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Jamboree On The Internet is designed to allow Scouts and Guides to make contacts aroudn the world without the expense of taking part in an International Jamboree. Taking place on the third weekend in October every year, JOTI is now an established event on the Scouting calendar.

The best way to take part in JOTI is to use Internet Chat (IRC) through the dedicated Scouting and Guiding network, Scoutlink (http://www.scoutlink.net). This network is set up to be as safe and secure online network as is possible, being constantly monitored by a large number of Leaders and other Scouting/Guiding volunteers from around the world.

JOTI has been running for over 5 years now, alongside Jamboree On The Air. In 2002, the ScoutLink network recorded some 3,000 users online at any one time in the weekend.

To take part in JOTI, you will need to connect to the ScoutLink network. This can be done in several ways:

• Using a dedicated IRC client, such as mIRC for Windows. Once configured, this will give the most user-friendly way to connect and chat.
• Using the java chat on ScoutLink at http://irc.scoutlink.net. Using this you will be able to connect and chat, without having to download and install your own software.
• If you try the two options above, but can't connect because of a firewall, then you can use the webchat at http://www.scoutlink.ch. This is a much more basic way to chat than the other two options, but should work for everyone!

Once you are on the ScoutLink network, you can type "/list" to see all the channels, or chat rooms, that are open. These are usually named after the language that is spoken on that channel (so, to chat in English, you will want one of the #english channels). Simply double click on the name of the channel you want to join, then you will be connected and can start chatting.

To help those of you who do not have much experience of IRC, ScoutLink have produced a ScoutLink branded version of the popular mIRC client for the Windows platform, this includes configuration and help specifically designed for using it with ScoutLink, and it is just a few clicks to get yourself on-line.

The file below is a self-extracting installer which will install the mIRC client on your machine:

sl-mirc.exe - Windows executable 1.68 Mbyes

Then follow these simple stages....

• Run this and follow the instructions and you will be ready to use mIRC.

• Look for the ScoutLink mIRC entry in your start menu, and fire up mIRC.

• Follow the onscreen instructions, enter "/scoutlink" at the bottom of the screen, and then when it has found a server...

• Just enter "/list" and you will see a list of all the channels available... depending on the languages you speak you can chose any of the channels.

For many of you JOTI will be the first time that you will use IRC, and this can be daunting, so here goes with some useful commands... These are typed in the "input" box at the bottom of the window and all start with a /.

/list

List all the channels on the current server

/join #channelname

Join the channel named #channelname

/part

Leave the channel you are currently in (or #channelname if you do /part #channelname)

/me action

Send a message to everyone saying that you are doing action, e.g. "/me waves to everyone"

/nick new nickname

Change my nickname (the name that appears on the screen) to new nickname

/query nickname

Open up a private chat with nickname in a separate window.

If you are using mIRC or some of the other standalone clients, many of these commands can be found as icons at the top of the page which makes your life even easier.

You can find a full list of commands on the JOTI website at http://www.joti.org/en/help/cmds.html.

Although ScoutLink aims to be as safe as it can, please remember the basic rules of safe internet usage, especially when your youth members are taking part in JOTI.

Do not allow Young People to exchange phone numbers or home addresses with other JOTI users. If you wish to exchange badges through JOTI, then use a Group or PO box address for such exchanges. Remember that if methods to contact each other off ScoutLink are exchanged, then future contact will be moved away from the safety of the ScoutLink Network.

For more information about JOTI, and safety on the internet, take a look at the WOSM website for JOTI - http://www.joti.org