Chat Overview
Chat Channels
New Chat Channel controls and functionality were added in patch 2.2 and are now available under the chat tab in the Social Window of the interface. The interface will now show the channels players are in or are available, depending on the area of the world they are in, along with new private channel controls.

Chat Log




In addition to chat messages from players in your immediate surroundings, the chat log also displays private messages from other players, guild messages, yells from other players, and any non-chat messages relating to your character development, such as notices for when you gain a level, earn a skill point, or acquire a quest. Only the last eight lines of messages are displayed, although you can view previous messages by using the scrolling arrow buttons to scroll up and down.

To jump back to the latest message, click the bottom arrow button next to the chat log; this button will flash to alert you of new messages that arrive while you are scrolling through previous messages.



Chat Button

The chat button is especially important because it houses all the commands for effectively communicating with other players in World of Warcraft. By clicking on this button, you have access to party and guild chats, private messaging of individual players, emotes, and voiced speech.

Many of these same chat options are also available through hotkeys or commands that you can type at the chat prompt. The chat button is found only above the scroll arrow buttons of the main chat window, which is labeled General by default.

Below is a listing of the options contained in the Chat Button menu and their corresponding chat commands:

Say /s
Party Chat /p
Guild Chat /g
Yell /y
Whisper /w
Emote (see below) /e
Reply /r
Language (allows you to choose which of your known languages your chat will be displayed in. Players who do not know your spoken language will see gibberish with a label indicating what language you are speaking in.)
Voice Emote (see below)
Macro (opens the Macro interface) /macro
Placing your cursor over Emote opens a sub-menu of emotes that are accompanied by a character animation and sound:
/applaud, /beg, /bow, /chicken, /cry,
/dance, /eat, /flex, /kiss, /kneel,
/laugh, /point, /roar, /rude, /salute,
/shy, /sit, /sleep, /stand, /talk, /wave
Placing your cursor over Voice Emote opens a sub-menu of emotes that are accompanied by character dialogue and animation:
/attacktarget, /bye, /charge, /cheer,
/congratulate, /flee, /flirt, /followme,
/healme, /hello, /helpme, /incoming,
/no, /nod, /oom, /openfire, /rasp,
/silly, /thank, /train, /wait, /welcome
Combat Log
The combat log displays your actions and the actions of other nearby players, NPCs, and creatures. Combat, purchases, item creation, experience awards, or other activities are recorded in this combat log. The actions of monsters and other players appear in different colors to distinguish them from your actions.
The arrow keys to the right of the combat log let you scroll up and down to see previous actions. To jump back to the latest action, click on the bottom arrow key. The bottom arrow button will flash to alert you of new messages that arrive while you are scrolling through previous messages.

Chatting
Your window for chatting is your chat log, which is located in the lower left area of your screen, above the Action Bar.


Channels

The messages displayed in your chat log are from all chat channels you have joined in the current zone. A number and channel name in brackets precede every channel message. The name is the chat channel that the message originated from, and the hotkey number corresponds to that channel. By default, whenever you enter a zone, you automatically join the zone's General, LocalDefense and LookingForGroup channels, also called server channels. When you leave a zone, you automatically leave its associated server channels. The Trade channel only exists inside major cities, such as Stormwind City and Orgrimmar. You will automatically join and leave the Trade channel or such a zone in the same way as other server channels.
To see a list of all channels in the zone and their corresponding hotkey numbers, type /chatlist or /chatinfo.

Joining and Leaving Channels
To join a channel, type /join followed by the full name of the chat channel. For example: /join trade

To leave a channel, type /leave followed by the full name of the channel you wish to exit. For example: /leave lookingforgroup

Alternatively, you can leave a channel by using the hotkey number that it is assigned to. For example: /leave 1

Creating a Channel
To create a channel, type /join followed by the name of the channel you wish to create. If no channel by that name exists, one will be created for you. Others can then join your channel with the join command.

Channel UI
You can pull the list of players in a channel out of the Chat Channel windows and into the gamefield by clicking and dragging the channel name onto the gamefield. This list will show all the players in the channel sorted by voice chat status.

Chat Modes

There are different types of chat. Pressing the Chat Button next to the log shows you these different options. Simply click on the desired chat type to begin chatting in that manner, whether it is yelling, guild chatting, or whispering. You can also bypass the Chat Button by pressing the Enter key to pull up the chat prompt and then typing / followed by the appropriate chat command or hotkey.
/Say
Say broadcasts your chat to all players in your vicinity. This is the default chat mode. You can also type /s at the chat prompt to begin saying a message if your chat prompt is set to a different chat type.

/Party
Party chat only chats with members of your party. Use this chat to speak with your party members without cluttering the chat window of other players. You can also type /p to begin a party message.

/Guild
Guild chat broadcasts a message to all people in your guild, no matter where they are. You can also type /g to begin a guild message.

/Officer
Officer chat broadcasts a message to all Officers in your guild, no matter where they are. You can also type /o to begin an officer message. The Guild Master can change who can see and who can send Officer messages.

/Yell
Yell broadcasts a message to players in a very large area around your character. The chat message appears red by default in everyone's chat window, making it stand out. You can also type /y to yell a message.

/Whisper
Whispering sends a private message to one player. Unlike other chat types, you must specify a player to whisper to. After clicking the whisper command or typing /w at the chat prompt, type the name of the player you wish to whisper to. Then type your message. Whispers cannot be sent to players in the opposing faction.

/Tell
A tell is functionally equivalent to a whisper. Both send a private message to a single player. You can also send a tell by typing /t followed by the name of the intended recipient and your message. Tells cannot be sent to players in the opposing faction.

/Reply
If a player sends you a whisper or tell, you can reply to that player either by choosing Reply from the Chat Button menu or by pressing r.

Chat Memory
By default, when you hit the Enter key to pull up the chat prompt, your chat will be a /say message. However, if you send a different type of chat, such as "/party," the next time you pull up your chat prompt, you will still be in party chat mode. The chat prompt remembers your last chat mode and stays there until you specify a new one. **NOTE** Chat Memory applies to Guild, Say and Party channels only. . .