21 May 2008 - Quick Chat

Quick Chat:

This week brings the Quick Chat system - an optional method for chatting to players in RuneScape.

You may activate the Quick Chat system by clicking on your name in
the chat window or the speech bubble next to it. This brings up the
Quick Chat menu, which replaces your chat window. You may revert to the
normal chat system at any time by pressing 'Esc' or the 'X' in the
top-left corner.

The Quick Chat menu houses a list of requests, responses, greetings
and other commonly-used sentences. You can choose from these by
selecting them with your mouse or via shortcut keys. Once you have made
your selection, your character will say your chosen chat option.

In some areas of RuneScape, you can press 'F10' to bring up
'context-sensitive' chat. This is a list of chat options that varies
according to where you are or what you are training. You can then use
this menu to talk about subjects related to the area or activity. We
expect this to be particularly helpful in those situations where you
need to give team directions: in minigames like Castle Wars and Pest Control, for example, you will be able to suggest tactics at the touch of a few buttons.

We have also made Quick Chat available to muted players. We believe
that this is a more suitable action to take against those who have
previously abused the chat system. Additionally, Quick Chat can be used
to chat with players on German worlds, since the system will translate
whichever chat option you choose.

Due to the nature of Quick Chat, we cannot entirely predict how
players will use it or what players will want from it. So, we would
encourage any feedback that you have, to help us tailor the system to
your chatting needs. To offer feedback, please post on the official Quick Chat thread in the Suggestions Forum.

As we mentioned in this month's Behind the Scenes, Quick Chat is optional and an alternative to conventional chatting.
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Changes to the 'F' keys:

Quick Chat brings some slight alterations to the handy shortcut keys:

• F4 now opens your inventory (which was previously 'Escape').
  
• F9 opens the quick responses of your Quick Chat menu.
  
• F10 opens the context-sensitive menus of your Quick Chat menu.
  
• F11 repeats the last phrase you said using the Quick Chat menu.