User mode
This is what the users of your website will see when they log in as guests. It simply consists of a window to view messages and instructions in, and a box to type new messages in. It is designed to be simplistic enough that the user should never have need of a manual. This user guide is intended solely for operators (aka "opers").
Oper mode
This is what an operator will see when they log in using their login name and password. It is similar to the more simplistic "user mode", but with some additional features.
There is an "Oper" menu item on the menu bar at the top. This allows an oper to kick a user off the system, ban a user permanently, shutdown the entire server, etc. These options should be exercised with care.
There is also a "users panel" on the right hand side of the display which shows a list of all the users currently logged in. This panel allows an oper to select a user to talk to (simply click their name), select a user to ban (click their name, then click "Ban Selected User" from the "Oper" menu), etc. The panel also displays the status of each user with a special icon to the left of their name.
The special icons mean the following:
 | Blue - a regular user that you are not currently talking to. |
 | Green - a regular user whose conversation you have accepted. You are responsible for this user until you press the 'Leave Chat' button. |
 | Purple - an oper. |
 | Flag - a regular user writing messages with no oper currently talking to them. |
 | Speech Bubble - new messages being written by a regular user that you are in a conversation with. |
An important note: the system keeps track of which opers have accepted conversations with which users. If a user writing messages has nobody currently talking to them the system shows all opers the "Flag" icon for that user, indicating they need attention. When you accept a user's conversation (by clicking the 'Accept Chat' button), you are assigned that user. This is indicated by their icon changing from blue to green. Once this has happened only you will be notified when the user writes new messages. This is represented using the "Speech Bubble" icon. Other opers will not see this.
If you are unable to attend to a user marked with a green icon, you should set their icon back to blue using the 'Leave Chat' button, so that they can be flagged for attention by other opers.
To send a message to another oper just click their name and type messages, as you would do with any other user. The oper will then see a speech bubble appear beside their own name (not yours), and when they click on their own name they will see your messages and be able to type back. In effect you can think of this model as there being a separate "room" associated with each name. This allows multi-way chats - if several opers all click on the same name they can all see each other's messages. Just remember that any messages you write (including to other opers) are readable by all opers - it is "public", so take care what you write.