Clan Chat

The Clan Chat feature was released on 6 August 2007, four days before the backup upon which Old School RuneScape is based; it was the last update released before the backup was made.

Using clan chat channels, players can communicate with groups of other players across multiple worlds. They must prefix all messages with a forward slash (/) in order for them to be sent in the clan chat channel they are currently in. It is linked to the Friends Chat feature within the main game; therefore, players on Old School RuneScape can communicate with players on the main game via Clan Chat and vice versa.

Using a channel
To enter a chat channel, players simply click on the button in the clan chat interface (accessed by pressing F7).

NOTE: after an update on 14 May 2018, free-to-play accounts with a total level lower than 150 are unable to join clan chats.

The name of the player hosting the channel must be entered in the message box. Once this is done, the player is able to send messages to other players in the channel by writing messages in the public chat box with a slash before them.

The clan chat interface shows the name and creator of the channel the player is currently chatting on. In addition, each player in the channel (up to 100) is shown on a list, along with their channel rank and current world. Players not on the channel owner's friends list do not have a rank icon; players on the owner's friends list but not assigned any other rank have a friend icon; and each of the other ranks (except channel owner) are assigned by the owner to other players on his/her friends list.

The interface also contains a button for players to enter or leave a channel. Note that Jagex moderators have powers equivalent to a channel owner if they come into a channel.

Players who are breaking rules in chat channels can be reported using the report abuse button as normal.

Creating a channel
Any player can create their own channel, using the button in the clan chat interface.

The player will then be presented with an interface that allows them to set ranks for people on their friends list and control who can enter, talk, and kick other players from the channel. They can also set the channel name (limited to 12 characters), which will appear on the side of the chat box to indicate something said on that channel.

Restricting channel access
Players can restrict who can use their channels via a few methods:
 * Players can set the "Who can enter chat?" rank to whatever they want to allow to enter. If they wish to only let their friends join, they can set it to "Any friends". If they only want to allow certain friends to join, they can set their channel to "Recruit+", and only rank the friends they wish to join recruit or above. If they do not want to add players to their friends list in order to let them join, they can select "Anyone".
 * Players who wish to allow anyone apart from a select few people to join may add players to their Ignore List in order to prohibit them from joining their clan chat.
 * If players wish to prevent a player from joining on a temporary basis, they may kick them from the channel. More details are mentioned in the "kicking/ban" section.
 * If a player does not want anyone to join their channel at all (either temporarily or permanently), they can either disable their channel (by selecting 'disable' in the 'Clan name' section) or set the "Who can enter chat?" to "Only me".

Kicking/banning


Players that hold a rank corporal or higher in the channel can be granted the kicking permission (by setting "Who can kick on chat?" to the respective rank). These players will be granted the ability to remove other players from the channel, and prevent them from joining again for 60 minutes. They may only kick players with a rank lower than theirs. For example, a general with kick power cannot kick other generals. Temporary bans from the channel will expire after 60 minutes. However, they can be lifted earlier if the channel is 'reset', which occurs when the channel is completely empty. Resetting can be performed in three different ways (ordered by difficulty):
 * The channel owner can disable the channel (as mentioned above) and then re-enable it.
 * Ranks with the power to kick can remove everyone else from the channel then leave themselves.
 * All channel members can organise themselves to leave the channel simultaneously, so that a period of time passes where the channel is completely empty.

Restrictions

 * Clan Chat Channels have a capacity of 100 players. If a channel reaches this limit, and someone else tries to join, a player with a lower rank than the entering player will be 'bumped' from the channel. They can then rejoin when there is enough room for them to join. If there are no lower-ranking players to remove, the player trying to join will receive a message telling them the channel is full.
 * There may only be up to 400 people ranked within a clan chat at a single time. This is due to the friends list capacity of 400 players. If the owner does not have membership, only 200 people may be ranked.
 * Only 400 people may be banned from a channel at a single time, due to the ignore list capacity. If the owner does not have membership, only 100 people can be banned.
 * A Jagex moderator can always join a chat, will always be able to chat on it, and can kick any player off the chat. The owner of the clan chat is free to give them any rank he/she wishes within clan chat settings; however, they will always hold the rank of "Jagex Moderator" when logged into the channel.