Mac OS X Lion: The Missing Manual

Let the Chat Begin

As with any conversation, somebody has to talk first. In chat circles, that’s called inviting someone to a chat.

They Invite You

If someone invites you to chat, iChat opens automatically and displays an invitation message like the one in Figure 20-3. If the person initiating a chat isn’t already in your buddy list, the note says, “[service] Message from [name of the person].”

Figure 20-3. You’re being invited to a chat! Your buddy wants to have a typed chat (top left) or a spoken one (top right). To begin chatting, click the invitation window, type a response in the bottom text box if you like (for text chats), and click Accept (or press Return). Or click Block to lock out the person sending you messages—a good trick if someone’s harassing you.

(If you’ve set your status to Offline, on the other hand, you won’t see those messages invitations. You’ll see me.com and AIM invitations once you’re online again, but if the invites come from the other services, you’ve missed out.)

Tip

If you’re getting hassled by someone on AIM or me.com, click his name in the buddy list, or the window containing the invitation, and choose Buddies→Block Person. If the person isn’t online at the time, go to iChat→Preferences→Accounts→Security and then click the button for “Block specific people.” Click the Edit List button, and then type in the screen name of the person you want out of your IM ...