Controlling logging (and FAQs)

To enable commands such as /undo and the search-and-replace feature, Partychat keeps a small log of recent messages said in the room (up to 10 for each member). However, we realize that not everyone wants even this form of limited logging, so we've added a preference on the room's web page (accessible at http://partychapp.appspot.com/room/<room name>) that lets you turn off logging:

You can also enable and disable logging by using the /togglelogging command in the room itself.

We also added an FAQ about what gets logged (not just by Partychat, but by Gmail and your chat client). We didn't actually have an FAQ until now, so we took this opportunity to also write up some of Partychat's more esoteric features, like the PlusPlusBot. If there's anything else that you find confusing about Partychat, feel free to get in touch (how to do that is...wait for it...also in the FAQ).

Fun with aliases

We've recently loosened up restrictions for aliases, so now nearly any Unicode character can be used in them, even a snowman:.

What you type: /alias ☃
What the room sees: 'frosty' is now known as '☃'

Combined with existing support for Unicode support in messages, this can lead to silliness:

What you type: /me <3s ❄
What the room sees: ☃ s ❄

And if you ever wonder who's hiding behind an overly clever alias, you can use the /who command.

What you type: /who ☃
What you get back: ☃ (frosty@gmail.com) (online)

P.S. More usefully, this means that non-Latin alphabet speakers can now use aliases with their preferred character set.