Hi Amber

Chat isn't used a lot, and many users (who have it turned on in the options) don't respond when you click for a chat. They probably leave their LW's running overnight.

Chat windows also seem to get a low priority. If a host is busy with uploads, a chat window is likely to get ignored. There are many more such times when chat just doesn't work,

Still, even though the chat stuff is unpredictable, I have woken up occasionally to see a message commenting on my shares, or maybe even a thank-you. Those are rather nice to see (well, better than someone laughing at my shares )

And rarely, I'll get into a live chat.

So: chat sucks, but when it works with a decent host, can be rather fun.

The key is to make sure you can receive incoming connections. In the search pane, see where it says "Direct Connect" beside the "What's New" search?

If you click on Direct Connect and your IP address shows in the instructions above the box, you can accept incoming connections. Firewalls and routers usually block incoming connections, and so chat is mostly blocked too.