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Text Messaging/SMS FAQ

How it works

In order to message a group, simply type in:

    CHTR <group name> <msg>

Where <group name> is the group name and <msg> is the message you want to send to the group.

Commands

The following is a list of commands you can send from your phone to 41411:

CHTR STOP
Stop receiving messages on your phone.

CHTR GO
Start receiving messages on your phone. You will be receiving messages from all groups.

CHTR STOP <group name>
Stop receiving messages from a particular group (sets the group contact to your web contact if you have one). You will receive messages from other groups.

CHTR GO <group name>
Start receiving messages from a particular group. You will not receive messages from groups you were ignoring.

CHTR HELP
A list of commands

CHTR JOIN <group name> <passcode>
Join a group You will need to know the group passcode in order to start talking to the group. If the group is public, you do not need to enter a passcode.

CHTR GET # <group name>
Get the last # messages posted to the group (default is 1, max 10).

CHTR SNOOZE # <group name>
Stop getting messages for # minutes (default is 20).

CHTR LEAVE <group name>
Leave a particular group. You will receive messages from other groups.

Switching to Text Messaging/SMS

If you want to receive messages on your phone, simply send CHTR GO to 41411 or send a message to any group. Once you've done this, all messages for all groups will go to your phone.

Problems/Questions

Why is my Phone Number contact in 'pending' status?

Have you gotten the registration code? If not, send CHTR REG to 41411 to get the registration code and enter it on the website.

Also see this faq entry.

Why doesn't SMS work for me?

SMS will not work for pay-as-you-go plans. We only support the following US carriers at the moment: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Virgin & Alltel. Phone numbers outside the US will not work.

What happens if a message is really really long?

Currently, we just truncate the message so that it fits on an SMS. To see the full message, you will have to check the web interface. We are working on a way for you to retrieve the full message on your phone.

Why do you have to know your friend's phone network?

In order to let your friends know you want to chat with them, we need their network to contact them on their phone. We are currently working on removing this requirement.