This page will give users a few ideas how to enjoy our site better. Tips, tricks and features will be given so you can get the most out of DewDadsChat and Seniors-Who-Care chatrooms. I will continually add to this list over time. The blue buttons represent the menu buttons found at the top of the main page or chat page.
Latest update: November 7, 2023
• I recently changed the format on this site and updates some codes. I try to keep changes to a minimum. One change you may notice is the buttons on the homepage menu have now become links. This just means the links to other pages now look like words instead of push buttons. This new formats makes the top heading smaller and more of the page content viewable. I hope everyone finds this a benefit. As always, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to email me at the new address listed at the bottom of this page.
• Maven's chatroom, Seniors-Who-Care, is now part of DewDadsChat. His chatroom is now called Sunroom, and is readily available from our homepage. Each chatroom has it's own registration, so you must sign up for both seperately... or chat as a guest when available. Please feel free to participate in either or both rooms!
• There are some recent changes in chat. The company that creates our chatroom has added some features recently. Most notably is the addition of new emoticons. There are now 6 tabs on the emoticon box inside of chat. You can select a tab at the top to choose from many more emoticons.
In the chat messages, there is a new option to edit your posts. Hover your mouse under the time-stamp in your message and 3 dots will appear.
Click the 3 dots to open a small white window with options to edit or delete your post.
There are other improvements in the operation of chat that you probably won't notice, but they continue to improve how our room functions in the background.
• Did you know there are two available ways to view the Politics Shoutbox? By request, we now have a dark mode version that is easier to view for some users as the font is light and the background is dark. You can view the Politics shoutbox using either version. On the homepage, the
POLITICS button opens in dark mode. Also, you can easily switch between light and dark modes using the option buttons on the shoutbox.
• Did you know there are two buttons to open the chatroom? The top button
OPEN CHATROOM opens a full page with the chatroom in the center. The second button
USE POPUP CHAT opens a small window of the chatroom that is adjustable in size. This popup version is nice when you are multitasking with other browser windows, or prefer a very large view of the chatroom by maximizing the window. Both buttons take you to the same main chatroom, it's simply two different views based on your preference.
• Did you know there is now a button on the homepage to view the background image? Sometimes the items listed on a page blocks the background and you might like to see the entire image. Click the
VIEW BACKGROUND button to open a full page view of the background. Click the
CLOSE button to close the page.
• Did you know there are a few new links in chat? At the top of the chatroom there are 3 new icons for Homepage, Shoutbox and GIFS. Many people come to chat by directly loading the chat page, so they sometimes need a link to the homepage. The shoutbox link will open the homepage shoutbox to view and post. The GIFS link gives you access to use the new GIF animated pictures in the chatroom. They are a fun alternative to emoticons that you probably know from texting and facebook.
• Did you know we now have a new page called Showcase? Click the
button in the chatroom to see the various collections and creations of fellow chatters. Instructions are at the bottom of this page if you would like to be included. I encourage everyone who can to join this showcase of talent!
• Did you know you can now set a status for Away or Busy in chat? Click the
Options button in the chatroom, select Away if you are away from your computer, or Busy if you are busy in PM or on another site. When you choose Away, no one can send you a PM message. If you are using Busy, they can. Go back to Options and set your status to Online when you return.
• There is a new emoticon feature for the chatroom. There are now 4 links at the top of the chatroom.
shows a full list of alternate emoticons of the skype theme.
gives you a smaller list of the most commonly used regular emoticons to choose from.
gives a full list of the regular emoticons available. From all 3 pages, click the emote you wish to use, then paste it into chat by pressing CTRL-V.
emote button feature hasn't changed. Press the button to copy the emoticon URL. Paste the URL into chat with CTRL-V. Then add the name of your emoticon followed by
.gif For example,
"https://dewdadschat.com/emo/lol2.gif" will show the
image.
"https://dewdadschat.com/emo/beer.gif" will show the
image. Once you know the name of common emoticons, you can substitute the name easily after that copied URL.
• Did you know we now have two shoutbox buttons to access the homepage shoutbox? Open the small pop-up version with the
POPUP SHOUTBOX button. Open the full page larger version with the
OPEN SHOUTBOX button. It's the same shoutbox, just different sizes. Open the chatroom with the same options: small pop-up or full sized window.
• Did you know we now have video calling in chat? Open the private message window of the person you wish to video chat with. Click on the movie camera icon to "call" them. Let Hosty know if you have any issues using the video calling feature. There is also the option to voice call.
• Did you know we have two places where you can discuss politics?
FORUMS has a section titled Political Discussion. You will need to register to use the forums.
POLITI-BOX is an open shoutbox that you can discuss politics without having to register. The forums is moderated and requires you to discuss only politics without attacking other posters. The politi-box is only moderated in the most extreme cases so use with caution.
• Did you know we have two very important buttons in the chat room?
Options can set the size of your chat font, turn off sound or stop PM windows from popping up.
Logout must be pressed when you are leaving the chat room. If you do not press this button, your name will linger in the room for a period of time.
• Did you know we have a link to a free online radio service? Click the
RADIO button on the homepage to visit accuradio.com. They have dozens of stations and types of music to choose from.
• There is a shortcut to the
GAMES and
FUNTRIVIA pages. Beside the title on each page is an arrow icon to quickly switch between these two pages. This makes it more convenient for those who play daily trivia, crossword, puzzles and games on our site.
• Did you know there is help for many of chat's features on the Chat Help page? Click
at the top of the chatroom to open this page of instructions including pictures of where to find various features.
• Are you having a hard time seeing another chatter's avatar? Click on that user's name, and the private message window opens. Click on the image beside their name, and the image opens in full size. You can now close the private message window without having to message this person.
• Did you know you can add your birthday to the scrolling list on the homepage? Just email Hosty with your birthdate, and he'll add it!
• Did you know the rules for using this site are posted under the
RULES button on the homepage? Our rules are normally simple and easy to follow. The full terms of service are available from the rules page, and go into detail only for the most extreme cases. We only resort to the full Terms Of Service when necessary. It's really very simple, be respectful and you won't have any issues using our site.
• Did you know there are weather widgets for many cities in the U.S.? On the homepage, click on
WEATHER, pick a city and click the widget to view the weater forecast. The widgets are provided by Accuweather.com. Also, there is a national radar map button on the weather page - upper right corner. There's also a link to view clocks from time zones all over the world. Shoot me an email if you want your city added to the weather widgets - even cities outside of the U.S.
• There is a donation icon ($) in the chat room that you can donate towards funding this chat site. Donate as little or as much as you wish - any amount is truly appreciated! Currently the only way to donate is by using PayPal. The cost of webhosting and chat service is ever increasing and your help in offsetting these expenses is truly a gift! Thank you! Hosty
• Some users are having issues with the chat room not opening properly. Most issues occur using a tablet, or connecting from outside the U.S. If you cannot get the chatroom to show the login box, try using the
POPUP CHAT button instead, or try refreshing the page pressing
CTRL and
F5 keys together or on Mac hold 'Cmd' + 'Shift' and press 'R'.
• If you need, I can create your chat account for you. Simply send an email and be sure to provide a picture you wish to use for your avatar.
• Do you know how DewDads got it's name? My wife started selling gifts, collectibles and doodads on this site in 2005. Since my wife's initials are D. E. W. we transformed doodads into DewDads. The store has since closed, but the social side of our site has continued for all these years - 15 years in 2020!
• The
FACEBOOK button on the homepage takes you to the DewDadsChat group page on Facebook. This page can be used for any topic (except politics) and is mostly where chatters have shared jokes and memes. If you wish to encourage any friends from Facebook to try our chat, the link to this site is on our group page, and they can use their Facebook account to login to the chatroom. The group is private, but anyone can click to join. I check for requests every day or two. It's only private to keep out spammers.
• While in chat, you can draw attention to another chatter by typing the @ sign followed by their name. @robb will draw attention to your post by using a different color while addressing Robb. Also, when you type "@" a list will pop up so you can select a user's name rather than type it.
• Did you know you can click on the image under the center section on the home page and open a seasonal or holiday greeting page? It's just a hidden little treat for everyone. Enjoy!
• Seniors-Who-Care trivia is now available on DewDadsChat for those that enjoy playing Maven's trivia. Click
FUNTRIVIA button and then choose the
SENIORS WHO CARE QUIZ button. Each game requires it's own registration. I suggest you use the same password for each game, then you won't be required to login each time you play.
• Did you know there is a button on the chat page called Faces
? This is where you can find pictures of our chatters. If you wish to include your photo, please email your photo to Hosty
. You may send up to two photos if you wish.
• The email address to contact Hosty is
. The
button on the chat page can also be used to message Hosty.
• Did you know there is now a shoutbox where you can discuss politics without having to register? Click the
POLITI-BOX button to open the page. Use caution, there's very little censorship on this shoutbox. You can also register for the forums and use the political forum which is moderated for content and behavior. There are now two choices to view the Politi-box: light or dark theme. You can choose which version from the two buttons on the home page, or switch while viewing either theme. It's the same shoutbox but with with a choice of light or dark colored themes.
• You can register in the
FORUMS and read or discuss many topics, including politics, humor, memorials, irks&quirks, blogs and more. Registration is free, of course, but it is separate from your chat registration. I suggest you use the same password, however, to make it simpler to login to either area. If you wish to include your own blog, let me know and I can set that up for you.
• Our
GAMES page has many easy to play, popular games. Most are classic games, and also a daily crossword puzzle and word wipe game. The shoutbox for games is shared with the FunTrivia page. It's a fun way to share your scores with other players. Most of the Flash games have been replaced as Flash software is no longer supported.
• If chat goes down, you can use the
TEMPCHAT room. This temporary chatroom is very limited in features and has no user list or private messaging, but it will work in a pinch until the regular room is fixed.
Please enjoy all the services offered on this site and don't hesitate to ask for help if needed. My email address is .
Thanks for using DewDadsChat!
Hosty
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