FAQ

If the answer you are looking for is not below, feel free to suggest in this article's discussion page.

How do I get an account?
Unline some other services, Jabber accounts can be registered direct through your client. Most clients will guide you through the creation of your account when you first install them. For more information, take a look at our quickstart guide.

What is a JID?
JID is the shorter term used for "Jabber ID". Your JID identifies you on the XMPP network. It is somewhat like an email address, though used for instant messaging instead.

What is the "Resource" setting for in my client?
Unlike many other messaging networks, XMPP allows you to use the same account and log on multiple times simultaneously. For example, you might have a client at home, one at work, and one on your mobile phone. Any or all of them can be connected at any one time. The resource is to identify each of these individual clients.

I forgot my password! How can I reset it?
You need to contact the administrator of your XMPP server. Contact details can usually be found on their website, if they have one. If (and only if) your login server is jabber.org then this follow this link for information on requesting a new password.

Does XMPP support chatrooms?
Yes! In XMPP these are known often as Multi-User Conferences, or 'MUCs' for short. Usually you will find the option to join rooms in the menu of your client. e.g. "Join chat" in Pidgin.

You may say hello to us in the jabber room on the conference.jabber.org server. The full address of the room would be [xmpp:jabber@conference.jabber.org?join jabber@conference.jabber.org] (link may be clickable if your browser and client support it).

How can I create my own room on the conference server?
The answer is simpler than you might expect... simply join any non-existant room, and it will be automatically created. You will be assigned ownership. If you need any help managing your room, feel free to ask questions in the [xmpp:jabber@conference.jabber.org?join jabber room].

Please save us some hassle and delete rooms you are no longer using (an option in most clients). Thanks!

I noticed that some of the chatrooms are logged -- can you log my room, too?
We do indeed archive the conversations in a few chatrooms -- see http://logs.jabber.org/ for a complete list. In general we don't like to turn on room logging, but if you ask really nicely in the [xmpp:jabber@conference.jabber.org?join jabber room] room, we might do that for you.

What are all these phrases like LOL and ROTFL?
Those are easy-to-type acronyms that are popular with IM users.