Communication

An integral part of any multi-unit operation is communication. The standard TRI comm window will be located at the top of your screen in flight, and in the upper left-hand corner of your PDA while docked.

Receiving Messages

Each line of text will contain several different attributes which will help you to discern the purpose of each message. The first thing you will notice is a color variance per line. The following chart will familiarize you with text coloration.

Color mode range	Description
Grey echo galaxy	Grey text is an echo of your communication inputs, if you are on a channel that does not already come back to you (such as a booth).
Red faction sector	Red text is the Octavian faction's private broadcast color. To see this text, you must be an Octavian. A message broadcasted in this mode can only come from a fellow Octavian in your current sector.
Green faction sector	Green text is the Quantar faction's private broadcast color. To see this text, you must be a Quantar. A message broadcasted in this mode can only come from a fellow Quantar in your current sector.
Blue faction sector	Blue text is the Solrain faction's private broadcast color. To see this text, you must be a Solrain. A message broadcasted in this mode can only come from a fellow Solrain in your current sector.
Aqua squad galaxy	Aqua text is reserved for private squad broadcasts. To see this text, you must be a member of a squad. A message broadcasted in this mode can only come from a fellow squad member, but crosses sector boundaries across the entire galaxy.
Orange public sector	Orange is the general public sector comm color. A message received in this mode may be coming from any pilot in your current sector, regardless of race, religion, or sex.
White whisper galaxy	White text lines denote whisper mode communications. White messages can be received from any pilot anywhere in space. Whisper messages are sent to only one player at a time privately.
DkCyan booth galaxy	Dark cyan text is received from your currently selected booth. Booths are player defined, cross-sector channels, which may be occupied by any player. They are semi-private in the respect that you must know the name of the channel to join, and anyone who does join is announced (except for newbies in the help booth). Beware of spies and intelligence gatherers who may be snooping.
Purple system galaxy	Purple denotes an administrator or system broadcast. These broadcasts are seen by every active pilot in game, and usually contain important system information such as server status and imminent downtime.
Yellow system you	Yellow text means a system message directed only at you. System messages consist of reports and warnings sent from the client or server depending on your current condition. Pay attention to these messages, as they often contain important directions or error warnings.

Sending Messages

Now that you have a basic understanding of incoming communications, you will learn how to broadcast via standard TRI comm channels. Before you attempt to send a message, you will need to consider your target audience. As you already know, TRI supports five standard communication methods, which can be accessed via the F1 - F5 keys located along the top of your keyboard. To access a comm channel, you will need to press the appropriate F key, and then type your message or commands according to the syntax rules provided in the chart below.

Don't forget to check the list of officially recognized TRI channels as a starting point to meet other pilots.

Key Press mode range	Description
F1 faction sector	Press F1, type your message, and press Enter. Color is automatically assigned based on your faction. F1 your faction message here. F1 your faction message here. F1 your faction message here.
F2 squad galaxy	Press F2, type your message, and press Enter. F2 your squad message here.
F3 public sector	Press F3, type your message, and press Enter. F3 your public message here.
F4 whisper galaxy	To whisper directly to another pilot, you must first define who they are. To define a user, you press F4, type a colon ':', then the callsign, and finally your message and Enter. Once you have specified a pilot to communicate with, you will not need to type the ':callsign' portion of the message again until you decide to communicate with a different pilot. F4 your whisper message here.
F5 booth galaxy	To join a booth channel, you must first define which booth you would like to join. To define a booth, you press F5, type a colon ':', then a four character, alphanumeric booth name, and finally your message and Enter. Once you have specified a valid booth name, you will not need to type the ':name' portion of the message again until you decide to join a different booth. New players are automatically signed up on the ':help' booth. F5 your booth message here.
F6-F10 macro varies	Macros can be programmed on the five function keys from F6, F7, F8, F9, to F10. Once a macro is programmed, you need only hit its assigned key to send your message. See the section below for more detail. F6 your recorded message here.

Macro Communications

Macros are programmable communication keys which can be used to store and send commonly used messages. Five macro keys are provided (F6 - F10).

To record a macro, press Shift+F key (F6, F7, F8, F9, or F10). This is the F key that the macro will be recorded to. You are now in record mode. Now type which channel you want the message to be displayed in, dropping the F. For example, if you want it to play in F3, type '3'. Type your message exactly as you would if you were using the channel normally.

For example, a macro set to F6 that displays the message "hello world" in your faction channel (F1), would look like this:

<Shift+F6>1hello world.

Alternatively, a macro that would whisper the message "hi there" to player Scorch would look like this:

4:Scorch hi there.

To play a macro, simply press the key which it was mapped to. If you pressed Shift+F7, press F7. If you pressed Shift+F8, press F8, etc.

Comm Line Commands

Certain commands to JOSSH can be sent via the communication line. The following chart gives a brief description of each comm line command.

Command	Description
/assist	will add you to a queue awaiting assistance from a GM or Empowered Player.
/bcu	will run a systems check and inform you if you have a bcu equipped.
/bounty	Displays your maximum possible bounty (this value may vary depending on who is attacking you).
/build	If you have a BuildKit in inventory, will send a POS construction permit request to TRI.
/cargo	Displays your current cargo loadout.
/credits	Displays your current amount of credits.
/dump	Toggles permission for pilots to dump cargo into your station market. They will not receive payment.
/dump squad	Allows squadmates to dump cargo into your station market. They will not receive payment.
/exp	Displays your current amount of experience.
/gear	Provides faction equipment to pilot stuck in station with home faction bounty, who has accidentally sold equipment needed for launch. Results in small PR loss. Costs c200 per item supplied.
/give	Transfers funds while in flight. Target a pilot, type '/give x' where 'x' is the number of credits you wish to transfer. You will not be asked to confirm, so be sure the amount is correct.
/help	Lists important / commands, points users to www.jossh.com, and instructs user on how to join their local help chat channel.
/ignore callsign	Adds callsign to your local ignore.txt, preventing any further text messages from that pilot.
/list	Displays a list of common chat channels.
/mentor callsign	Invite a level 9 or lower pilot to be a student. Must be level 10 to be a mentor. (Callsign is case sensitive.)
/mentoroff callsign	Remove a student if you are a mentor. (Callsign is case sensitive.)
/mentoroff	Leave your mentor as a student.
/mission	Displays your current mission details.
/noprice commodity	Resets the price for commodity at your POS market to the TRI standard.
/publish	If you own a POS, allows data about your station to be displayed on JOSSH.
/q	Quick logout. Counts as a death if you are in space.
/r or /reply	Reply. Sets your F4 channel to the last person who whispered to you.
/reg or /registry	Returns current registry setting.
/rotacol x y z	If a rotacol is equipped, enter the x, y, and z coordinates to plot a rotacol waypoint.
/rotacoloff	Destroys a rotacol waypoint.
/sector	Displays your current sector.
/setprice commodity price	Sets the price for commodity at your POS market to price.
/sq claim	Attempts to claim a sector for your squad. If sector already claimed, will dispute that claim.
/students	Displays a list of students as a mentor.
/voice callsign or /hear callsign	Removes callsign from your local ignore.txt, and negates /ignore.
/warinfo	Lists your faction's current stances toward other factions.
/wing callsign	Invite a pilot to be your wingman, or accept a wingman invitation. (Callsign is case sensitive.)
/wingoff	Leave a wing as a wingman.