When the internet began its rapid spread across the globe, there were a million little things to suddenly wonder about: the importance of search engines, the availability of unsuitable material for children, communication technology, banking, creating your own business website - and then we all discovered chat-rooms.

Remember your first awkward experience with the chat-room? You had to create an entire account before being allowed to chat, but someone had already taken your name as their screen name so you eventually wound up as a chat account holder under the screen name of Tim1980packerfan, wondering what people would think of you.

The chat-room could be difficult to conquer, and in the early days of the internet when you still read all the rules and endless agreement pages, you worried about online etiquette. Be polite to the administrator. Be polite to all others in the room. Don't use swear words. Don't give out your address. Eventually, you realised that these rules only strictly applied in some of the rooms, because clearly in the Adult room people would swear, exchange personal information and do all sorts of obscene things you were better off not witnessing.

Well, the same applies to internet bingo chat-rooms - aside from the gross things, that is! One of the best features of the modern internet bingo parlour is that it comes with an entire network of users, chat-rooms and topic lists always updated and up for discussion. Although its no secret that most internet users don't bother to read the fine print when they agree to enter a chat-room, and even if they do these strict rules are always up for interpretation depending on the crowd, there are a few general etiquette rules to follow in the internet bingo chat-room.

1. Don't mess with the Administrator! Nothing good will come of teasing, swearing at or just ignoring the chat administrator, so unless you're looking to lose your internet bingo account don't even think about it.

2. Be Humble. If you're on a winning streak, that's great. Tell people about it. Just don't brag and get on everyone's nerves - you'll be hated and tension will build every time you come into the room.

3. Don't make fun of anyone. This can be tough, everyone knows that. Just hold it in, for your own sake!

4. Don't use offensive language. Ok, so offensive language varies from person to person - some people are ultra sensitive and others can listen to a string of four letter words without blinking an eye. If you know that other players might be offended, just don't say it!

Basically, stay polite and you'll be welcome in the internet bingo chat-rooms. If you can't follow those guidelines, best to go chat with your flesh friends who already know and accept you!