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More than 16,000 people of all ages meet up daily on bbc.co.uk to talk in safe, monitored spaces either in real time or to leave a message which others can read later.
bbc.co.uk/talk provides a doorway to several different kinds of communicating methods such as Chatrooms, Ask Online, Message Boards, H2G2 and BBC News' Email pages.
About CHATROOMS
About Ask Online (celebrities and experts)
About MESSAGEBOARDS
About H2G2
About TALKING POINT and SPORTS TALK (NEWS and SPORT)
About BBC INFORMATION
About Online Safety
About bbc.co.uk/talk
CHATROOMS
These are screens on which you can read and join in with conversations being typed by up to fifty other people from all over the country.
To take part, type your comments into a text box at the bottom of the screen, then press the 'enter' key. Your words appear instantly in the room for all the other chatters to read and reply to, thereby building up the conversation.
The Chatrooms are open for a few hours at a time, and are usually themed around certain topics to help focus the discussions. You'll also find a 'moderator' present – a BBC member of staff who makes sure things are going well. The BBC Chatrooms sometimes have experts invited to join in too, to give advice or information. Some rooms might also receive the latest news or sport headlines.
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Ask Online
These are daily events in which celebrity or expert guests stay online for up to an hour in order to answer your questions. These appear onscreen and the guest's answers will be typed in.
You will see ALL of your own questions, and the questions from others the guest is going to answer. Often you will also be able to see and hear the guest on video too, in a tiny square next to the text window.
You can Email your question anytime in advance, or submit your question for consideration while the guest is there for the session itself.
Around fifty questions are usually answered. The production team take great care to make sure the most popular questions are put to the guest.
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MESSAGE BOARDS
Imagine putting a note on a pin board for someone, then going back later to find a second note replying to your original message – after a while you could end up with a thread of notes which have become a conversation. Message boards are an online version of this!
The BBC message boards are themed around such things as BBC television and radio programmes, as well as lifestyle subjects and many aspects of popular culture, so you're sure to find something that suits you!
You can read messages other people have left at any time, but the first time you want to leave a note, you'll have to register. Once you've done this you'll be able to join in any of the 300+ conversations going on, between 0900-2200 daily.
More on MESSAGE BOARDS
Take me to the MESSAGE BOARDS page
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H2G2
Douglas Adams' book 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' is now a reality online, and you can help to expand it by submitting an entry or entries of your own! You'll have to register first but once you have, you'll be a member of one of the largest online communities in the world - or should that be the Galaxy?
More on H2G2
Take me to H2G2
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TALKING POINT and SPORTSTALK
You may have an opinion on an issue in the news. Why not send your comments to BBC News Online? There's a simple form to fill in and it's very easy indeed to use. The production team will publish a selection each day.
Take me to the TALKING POINT page
Take me to the SPORTSTALK page
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BBC INFORMATION
If you want to find out information about BBC TV and Radio Programmes, or about bbc.co.uk or the BBC's interactive television services, this is where to look.
The BBC Information service offers a series of feedback areas which are tailored to answer your questions quickly and efficiently.
Take me to the BBC INFORMATION page
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Online Safety
Here at bbc.co.uk/talk, bad language is automatically filtered from our public discussion areas. A team of moderators monitor our site, removing abusive users from chatrooms, and offensive messages from the messageboards.
There are no private chatrooms, which means children cannot disappear off with another person into a chatroom which is visible only to them. These precautions help to ensure that bbc.co.uk/talk is a safe and friendly environment.
However, Internet safety is a two-way process which requires some caution on the part of the user. Talk to others, in safety, by following these basic rules:
- Don't reveal personal details such as your home, work, or school address, telephone number, credit card numbers or passwords in public discussion areas. Do you really want such private information to be visible to the whole world?
- Think twice before giving out your Email address in any online live public discussion area - it's visible to those who you want mail from, and to those you don't. Don't post your Email address in any Chatrooms or Message Boards.
- Know where your children are surfing and learn about the Internet with them. Keep the computer in a family room. Children under 12 must have their parent's permission before joining any BBC discussion area.
- Be very wary of meeting people 'in real life' you've become acquainted with in the Chatrooms - they may not be who they say they are! If you feel uncomfortable, leave the room. Children and teens should never organise face to face contact without their parent or carer's permission, and then only when they can be present.
- For more advice on parental concerns about the internet, read the Parent's Guide to safe chatting.
- Ask the hosts and moderators for help and assistance if you need it by typing your request into the text entry boxes.
All the BBC public discussion areas have rules which you agree to by taking part or registering. These are in place to promote a friendly atmosphere, as well as good quality discussion and debate.
For more tips and suggestions on how to stay chatting safely take a look at the ChatGuide website.
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ABOUT bbc.co.uk/talk
You can find a link to bbc.co.uk/talk at the top of every page of bbc.co.uk. bbc.co.uk/talk is your gateway to all the places where you can talk to others, or comment on the BBC, or BBC programmes and services.
You'll be welcomed by a friendly message which changes several times a day to let you know what's coming up over the next few hours.
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