Chat Host Training Reference

Today you joined a special group of iVillagers. By completing the iVillage Chat Host Training, you have joined the team of Community Leaders who also host many of iVillage’s wonderful chats.

Your Role as an iVillage Chat Host 
You are an iVillage ambassador now.  There are certain responsibilities that go with that role.  None of these responsibilities are difficult.  In fact, you probably already do some of these things, that is why you were asked to become an iVillage Community Leader in the first place.

1.  Be Gracious and Welcoming to all Chatters: Try to log in for your chat a couple minutes early.  This will give you a minute to get settled in and prepared for your chat.  If you arrive to your chat a couple minutes early, and there is another chat going on in the room, be courteous of the other chat host and do not start your chat until the previous chat has ended.  

Always welcome your chat guests with a smile. :)  Your winning attitude will set the tone for your chat.  Be sure to thank the chatters for attending your chat and say goodbye to them at the end of the chat.  Encourage them to join you the next week.  Your chatters will count on you being there week to week, so please do try to attend your chat. 
 
Please let your CM know if you are unable to host your chat.  With proper notification, a substitute chat host may be able to be scheduled in your absence.

2.  Try to include everyone in the chat: Try to make everyone feel comfortable in your chat.  You may find a group of core chatters who attend your chat regularly.  You may also have a newbie roam into your chat.  Do your best to include the new person in your chat.  Remember, he or she may become your next “regular”.

3.  Know how to find help if necessary: If you have a troublemaker in your chat, please email pboards@mail.ivillage.com.  Remember the protocol for dealing with troublemakers.  Encourage the chat to stay on topic even though the troublemaker is there.  Remember how to use the IGNORE feature and explain that feature to your chat attendees.

4.  Make the chatters aware of what iVillage has to offer: There are a lot of great resources at iVillage, and your knowledge of these resources will only enhance your ability to host effectively.  Get to know iVillage, especially areas that relate to your chat.

· Terms of Service -   http://www.ivillage.com/about/0,,qr4p,00.html

· Message Boards - http://www.ivillage.com/messageboards

·  Feedback - http://www.ivillage.com/support/0,,qk3w,00.html

5.  Submit your chat reports: Remember to submit timely chat reports.  These chat reports are used to gather information about what chats are working and what chats may need some extra promotion or maybe a time slot change.  This is also a good way for you to keep in contact with your CM.

Popups
One of the easiest ways to greet your chatters is by creating a “popup”.  Popups are also great ways to store any pertinent information that you may need to distribute to chatters.

Popups are very helpful when running a scheduled chat; these can be made simply in a .txt file that you can keep for handy reference when in chat to copy and paste from. You can make one of these by clicking your start button, programs, accessories, notepad or wordpad. 

Create a pop-up to welcome your chatters as they enter.  Use the room name, the chat name, your name (introducing yourself as host), and your topic for the week.  You may also want to include  "If you are interested in casual chat, please visit the iVillage Lobby".

Example: 
cmshari welcomes you to the Pregnancy & Parenting Channel and the July 2004 Playgroup chat!  Today's topic is TOYS  - What toys do you buy for your child?  Which do you recommend?  If you are interested in casual chat, please visit the iVillage Lobby  :o)

This helps all chatters who are entering the room make the decision if this will be the "chat for them". Using a pop-up to welcome your guests with this easy-to-read information also helps keep the room focused on your specific topic for that week.  Remember to use this strictly as a welcome, your visitors expect you to lead and join in on the conversation.

To paste your pop-up into the chat room, you will need to copy the text and then hit CTRL and V to paste it into the room where you normally would type.

Troublemaker Protocol
Remember, iVillage has specially trained Moderators to deal with troublemakers.  If you find yourself in a chat, and a troublemaker happens to come to your room, follow these steps:

Please post this for your members: 
If you are ever in a chat room, and a chatter is bothering you, you can put them on ignore by clicking on the member name and selecting Ignore. To stop ignoring any user, right click on her member name and select Unignore. 

Please make a note of the exact spelling of the Troublesome Chatter's name, the name of the room you are in, as well as the time in ET

Private message the troublemaker telling her that she is violating the Terms of Service, and include a link to TOS. (Create a pop-up prior to starting your chat so you will have it handy if you need it.)

o   To private message there are a couple of options to do this...

To send a private message to another member, click on her member name, and then select Private Message. Private messages are messages that are visible only to the sender and the recipient. 

You can also whisper a message to another user in the chat room by clicking on her member name and selecting Whisper. Enter your message into the box at the bottom of the chat window, then click the Whisper button, located under the smiley faces. Your whispered message will appear in the main chat window, but only the person you've selected will see it. 

     This information can always be found by using the Help button at the top right-hand of your chat screen.

·    If the behavior (swearing, inappropriate jokes, whatever) persists, you will need to contact P&P Staff at pboards@mail.ivillage.com.  I am also available M-F from 10am until 5pm ET.  You can email us at chatedits@mail.ivillage.com or instant message Shari at cmshar. Please include the name of the room the trouble happened in, the time, the name of the offending chatter as well as any other information you feel may be needed. AIM can be downloaded at http://www.aim.com. 

When troubles are reported, a staff person will come in and regain control of the situation. After they have gotten the information necessary from you, they will take care of the troublemaker. Please just attempt to keep your chatters on topic and let the staff handle it, they will issue all warnings in Private message.

All talking to the staff person in regards to troublemakers should be done in private message as well please.
 

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