Hey, everyone! Groupee has updated the chat room and now it works beautifully from any link in the GF house! The old Java applet and html forms are gone, replaced by a whole new FLASH format. It's sleeker, quicker and able to be used by PC and Apple users alike. Also, you won't find yourself getting cut off all the time like the old room.

Most of you will already have FLASH downloaded onto your computer (especially if like my sons, your kids play computer games). But if you find it doesn't work for you, you may just need to go to FLASH.com or click here for the free download of Macromedia Flash Player.

Here are just a few of the cool things this new chat room can do (oh, by the way if we grow to the point where we think we need them, we can have multiple chat rooms):

New Content Indicators (SOUNDS!)

When new content is posted to a chat room that does not have focus (that you are not looking at), the tab for that room will flash and a sound will play. Sounds can be disabled by the user.

Enhanced User Profiles

Clicking on a user name in the chat room roster provides more detailed information about the user, and display's the member's avatar.

User-Customizable Text Size and Colors

Users can now customize the color of the text used for their postings. This color is seen by all users. A users can also customize the size of the font used in the chat posting frame for all postings, as seen by the particular user. Changing the font size does not change the font size appearance for others.

Oh, and just for the silly thrill of it, I can now change the skin for the chat room to various different colors. For now, let's stick with cool blue, because we are cool after all.

Click on the CHAT link in the banner at the top of the page, or Click Here. Pop in often to see if anyone is there, but remember, we still have less than a hundred members so don't get discouraged. Just keep at it! I think I am going to start an ongoing thread in the forums called CHAT NOW, where we can post that we are in the chat room for whoever might stop by at the moment.

Also we will plan more regular chats starting this coming week, so keep your eyes and ears open, and thanks for being such fabulous dads!

See ya in the chat room!

Yours,
David

I am not young enough to know everything.
- Oscar Wilde