Sesh - Help - Check Who's Online

'/about/bin/view/Help/Help+%2D+Check+Who%27s+Online'

"Who's Online?" Feature

Contents

Accessing the "Who's Online?" feature
Entering IM usernames for your friends
Send an IM with just one click
Allowing others to see your online status
Special cases: Google Talk and MSN/Windows Live Messenger

Registered Seshers can access Sesh's Who's Online? feature, which allows you to instantly check which of your friends is currently online!

Accessing the "Who's Online?" feature

At any time, registered Seshers can check which of their friends is signed into their instant messaging programs. By looking at the Friends Invite page, you can instantly see the Instant Messenger (IM) "online status" of friends listed in your Friends List.

Simply click on "Friends" in the My Sesh™ toolbar on the Sesh™ Dashboard.

The Who's Online? column in the screenshot below contains icons next to each friend, which indicate the online or offline status of that friend.

Icons are listed for each userID or screenname you have entered for the friend (to add IM userIDs or screennames to an existing friend, click "Edit"; or to add a new friend, click "Add Friend").

Below is a legend regarding which IM service each icon represents:

	Instant Message Icons
	AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)
	Google Talk
	MSN / Windows Live Messenger
	Skype
	Yahoo! Messenger

The online or offline status of a friend is indicated as follows:

	IM Online versus Offline Status
	When the IM icons are lit and in color, this indicates the friend is currently signed into the IM account.
	When the icons are dimmed and greyed, this indicates the friend is not signed in to the IM account.

In the above screenshot, you can see that Jarrod is signed into both his AIM and Yahoo! Messenger accounts, because the icons are lit up in color.

In contrast, you can see that Jennifer is not signed in to her Yahoo! Messenger account , because the icon is dimmed and greyed. Similarly, Mark is not signed in to his AIM account .

Note, Sesh is a sample user which is added as a friend to all new Seshers. You can safely delete it at any time.

Entering IM usernames for your friends

Of course, to utilize Sesh's "Who's Online?" feature, you must enter IM username information for your friends.

To add IM userIDs or screennames to an existing friend, from the "Invite" page, click "Edit"; or to add a new friend, click "Add Friend". You will be presented with the Edit Friend screen.

Below is the Edit Friend screen for user "Sesh", which is a useful reference for the correct username/screenname formats.

Note, for MSN / Windows Live Messenger, please enter the full email address of your friend (e.g. seshwithme@hotmail.com).

Send an IM with just one click

Sesh™ makes it easy to send an IM to your friends with AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Windows Live, and Skype accounts.

IM auto-launch feature: Simply click on one of the lit colored IM icons next to your friend's name (which indicates the friend is online), and Sesh™ will automatically launch the relevant instant messenger program for you. Note, this feature is not currently supported for Google Talk.

Note, you must have the relevant instant messaging software client installed on your computer to use the IM auto-launch feature.

For AIM and Yahoo! Messenger users, Sesh™ will even prepare a pre-formatted message for you to send to your friend, which includes a link to your Sesh™ room that your friend can click on to join you instantly in your Sesh™:

For Skype users, clicking on the lit Skype icon will launch a Skype Chat Box. Type in a message to your friend, and press enter. A Skype Chat Box will appear on the friend's computer, and the URL (web address) of your room will appear on the top of both of your chat boxes. Your friend need only to click on the URL to launch your Sesh room in his web browser and join you.

Warning: Note, the first time you send an IM through Sesh™, the below dialog box may pop up. Do not be alarmed, this is perfectly normal. Simply follow the directions below. You only need to do this once.

Similarly, the first time you click on a lit IM icon, a small popup box will appear, in order to launch your IM program. Once your IM program launches, you can close the small popout box.

Allowing others to see your online status

Of course, Sesh's "Who's Online?" feature is only useful regarding those friends who are signed in to their IM service, and who have made their online status viewable by you.

Below is an informational table regarding online status settings for the major instant messenger programs:

	Information On IM Online Status Settings
	AIM by default allows everyone to see your online status, but AIM allows you to change your settings to be invisible.
	Yahoo! Messenger by default allows everyone to see your online status, but Yahoo! allows you to change your settings to be invisible.
	Skype by default hides your online status; but Skype allows you to change your settings to show your Skype status.
	In order for your friend's online status to be viewable on Sesh.com, your friend must accept the user "yourimstatus" as a friend. (See below.)
	In order for your friend's online status to be viewable on Sesh.com, your friend must accept the user "yourimstatus" as a friend. (See below.)

Special cases: Google Talk and MSN/Windows Live Messenger

In order for the online status of a Google Talk or MSN / Windows Live Messenger user to be viewable in your Friends List on Sesh.com, the user must accept the Sesh user "yourimstatus" as a friend.

For instance, if you have a friend Bob, and have entered his Google Talk ID and MSN ID into his contact fields in your Friends List, Bob will then receive requests to add "yourimstatus" as a friend, similar to the following, which Bob should accept if he wishes to make his status viewable by you:

	Accepting "yourimstatus" as a friend
Google Talk:
MSN / Windows Live Messenger: