everyday.
Impulse automatically logs you into the Forums which can also be viewed outside Impulse in a web browser at: http://forums.impulsedriven.com. Impulse makes it easier to use the forums, chat, blogs and other sites in one place.
Community Tab
The Community page (i.e. blogs) is organized into: Featured Articles, Popular Channels, Log In,
Latest Articles, Leading Blogs, Active Tags, Latest Comments, Leading Users and Popular Articles.
Near the top of the Impulse window, below the navigation bar is a menu with these options:
Action |
What it does |
|
<profile name> |
Displays the Impulse username (i.e. TheProf77) currently logged into the Impulse
Community website. If you have an Impulse blog, clicking your profile name (green link) will display information about your blog(s). |
| Home |
Clicking this will return you to the main Community page. |
|
Account |
Allows you to view/edit your Impulse account, including:
Profile - displays information such as: your real name, phone, address, website, other personal
information, gamers tag, instant message network ID's, etc..
Login - change username and/or password.
Images - avatar, personal, and desktop.
Options - include displaying your email address (not shown by default), and subscribe / unsubscribe to free mailing lists.
Registrations - lists purchased products with serial numbers, download
links, and end date (software subscriptions).
|
|
Friends |
A shortcut to your "Friends" page (same as "Friends" on sub-menu), which lists your friends on
Impulse and their activity. |
|
Create Your Blog Today! |
Create a blog for display on Impulse - you will be prompted for the blog site address, name and description.
(If you already have a blog, you will not see this option. Instead you will see the links "Blog"
(displays your blog) and "Manage Articles" in your blog.) |
| Blog |
Displays the blogs you have written on your Impulse based blog.
(If you do not have a blog on Impulse, you will not see this option.) |
| Manage Articles |
Lists the blog articles you have written with options to: View, Referrals, Edit and Delete the selected blog article.
(If you do not have a blog on Impulse, you will not see this option.) |
|
Forums |
A shortcut to the Impulse "Forums" tab (same as on the sub-menu) displaying
the forums page. |
|
Logoff |
On the far right, will log you out of the Impulse Community website. Log back in by entering
your Impulse login information (i.e. Username, Password) in the upper right
corner & clicking "Log In". |
Video Drivers
If you have either an ATI or NVIDIA video card in your computer, Impulse will determine which and display the appropriate tab. This allows you to download updated video drivers from the ATI or NVIDIA manufacture web sites via Impulse. Keeping current with the latest video drivers is important for playing games & using graphic software, so Impulse allows you to stay current easily. You can either let it determine what video card is installed or manually select from the pull-down menus which card you have. Even if you use the automatic method, it is best to know which card you have in case of an error.
If you have an ATI video card, your menu will include the ATI logo instead.
If you do not have either of these video cards, you will not see this tab on your menu.
