Chat in Zent-IC: Community Chats and Private Messages

01Community chat or private chat?

Chat in Zent-IC gives you two ways to have a conversation. Community chat takes place in a shared channel where community members can talk about a common topic. Private chat is a direct conversation between two accounts. Both use a message composer, but they serve different purposes.

If you want to publish an update that people can discover in the timeline, use a post instead of a chat message. The Zent-IC Global timeline is a posting feed, not a shared General Chat room. For posting instructions, read Posting in Zent-IC.

02How to chat in a Zent-IC community

Community chat is designed for conversations among people who share an interest. New Zent-IC communities normally have a General Chat channel for messages and a separate Highlights channel for posts.

1. Open Zent-IC and sign in

   Use your account to access communities and send messages. If you are not signed in, complete the sign-in flow first.

2. Choose a community

   Select one you have joined, or use community discovery to find a suitable public group and join it. Private communities require the appropriate access.

3. Open General Chat

   Choose the chat channel rather than the post channel. The conversation history appears in the main message area.

4. Write and send a message

   Type in the field labeled Message... and use the send control. Other members with channel access can read and reply.

Use group chat for quick introductions, questions, suggestions and live discussion. If you need to share a longer announcement, a structured tutorial or a lasting update, the community's post channel may be more suitable. You can learn how the two channels differ in Communities in Zent-IC.

03How to start a private chat

Private messages, also called direct messages or DMs, let you talk to another registered user without opening a public community discussion. The Messages area lists your conversations, including previews and unread indicators when available.

1. Open Messages

   Select Messages in the Zent-IC navigation. This opens your private conversation list.

2. Start a conversation

   Use the new-message button and find the person you want to contact. You can also open a person's profile and select the message icon when it is available.

3. Write your first message

   Enter your text in the chat field and send it. Your conversation then appears in Messages.

4. Continue chatting

   Open the existing conversation to read replies or send another message. You do not need to create a new conversation every time.

If a profile does not show a message action, the person may have turned off direct messages. Zent-IC also requires an eligible signed-in account to create private conversations. You cannot start a DM with yourself.

04Chat tools: text, images and voice messages

Text messages

The chat composer accepts up to 500 characters per message. Keep a message clear and split a longer explanation into separate messages when appropriate. Avoid repeatedly sending the same message if the connection seems slow: Zent-IC includes protection against accidental duplicate sending.

Images and attachments

Use the image attachment control to add a picture when it is available. Review the attachment preview before sending. In a community, media may be disabled by the owner. Do not share somebody else's private photos without permission.

Voice messages

You can use the microphone control to record a short voice message where the browser supports recording and microphone access is granted. Recording is limited to about 30 seconds. If microphone access fails, check your browser's permissions or continue with a text message.

Chats update through the platform's live data connection. If your internet connection is interrupted, a locally displayed message should not automatically be treated as delivered to the recipient. Check for a sending error and retry only when necessary.

05Who can message you? Privacy and respectful chatting

You can control whether other people may contact you privately. In your Profile Settings, find Allow direct messages. Turn it off if you do not want to receive new direct-message requests from other members. When this preference blocks contact, Zent-IC prevents other users from opening or sending to your DM conversation through the normal interface.

Community chat is different: the community owner controls the group's permissions. A public community may be discoverable while its chat is restricted. A private community is not the same thing as a personal direct-message conversation.

• Be respectful. Do not spam, harass or repeatedly contact someone who does not want to chat.
• Protect personal information. Avoid sharing passwords, payment details or other sensitive data.
• Follow the rules. Community owners can restrict chat, images, links and sending frequency.
• Use the right space. Move personal discussions into DMs rather than sharing them with an entire community.

“Private chat” describes restricted conversation access; it is not a claim of end-to-end encryption. For information about data handling, see Privacy.

06Chat not working? Quick fixes

• The message field is unavailable: Make sure you opened a chat channel, not a post channel, and that you are signed in.
• Community messages are blocked: The owner may have disabled chat, allowed only the owner to write or activated Slow Mode.
• Private messages cannot start: Confirm the other person accepts DMs and that your account is eligible for messaging.
• A message will not send: Check the 500-character limit, your connection and any blocked-content notice.
• An image or link fails: Community permissions can disable media and external links.
• Voice recording fails: Give the site microphone access in the browser and use a supported browser.

If the problem continues, reload the conversation and check whether the message was actually delivered before sending it again. This helps avoid accidental repeated messages.

Frequently asked questions about chatting in Zent-IC

Quick answers to the most common questions about community conversations and private messaging.