A gram is an instant message that pops up on the receiving person's screen. You can gram anyone who happens to be online. And how do I know who's online, you ask? Presenting: The ComPanel. (Go ahead, click it.) This box pops up in a separate window when you login to AW. If the comm panel doesn't open for you, it could be that you are using a popup blocker. To allow the comm panel to open, add www.ancientworlds.net to the exceptions (or the "Allow popups from this site") field of your popup blocking software. The only popups that AW uses are the comm panel and gram boxes, so you won't see any advertising from this site.

The ComPanel

The ComPanel provides you with multiple abilities. If you haven't clicked that link above, do it now and read through this expanation:

• At the very top of the ComPanel you will see your name (Item #1) when you are logged in. By clicking here, you can open your homepage at any time.
• Below your name you are given three options, the first (Item #2) is a logout link (although most people prefer to use the link provided on any of the main pages).
• The next (Item #3) is a link that will allow you to turn off your grams. Once you click it the link will change to read "Grams On". Click it again to turn your grams back on. Having your grams off means others will not be able to send a gram to you while you have this option enabled. It's a convenient way to work undisturbed if you're busy and need some quiet time. Just remember to turn them back on when you're ready to receive messages.
• The last item (Item #4) is a link to your home. Clicking this, like clicking your name above it, will open your AW homepage.
• Below this group of links you will find an announcement box (Item #5) used to provided information about things such as fun activities that are occurring around the site.
• Immediately below the announcement box is a list, organized according to membership level (Item #6), of all the site members (Item #7) who are currently logged in.
• To gram anyone online, click the word "gram" at the left side of their name (Item #8). If there is no gram link next to the person's name (Item #9) it means the member has turned their grams off temporarily.

Gram Boxes - Send

When you click on the word [gram] next to a member's name, a gram box with an empty text field will open in a separate window. Click here to see an example. Type your message into the text field and click the send button.

Gram Boxes - Received

When someone sends you a gram, it will automatically open in a separate window on your screen. Some popup blocking software delays the grams — often for a very long time. If this happens even after you have told the software to accept popups from www.ancientworlds.net, you might try adding http://38.144.92.98 to your exceptions field as well. This is the who's online server and is where the grams actually come from. Again, this will only allow grams to popup, not any advertising. Click here to see an example of a gram from someone else.

As you can see, there is a Reply button. Clicking this will open an empty gram box (like that one shown above), allowing you to reply to the message. This box is a static height, so if the message is long it may run off the bottom of the box. In this case, there will be a scroll bar at the right, which you can use to scroll down the message. If you scroll to the bottom of the box, you'll find a Close button, which you can use to close the gram window after you've read the message.

WARNING: if two or more people send you grams at exactly the same time, both grams will be listed in this box. So check the note at the top that says, "You have [number] new messages!" —there might be more there than just the one you immediately see. Better yet, make a habit of using the Close button instead of the Windows X to close the box. That way, you'll have to scroll past all the messages to close the box and none of them will slip by you.

If you click on the link that reads "View your grams with (name) in your gram log..." it will open a listing of all the grams you have exchanged with that person on that day.

Gram Limits

If your status is Dayling (which means you just created your persona) you'll only be able to send two grams. When you login the next day, however, you'll be promoted to Novice and will have a five gram per day limit. Everyday that you login, you'll be awarded site sestercii and when you accumulate 2200, you'll be promoted to Citizen. Then, you'll have a 10 gram a day limit.

Of course, if you subscribe and become a patron, your grams go up based on your level of patronage. Maximum (or Bronze) Patrons have a 75 gram per day limit; Optimum (or Silver) Patrons can send 150 grams a day; and Millenium (or Gold) Patrons have no limit to the grams they can send.

HOWEVER, these limits do not apply if you are gramming a demi-god(dess) or scribe. This allows you to contact the site admins any time you need them. So, even if you have used all your grams for the day, remember, you can still contact any demi- or scribe that is online and has their grams turned on.

[Posted by Sankira Qin]

Q: My grams aren't working.

• popup blocker help - http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/412865
• help for Netscape 7.2 users - http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/421565

Q: Can I send offline grams?
You can add a bit of code to your homesite so that others can send you offline grams. Here's how.

Q: How many grams can I send per day?

• Novices - 5 grams
• Citizens - 10 grams
• Maximum Patrons - 75 grams
• Optimum Patrons - 150 grams
• Millennium Patrons - unlimited

Last updated 22 January 2006

[Posted by Alerissa Nestor]