The chat box opens automatically and creates an account for you the first time you open surf. It has the same details as your main Hungry For Hits account. The chat box has tabs on top, one is the main Hungry For Hits chat room and one is the Food Game chat room, which can be found on many of the participating traffic exchanges. If you are a member of a team in the Team Surfing contest, your team will have a private chat room in it's own tab there. You can also close the entire chat box by clicking the red X in the top right corner of the chat.

Name, profile picture and password

By default, your chat username is your Hungry For Hits username, and your profile picture is automatically inserted from your current Gravatar. You can select a separate username and password for your chat account. Typically it would be a good idea to use your first name instead of your username. To change your chat display name, chat password or email, click the green Settings link at the top of the chat box. Add the information you want to use, then click "Save" and "Return to chat".

Chat messages and smileys

To send a message, enter a message in the text field at the bottom of the chat area and either press your enter key or click "Send". There is a 20 character limit for each individual word without a space, so if you would try to add a link it would be cut off. Regular conversations are not affected by this.

To see the available smileys, click the yellow smiley with a knife and fork above the "Send" button. A smiley list will open in a new window. To add a smiley in your message, you can either click the smiley image, copy the command next to the smiley image and paste it into your message, or type it directly. Just remember to type a : before and after the command for the picture to appear in your message. For example, a sun smiley would be typed :sun: and it would appear like this:

Translate chat

You can translate the chat messages into your own language if you use Chrome or another Chrome based browser. If so, just right click when you have the mouse curser in the chat area and select the translate option. The chat will stay translated until you turn the translate option off. To turn the translation off, do the same thing again and you will get a pop up where you can change the language back to English. Please note that whatever you write in the chat will not be automatically translated from your language to English - you must still write in English for others to be able to understand it.

Links on your name and picture

When you say something in chat, people will be able to click your name and see your Profile page. If they click your profile picture, they will see your Social profile and blog page. That means it's a good idea to add something about yourself there, even if you don't actively promote the page.

Team chat rooms

If you are in a team in the Team Surfing contest, your team will have a private chat room. It is located in the tabs on top of the chat box, and it has the same name as your team. Only the team captain and team members can see it. Team chat rooms have the same chat rules as the main chat. It't not allowed to share private rewards in the team chat (such as secret or time sensitive promo codes).

Rules

The chat is only a social feature for networking and entertainment, and you can not promote things in the chat. Common sense and site terms apply to chat, which means that it is not allowed to spam, insult, comment on race or post anything illegal. Talking about drugs, sex or politics is also highly inappropriate. Please read the Chat rules for the detailed list of rules if you are not sure. To report a member for breaking the chat rules, click the red Report link at the top of the chat box. Select the member and insert your reason for reporting the member, and the administrator will review it. Members may get blocked from the chat or have their account suspended for breaking chat rules.

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Chat smileys