Chat-channel

"Clan chat" redirects here. For the clan system, see Clan.

For clan chat interface options, see Chat Interface.

The chat-channel interface.

The Chat-channel feature (originally Clan Chat, also known as Friends Chat) was released on 6 August 2007, four days before the backup upon which Old School RuneScape is based; it was the last update released before the backup was made.

Using chat channels, players can communicate with groups of other players across multiple worlds. They must prefix all messages with a forward slash (/) in order for them to be sent in the chat channel they are currently in. It is linked to the Friends Chat feature within RuneScape; therefore, players on Old School RuneScape can communicate with players on RuneScape via chat channels and vice versa.

Using a channel

To enter a chat channel, players simply click on the button in the chat interface. Players can leave a chat at any time by using the button.

Note: after an update on 14 May 2018, free-to-play accounts with a total level lower than 150 are unable to join or set up chats.

The name of the player hosting the channel must be entered in the message box. Once this is done, the player is able to send messages to other players in the channel by writing messages in the public chat box with a slash before them.

The chat interface shows the name and creator of the channel the player is currently chatting on. In addition, each player in the channel (up to 500) is shown on a list, along with their channel rank and current world. Players not on the channel owner's friends list do not have a rank icon; players on the owner's friends list but not assigned any other rank have a friend icon; and each of the other ranks (except channel owner) are assigned by the owner to other players on their friends list.

Chat ranks

Symbol	Rank
	Friend
	Recruit
	Corporal
	Sergeant
	Lieutenant
	Captain
	General
	Channel owner
	Jagex Moderator

The interface also contains a button for players to enter or leave a channel. Note that Jagex moderators have powers equivalent to a channel owner if they come into a channel.

Players who are breaking rules in chat channels can be reported using the report abuse button as normal.

Creating a channel

Any player can create their own channel, using the button in the chat interface.

The player will then be presented with an interface that allows them to set ranks for people on their friends list and control who can enter, talk, and kick other players from the channel. They can also set the channel name (limited to 12 characters), which will appear on the side of the chat box to indicate something said on that channel.

Restricting channel access

Players can restrict who can use their channels via a few methods:

• Players can set the "Who can enter chat?" rank to whatever they want to allow to enter. If they wish to only let their friends join, they can set it to "Any friends". If they only want to allow certain friends to join, they can set their channel to "Recruit+", and only rank the friends they wish to join recruit or above. If they do not want to add players to their friends list in order to let them join, they can select "Anyone".
• Players who wish to allow anyone apart from a select few people to join may add players to their Ignore List in order to prohibit them from joining their chat.
• If players wish to prevent a player from joining on a temporary basis, they may kick them from the channel. More details are mentioned in the "kicking/ban" section.
• If a player does not want anyone to join their channel at all (either temporarily or permanently), they can either disable their channel (by selecting 'disable' in the 'name' section) or set the "Who can enter chat?" to "Only me".

Kicking/banning

Players that hold a rank corporal or higher in the channel can be granted the kicking permission (by setting "Who can kick on chat?" to the respective rank). These players will be granted the ability to remove other players from the channel, and prevent them from joining again for 60 minutes. They may only kick players with a rank lower than theirs. For example, a general with kick power cannot kick other generals. Kicking a player will remove the player from the chat and receive a message saying You have been kicked from the channel.. Temporary bans from the channel will expire after 60 minutes, banned players trying to rejoin before then will receive a message saying You are temporarily banned from this chat-channel.. However, bans can be lifted earlier if the channel is 'reset', which occurs when the channel is completely empty. Resetting can be performed in three different ways (ordered by difficulty):

• The channel owner can disable the channel (as mentioned above) and then re-enable it.
• Ranks with the power to kick can remove everyone else from the channel then leave themselves.
• All channel members can organise themselves to leave the channel simultaneously, so that a period of time passes where the channel is completely empty.

Restrictions

• Chat Channels have a capacity of 500 players. If a channel reaches this limit, and someone else tries to join, a player with a lower rank than the entering player will be 'bumped' from the channel and receive a message saying You have been removed from this channel.. They can then rejoin when there is enough room for them to join. If there are no lower-ranking players to remove, the player trying to join will receive a message telling them the channel is full.
• There may only be up to 400 people ranked within a chat at a single time. This is due to the friends list capacity of 400 players. If the owner does not have membership, only 200 people may be ranked.
• Only 400 people may be banned from a channel at a single time, due to the ignore list capacity. If the owner does not have membership, only 100 people can be banned.
• A Jagex moderator can always join a chat, will always be able to chat on it, and can kick any player off the chat. The owner of the chat is free to give them any rank they wish within chat settings; however, they will always hold the rank of "Jagex Moderator" when logged into the channel.

Changes

Date	Changes
[[{{#explode:11 January 2023| |0}} {{#explode:11 January 2023| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:11 January 2023| |2}}]] (update)	Changing chat channels via commands, such as /@f, will no longer send an empty message in chat.
[[{{#explode:22 June 2022| |0}} {{#explode:22 June 2022| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:22 June 2022| |2}}]] (update)	Increased the Friends Chat capacity from 100 to 500. This change does not allow for larger Chambers of Xeric or Soul Wars groups.
[[{{#explode:26 May 2021| |0}} {{#explode:26 May 2021| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:26 May 2021| |2}}]] (update)	Renamed from Clan Chat to Chat-channel.
[[{{#explode:18 November 2020| |0}} {{#explode:18 November 2020| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:18 November 2020| |2}}]] (update)	Some under-the-hood changes have been made to the Clan Chat systems in preparation for the Clan system which is currently in development. In addition to this, some references to "Clans" have been renamed.
[[{{#explode:2 October 2014| |0}} {{#explode:2 October 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:2 October 2014| |2}}]] (update | poll)	When joining clan chats, you will now see the option to join the last chat that you were in.
[[{{#explode:30 January 2014| |0}} {{#explode:30 January 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:30 January 2014| |2}}]] (update | poll)	If you are in a chat-channel when you log out, you will automatically attempt to re-join it on login. The text generated when kicking a player from a chat-channel has been modified.
[[{{#explode:17 October 2013| |0}} {{#explode:17 October 2013| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:17 October 2013| |2}}]] (update | poll)	Players who are in your chat-channel will appear as purple dots on the minimap.
[[{{#explode:22 August 2013| |0}} {{#explode:22 August 2013| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:22 August 2013| |2}}]] (update | poll)	The menu that lists members of your chat-channel will now use green text to highlight who's in the same world as you.
[[{{#explode:23 May 2013| |0}} {{#explode:23 May 2013| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:23 May 2013| |2}}]] (update | poll)	Chat-channel messages now have a 'Kick' option. Attempting to kick a player from a chat-channel will cause a notification message to be sent round the channel.
[[{{#explode:22 February 2013| |0}} {{#explode:22 February 2013| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:22 February 2013| |2}}]] (update)	This content was included when the Old School RuneScape servers officially launched.