Chat Room Etiquette: 15 Unwritten Rules

1. Read the last few messages before posting.
2. Stay roughly on topic.
3. Reply to people, not into the void: use @handle.
4. Short messages beat walls of text.
5. No all-caps; it reads as shouting.
6. No spam or repeated messages.
7. No self-promotion or links unless the room allows it.
8. Tag spoilers.
9. Do not share anyone's personal information, including your own.
10. Take arguments to 1-on-1, or drop them.
11. Welcome newcomers.
12. Do not ask for age, sex or location.
13. Do not DM people who did not invite it.
14. Report rule-breakers instead of fighting them.
15. Leave gracefully; no need to announce it.

Hate, harassment, sexual content, spam, scams, doxxing and anything involving minors. See the Community Guidelines.

Most people read before they post. There is no rule that you must speak.

A 1-on-1 chat is a conversation; a room is a shared space. When one person spams, shouts or picks fights, everyone's experience gets worse and regulars leave. Good room etiquette is less about politeness for its own sake and more about keeping the room worth visiting.

Read before you post. Thirty seconds of reading tells you the topic, the tone and the in-jokes. Jumping in with something unrelated gets ignored.

Reply to people. Use @handle so the person knows you're talking to them. Rooms move fast, and unaddressed replies get lost.

Keep messages short. Several short lines are easier to follow than one wall of text, and they give others room to respond.

No all-caps. It reads as shouting in every culture.

Spoilers get tagged. In anime, movie and sports rooms, warn people before giving away endings or results.

Keep arguments short. A disagreement is fine; a ten-message fight ruins the room. Agree to disagree or move to a 1-on-1.

No self-promotion. Your channel, server or shop does not belong in a general room.

Never share anyone's details, including your own. That includes screenshots of other people's messages.

Rooms survive because new people stay. If someone says hi and gets no answer, they leave. A simple "Hey, welcome! We're talking about the new season" keeps the room alive.

Hate, harassment, sexual content, spam, scams, sharing personal information, and anything involving minors. Moderators can warn, mute, ban for a period or ban permanently. See the Community Guidelines.

Don't feed it. Report the message, block the person if needed, and carry on. Arguing with a troll gives them exactly what they want.

Read the last 20 messages, find a thread you can add to, reply to a specific person with @handle, and keep it short. Introducing yourself with a question ("Anyone watching the match?") works better than "hi all".

Don't reply. Trolls want attention, and a room full of replies gives them exactly that. Report the message, block the user, and carry on the real conversation. Moderators handle the rest.

• Welcome newcomers and answer their questions.
• Keep threads on topic.
• Share useful links only where allowed.
• Report problems instead of starting arguments.
• Leave without drama.

Break long thoughts into two or three short messages, use line breaks rather than walls of text, quote or tag the person you're replying to, and use emojis to show tone.

Some etiquette is polite habit; some is enforced. Harassment, hate, sexual content, spam, scams and sharing personal information break the Community Guidelines and lead to bans.

Old internet manners still work: assume good intent, don't feed trolls, keep caps lock off, don't spam, and remember there's a real person behind every handle. Most room problems come from forgetting the last one.

If you've been in a room for a while, help set the tone: welcome newcomers, answer repeated questions kindly, and report rather than argue. Rooms take on the personality of their regulars.

Room: "Anyone watching the new season?" You: "@MoonFox yes! Episode 3 was wild. No spoilers, but that ending?"

Specific, friendly, on-topic and spoiler-safe. That's the whole formula.

If you're trusted in a room, model the behaviour you want: welcome people, keep threads on topic, and escalate problems through reports rather than public call-outs. Calm rooms attract good people.

"Is anyone here?" (Usually yes; post a question.) "How do I DM someone?" (Send a friend request; both must accept.) "Why was my message blocked?" (Links and personal details are filtered for safety.)

Treat every handle as a real person having their own day. If you wouldn't say it to someone's face in a café, don't post it in a room. That single rule covers almost every situation the other fifteen rules describe, and it's why the best rooms feel welcoming even to complete strangers.

Moderators look at patterns, not single messages: repeated off-topic spam, pile-ons against one user, or someone repeatedly fishing for personal details. Being a good room member means avoiding those patterns, and reporting them when you see them, rather than joining in.

International rooms mix people with different norms. Some cultures are more direct, others more formal. Assume misunderstandings are accidental, ask before taking offence, and avoid jokes that rely on stereotypes.