Chat, DMs, and Q&A

This article contains information about attendee chat, direct message (DM), and Q&A features available in the Chat window in Bevy Virtual or Bevy Virtual Conference events.

Send a message in chat

Use the chat to send a message that's visible to all attendees in the event. Note that Bevy supports chat moderation and automated profanity filtering.

To send a message to all:

1. Select the Chat tab at the top-left of the Chat window.
2. Type a message at the bottom of the Chat window and either click the arrow or press Enter to send.
   

   

 A chat message can have up to 1000 characters.

Send a direct message (DM)

Within the event, you can send a DM to another attendee from:

• A message in the Chat
• The attendee list

When you are done with the direct message, you can return to the main chat conversation by clicking the DM arrow at the top of the Chat window. 

Your DMs are saved from one event to the next, so you will be able to reconnect with the people you meet by returning to the chat conversation. Just click Direct Messages under the Chat tab.

From the chat window

To send a DM from another message in the Chat window:

1. Find a message from someone you want to message.
2. Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the message, and then click Send direct message (DM).
   
   

From the attendee list

To send a DM from the attendee list:

1. Select the Attendees tab at the top-right of the Chat window.
2. Locate the name of the attendee you want to DM.
3. Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the person’s name.
4. Click Send Message.

Ask questions: Q&A

If the Q&A feature is enabled, you can use the Q&A tab to ask the speaker questions. With Q&A enabled, questions are separated from the general chat conversation. In addition to asking questions, you can upvote and sort them.

Hosts can also enable Private Q&A so that attendees only see their own questions. For more information, go to Private Q&A. For information about other Q&A-related features that hosts can control, go to Manage Q&A.

People can ask questions until the maximum number of questions are asked but not answered (100). When there are too many unanswered questions, people can't ask new ones until it drops below 90.

To ask a question:

• Go to the Chat tab and click Q&A. Type your question, and then send it.

To upvote a question:

• Click the thumbs-up image to the right of the attendee's name who asked the question. Clicking it again removes your vote.

To sort upvoted questions:

• When there is more than one question with upvotes under Q&A, click the Sort button  (down arrow) to sort in descending order, with the most-upvoted questions at the top. For each new vote, click the Sort button again to refresh the order.
  
  

Additional chat features

You can also use these features in your DMs and messages to the group: emojis, @mentions, and markdown language. If you are concerned about another attendee's message, you can report it. You can also delete your own messages.

Emojis 🐱🏍 💥

To include emojis in your message or react to another attendee's message:

1. Open the emoji menu in one of these ways:
   • Click the emoji icon in the Chat window
   • Type a colon and an emoji search term (like :thumbs-up)
   • Use a keyboard shortcut
     On Mac: command + ctrl + space
     On Windows: windows key + ;
2. Choose an emoji. You can also adjust the default skin tone of an emoji.
   
   

@mentions

Type @ followed by an attendee's name to direct them to your chat message. When you type @, a menu containing all attendees is displayed.

Markdown formatting

You can use Markdown language to style your messages. There are many Markdown resources online, like this one.

Example:

To add bullets in chat use dashes with a space after the hyphen:

- Write the press release[SHIFT+ENTER]
- Update the website[SHIFT+ENTER]
- Contact the media

It will look like this:

• Write the press release
• Update the website
• Contact the media

Common Markdown elements:

**bold text** =  bold text

*italicized text* =  italicized text

[This is my link](https://thisisthelink.com) = This is my link

Slow mode

Event hosts turn on slow mode to limit how frequently people in an event can send messages in the chat. Slow mode is specific to locations in a virtual event like a session, lobby, booth, or stage. 

Using slow mode makes it easier to keep up with messages and gives a chance for all voices to be heard.

When slow mode is on:

• An icon indicates that it's on
• We tell you how frequently you can send message
• You can still send DMs and ask questions normally.

Report a message

All attendees can report a message to the host for any reason. For information about moderating the chat as a host, go to Moderation tools.

To report a message:

From the menu to the right of the message, click the drop-down arrow and select Report Message. The message is flagged for the host. There will be no visible changes on the attendee side.

Delete a message

Attendees, hosts and admins can delete their own messages. Hosts can delete attendee messages. Admins can delete attendee and other hosts' messages. 

To delete a message:

1. From the menu to the right of the message, click the drop-down arrow and select Delete Message.
2. Confirm by clicking Delete Message.

Pinned messages

Hosts can pin a message. Pinned messages display at the top of the chat. 

As a host, to pin a message:

1. Send the message you want to pin.
2. Open the message menu, and then select Pin message.
   You can pin one message at a time.