Jabber instructions
From DPCanadaWiki
Jabber is an instant messaging system that is open-source, with philosophy much like PG and DPC. See Jabber.org for details. You can use any jabber server in the world to talk to anybody on any other or same server.
"Jabber" is the name of a communication protocol. It is not the name of the program you use, or of the connection. It's just a way of sending msgs and chatting, directly. All you need to jabber, is a jabber client and then to use it to register your own, unique Jabber ID with a Jabber server. It is a good idea to register with more than one server, as they occasionally go down, and then you have a backup.
Jabber clients:
- Psi is the most frequently used PC client. Try it on first.
- Fire is the most robust MacOS X client.
- Exodus is the original Jabber client, but can get confusing.
- TipicIM is pretty-looking.
Multiple IM protocol clients can connect to Jabber or other protocols.
- Gaim is available on Linux and Windows.
- Trillian Pro currently costs $25, and is available on Windows only.
- Kopete is available on various Linux distributions.
- Miranda IM is available on Windows only.
- iChat AV is bundled free with the system software on every MacOS X system. It can use multiple chat protocols, including Jabber.
If you have a LiveJournal, then you automatically have a Jabber ID that will let you join the pgdp conference, no need to register. Details
Once you have registered (and for some reason the servers can be really picky about registering, just keep trying different usernames and different servers, username@server being the form of your ID, the thing that you try to register, and it will happen suddenly, as rather an anticlimax!) you simply make sure you're Online in your Jabber client, and then Add Contacts, other people whose Jabber ID's you know (e.g. people from the list of PGDP Jabber IDs).
If someone is online when you Add them to your list (ask for Authorization, as that protects privacy), then they can authorize you straight away and you can start chatting. If your program has said that it has Requested Authorization, and you don't get an answer straight away, don't keep asking, as the acceptance will come through when that person is online again. I had one person Add herself three times to my roster! Very thorough. :)
Contents |
Jabber & Psi Setup Instructions
To connect to the PGDP Conference, here's the hookup.
- Download Psi from their main web site: http://psi-im.org/ The file is about 3MB.
- Install the program on your PC.
- The first thing you will do is ADD ACCOUNT.
- Enter “Name”. Follow the instructions in the left hand side text box.
- Check the “Register new account” box.
- Click on the “Add” button at the bottom.
- A new window will open called “Account Properties”. The first tab within that window is “Account”.
- Jabber ID. Here you will select a unique User ID, such as your DPC User Account name, and add the address of Jabber. Your entry should look like this:
user@jabber.org - Select a password.
- Select any special Settings boxes that you prefer.
- Click on the “Save” button.
- Jabber ID. Here you will select a unique User ID, such as your DPC User Account name, and add the address of Jabber. Your entry should look like this:
- On the small Psi window (usually to the left of the Account Properties window), at the bottom, click the button that says “Offline”, and select “Online” with the yellow star. This little control window allows you to select your “status”.
- Next, select the Details tab.
- Select the Edit Personal Details button.
- Enter your General information, Work information, Location, About, etc.
- NOTE: If you try and add a photo or avatar, and Publish and an image that is too large, the SERVER WILL DISCONNECT you from Psi/Jabber, and your status from “Online” will change to “Offline”. You will then have to:
- Select a smaller image, or
- Edit that image to make the size smaller, AND
- Once again, on the main Psi chat window, select the Offline button, and select the ONLINE icon to re-connect.
- Select the Publish button, and you will receive a confirmation in a little window.
- If you have done all the following successful .. congratulations .. you did much better than I. It took me 7 hours to figure all this out.
- Next, being online and connected you will be using the Psi window to configure a connection with PGDP. Here goes…
- On the lower left Psi window, click on the little Psi symbol/icon.
- Select the “Join Chatgroup” icon.
- Host = conference.jabber.org
- Room = pgdp
- Nickname = your nickname (or DP username).
- Click on the “Join” button.
- Ta-daa! There you are!!!
If there is anything out of sequence, or wrong here with these instructions, please feel free to correct it. Thanks...
pc.godfather 21:26, 1 November 2006 (EST)
Your Roster
You can manage your roster very easily, Rename people, Add them or Delete them, and choose to have an individual Message window for each comment (a bit laborious for ongoing conversation) or a Chat window. In your overall Preferences and Options, you will want to choose things that will suit you. Experiment with your options until you feel comfortable with them.
The explanations on the Psi site are very good, so I won't repeat all they say here.
To summarize the process:
- Read this article, and the Psi documentation above, as a good introduction.
- Download a Jabber program for your platform.
There are several different clients (programs) for each OS (operating system): here are lists of Windows, Linux and Mac OS clients at www.jabber.org. Different clients have different capacities: check yours does groupchat so you can join the DP groupchat. You may also want transports so you can talk to friends on other IM (Instant Messaging) networks like AIM, MSN, ICQ or Yahoo. Other features may come in handy.
Different clients work better for different people's setups, or suit different people's styles better. Most people have found Psi an excellent client. If you want the capability to change things in a muc (multi-user chat) room, Psi does not quite yet have that (it will be available in version 0.9.3 or 0.9.4); others recommended include Exodus and JAJC for Windows, and Gaim and Tkabber for Linux. Psi is currently the most capable client for Mac OS, and new versions of it are coming out weekly. - Set it up, choose Online, then try to start a New Account, choosing your Jabber ID (mynickname@jabber.org for example), and keeping trying until you get a server which accepts your registration. Check the list of servers worldwide at [1], as not all servers support groupchat, for example.
- Once you are registered, the best thing to do is join the groupchat (see next section). You could also add a Contact, one person whose Jabber ID you know, e.g. one of the people from the list below. Request authorization to protect our privacy. Jabber is private chat.
- Once that person has accepted, whenever you are both online (your Jabber client will show who is online, in your roster; Psi does this with a gold star), you can double-click on that person's name to start a chat!
- You can chat to several people in several different windows, if you like.
Groupchat
You can also groupchat, on a server which supports it, such as jabber.org.au. We have started a groupchat for DP at
pgdp@conference.jabber.org
So you Join Groupchat, put in conference.jabber.org for the Server and pgdp for the Room, and your Jabber ID for you, and a Nickname if you prefer, and away you go, the groupchat window will open if the server is online.
Some programs don't allow you direct access to a groupchat such as ours, because it is not listed on the server (to avoid too many drop-ins). If you can't join for this reason, please jabber directly with another DPer, who will arrange entry for you.
For any queries or problems, ask at the groupchat, or privately to one of the people listed below. If Jabber isn't working for you at all, ask via email or PM. Everyone's managed to get where they want so far, and we don't want you to have hassles.
Groupchat Room
Different rooms have been set up for different purposes, mainly to avoid flooding the main groupchat room. Remember that you can be in more than one room at a time!
pgdp@conference.jabber.org - This is the main groupchat. Always join this room first!
pgdppr1@conference.jabber.org - This is a chatgroup for Round 1 Proofreaders to get help and general proofing advice!
pgdpgrentor@conference.jabber.org - This is the room used for grentoring (Group Mentoring).
pgdpdev@conference.jabber.org - This is a room for development talk, and walkthroughs.
pgdpgropp@conference.jabber.org - This is a room for Group Post-Processing..
DPSPanish@conference.jabber.org - This is a bi-lingual room for proofing in Spanish at both PGDP and DP-EU.
dpeu_mentor@conference.jabber.org - This is a room for coordinating mentor efforts at DP-EU.
Troubleshooting
If you are disconnected from the groupchat and can't reconnect:
- Try a direct chat with another DPCer to check what's happening
- Try to log on from another ID on another server. It is particularly useful to have 2 Jabber IDs, e.g. Tweety@jabber.org and TweetyBird@jabber.org.au because jabber software is still reaching stability, and servers go down occasionally. When one is down, another is generally up! Have two strings to your bow....
- Try the alternate chat room (typically at pgdp@conference.jabber.dk)
Join us!
Jabber is fun, it's easy once you're registered, and it offers great opportunities for us in personal sharing, group support and quick information. It's particularly useful when DPC is down or slow, and encourages group activity (e.g. group proofing, "groofing" selected texts, which has pushed some sticky ones through remarkably fast) which takes away so much of the loneliness of the long-distance proofer. We're there, we're here, and we're enjoying ourselves. C'mon in!
