Communicating with other users
You didn't come all the way to the Metaverse to hang out by yourself! Learn how to communicate with other users using text chat, voice chat, and in-world email.
Overview
Every professional network starts with a single conversation—and Breakroom offers multiple ways to connect. Here you'll learn how to participate in public text chat, send direct text messages, access voice chat, and send in-world emails with attachments.
World Owners can enable or disable access to text chat and in-world email. If these features are disabled, users will only be able to communicate using voice chat.
Voice chat
Voice chat is available on a zone-by-zone basis. If you're in an area that permits voice chat, you will see a button that says Microphone Off at the top of your screen. Click on it, and its appearance will change to indicate that your microphone is now active. Alternatively, you can toggle voice chat by clicking the Microphone button located in the Settings toolbar.
You can learn more about voice chat by reviewing our conference system quick-start guide.
Text chat
To access text chat, click the Show Chat button located in the bottom toolbar. This will launch the Chat window. If there are multiple text chat channels available to you, you will see these listed as tabs across the top of the window. Once you've selected the channel you want to use, click on the text field at the bottom of the window and type out your message. You can then hit the Enter key on your keyboard or click the Send button to submit it.
Direct message
To send a direct text message to another user, click on their avatar and select Instant Message in the action menu that appears. A new tab will open in the Chat window labeled with that user's name. After typing out your message in the text field, you can hit the Enter key on your keyboard or click the Send button to submit it.
If you've added other users to your People list, you can direct message them at any time by clicking the People button and then clicking on their name. Select Chat in the action menu that appears, and a direct chat tab will open as described above.
You can also search for a user, open their user profile, and click the Chat button in their profile to start a direct text conversation.
In-world email
Breakroom's in-world email service allows you to send longform messages to multiple recipients. You can also distribute virtual objects, such as bookmarks and camera settings, by attaching them to in-world emails.
Receiving email
If you receive an email from another user, a pop-up message on your screen will alert you. Click on the envelope icon in the top toolbar to open the Mail window.
Here's a brief overview of the Mail window UI.
| Button or UI component | Function |
|---|---|
New Mail button | Opens the email composition window. |
Manage button | Allows you to select and delete multiple emails. |
Email preview | Opens the selected email. |
Reply icon | Starts a new email and auto-fills the recipient field. |
Trash icon | Deletes the relevant email. |
To open an email, click on the email preview in the Mail window. Once you're done reading, you can click the Delete button to delete the email forever, or click the Cancel button to return to the main window.
If an item is attached to the email, you can receive it by clicking the Accept It or Buy It button. If you don't want the item, you can close or delete the email without taking further action.
Sending email
There are multiple ways to send email within Breakroom.
Sending email to another user in the same Region
To send email to a user who is currently in the same Region as you, click on their avatar and then click Send Mail in the action menu that appears.
Sending email to a contact in your People list
You can also send email by clicking on the name of a contact in your People list, and then clicking Send Mail in the action menu that appears.
Replying to a received email
To reply to an email someone else has sent you, click the Reply icon in the Mail window.
Searching for an email recipient
If the user with whom you wish to communicate is located in another Region or is offline, you can use the search field in the top toolbar to search for their name. If you like, you can filter the search results by checking the User option under Refine Search.
Once you've found the right person, click on their name in the search results. The other user's profile will open on your screen. Click the Mail button, and an email composition window will open.
No matter the contact method you use, the email composition window UI is the same.
| Button or UI component | Function |
|---|---|
Back button | Takes you to the main Mail window. |
Recipient field | Lists the recipient(s) you wish to contact. |
Select More button | Allows you to select additional recipients. |
Content field | Contains the contents of your email. |
Open Inventory button | Allows you to attach virtual items to your email. |
Send button | Sends the email. |
Cancel button | Cancels the email and deletes your draft. |
Attaching items
You can also use in-world email to share virtual items with other users. To attach an item to your email, follow these steps.
Open the email composition window using your preferred method, as detailed above.
Click the Open Inventory button in the email composition window.
An Inventory window will open. Click on the item you want to send.
If you like, you can set a sale price for the item using either Silver or Gold currency. If you do this, there are two important things to keep in mind:
Breakroom will take 10% of the selling price as a fee for doing business on the platform.
If the other user declines to purchase the item, they will not receive it.
Once you're done composing your email, click the Send button.
If you don't want to sell the attachment, click the OK button to confirm your choice.
To accept an attachment, click the Accept It or Buy It button after opening the email.
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