How do I?

Hey all - this isn't a question, it is an answer.

Kiwiwriters have set up a chat room where everyone can go and get encouragement, word war or find a story idea, all in real time.

Here we go:

For Windows and Linux Users
This consists of 3 steps
1) downloading a Jabber capable IM client, installing and running it
2) creating a Jabber.org account
3) Joining the kiwiwriters chat room

1) downloading a Jabber capable IM client

We recommend the Pidgin instant messenger client at http://pidgin.im
Download the client, it's about 13 Megabytes or so.

Once you have installed it, start it up and get ready to create your jabber account:

2) creating a Jabber.org account
With Pidgin:
From the "Accounts" menu, select "Add/Edit"
press the "Add" button at the bottom.
You get an "add account" window
in the "Login options" select:
Protocol: XMPP (this is jabber)
Screen name: your choice (this is what you will look like to everyone else)
Domain: jabber.org
Resource: home
password: your choice (it will create the account from scratch with the password you choose)
Local alias: your choice (this is what you see on you screen - can be left blank)
You might want to tick the "remember password" tick or not, so you don't have to remember later
Press the "Register" button at the bottom

You now have a jabber account.

3) Joining the kiwiwriters chat room
With Pidgin:
From the "buddies" menu, select "Join a chat" (selecting "+ add a chat" will add it just like a buddy - all the data to fill in is identical in both cases)

You get a "Join a chat" window
From "Account", select the jabber.org/Home account you created in step 2
Room: kiwiwriters
Server: conference.jabber.org (should be populated)
Handle: your "screen name" from step 2 (should be populated)
Password: your "password" from step 2

Press the "join" button
The Pidgin chat window should open, and the kiwwriters chat room should be a tab in that window.

NOTE: Pidgin also does MSN, AIM, Yahoo, ICQ as well as Jabber and many more protocols. I used it for all of those so I can keep track of friends on all of those IM's without downloading all the different client programs.

For Mac OS. i.e. OSX
I don't have a mac to test on, but have downloaded 2 working clients that work on both Mac and Windows.

In general, setting them up is easy and you can pretty much follow the Pidgin instructions above.

The two that I've user were:
Psi at http://psi-im.org/
and Coccinella at http://www.thecoccinella.org/

Of the two, I prefer Coccinella over Psi.

Also, Pidgin WILL install on OS X, but only as a Posix application, and requires extra libraries. Without a Mac to test on, I can't say more. It also will not look like a native Mac application.

If someone is willing to play on their Mac, I would be grateful, as we could include everyone in the chats.

Good luck all!

Travis.
--
http://cottreau.blogspot.com
http://cottreaureviews.blogspot.com/

To those who already have Gmail accounts, GTalk can already 'talk' in Jabber, therefore you won't need to sign up for a new account on a Jabber server :-)

We chose Jabber for a few reason, but two main ones:

1) because it is an open standard and therefore any Jabber server can talk to any other (like GTalk for instance). You also get to choose which client you use.

2) The majority of you who have signed up at KiwiWriters already have Gmail (at 35%, for comparison, Hotmail is 24%, Yahoo! 12% - the rest is fairly random).

Hopefully at some stage in the future, openess will happen in the IM world and AIM, MSN and Yahoo! will also speak Jabber.

Hopefully next year we'll have our own Jabber server but let's wait and see :-)

Andrew Chilton - http://kapiti.geek.nz/

Hi Guys, you are probably in the chat room. I can get in, but can't send message.
It's like listening to other people's conversation, and can't join in.

http://gay_belle.livejournal.com

The Zing Thing: "The Makeover."

'Southern Scriber.'

Hi gaye, we saw you join but I figured you couldn't send any messages.

We can try and help, but let us know which client you are using. Is it Pidgin? Or something else?

Andrew Chilton - http://kapiti.geek.nz/

Hi Andy, I did pidgin, following cottreau's instructions. Could tune in but the send tab wouldn't come up.:(

http://gay_belle.livejournal.com

The Zing Thing: "The Makeover."

'Southern Scriber.'

I don't use Pidgin myself, but you did most of the hard work to get into the room. Shame it wouldn't send. Maybe Travis can help or someone else who uses Pidgin can shed some light on it.

The best thing to do would be to find a Pidgin tutorial, or even a screenshot so we know what we're looking at. Hopefully, someone will figure it out.

Andrew Chilton - http://kapiti.geek.nz/

Never mind, I've got msn but that plays up at times.
Sometimes technology has too much information. Needs to be simpler, for this old brain. :)

http://gay_belle.livejournal.com

The Zing Thing: "The Makeover."

'Southern Scriber.'

Sorry I didn't see this earlier.

The "Send" tab doesn't need to be up, usually "enter" works fine... weird that you couldn't send.

Still - I'm pretty sure we'll be using it on-going, so try it again if you like.

Travis.
--
http://cottreau.blogspot.com
http://cottreaureviews.blogspot.com/

Never mind travis, was a change for me to keep my trap shut, for a while.:)
Going to go over my story and improve it somewhat. It is a sort of biography so may bundle it up into a transcript and turn it into a personel christmas present to family members, as it relates to when we were growing up.

http://gay_belle.livejournal.com

The Zing Thing: "The Makeover."

'Southern Scriber.'

Easy instructions for creating gmail/gtalk account with pidgin.

How to configure Pidgin for Google Talk.

No Excuses. Just Write.

This is for all you OSX users, yes I know you're out there, come and join the Kiwi Writers chatroom. This is how (I'm sure there are other solutions, but this is the one I used):
Click here and download Adium, it's about 20MB.
Install & open
Open preferences, click the 'Accounts' tab (it may automatically go there) and click the plus sign in the bottom corner (this should be standard practise for you, it's very macish) and go up to "Jabber".
If you already have a Jabber account enter your ID & password.
If not enter what you want them to be and click "Register New Account". (ID = xxxx@jabber.org) It will ask you what your XMPP server is, the answer: .jabber.org (it's in the list provided). Then confirm your details. If Adium says there's an error I think that means the ID you chose is already in use.
Cruise through the remains of the tabs of your new account details and set them as you desire.
Click "OK" then close prefs.
Up to "File" then down to "Join Group Chat..."
Chat Room Name = kiwiwriters
Server & Handle should already be filled.
Enter your password and leave the last two boxes blank.
Now you should be in :D.
Once you've got it working in Aduim you can then go to iChat. Same basic process for setting up your account (but you can't create a new Jabber from iChat) then go "File" "Go to Chat"
Service = Jabber
Chat name = kiwiwriters@conference.jabber.org


I hope this made some sense, ask if you have any questions.
RedFox

"Art is never finished, only abandoned." - Leonardo Da Vinci