www.BrainChat.org Neurology Chatrooms at Massachusetts General Hospital

Palace "Virtual Reality" Chatrooms (to return to the main BrainChat.org page, please click here)

Questions? Please read our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Note: By entering our chatrooms, you are agreeing to our Terms of Service.

This site does not constitute an attempt to practice medicine. Use of the site does not establish a doctor-patient relationship, and individuals should consult a qualified health care provider for medical advice and answers to personal questions.

IF YOU HAVE A SERIOUS MEDICAL/NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEM, CONSULT A PHYSICIAN IN PERSON FOR PROPER CARE!

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Welcome to an innovative Internet chat server technology called "The Palace." It's basically a virtual reality chat room technology, full of interesting graphics and interactive environments. I think it offers many unique possibilties for personal interactions, and I'm trying it out as another way of offering "virtual places" for patients and caregivers to find supportive environments.

Here's a good description of what The Palace is all about:

"Palace" is the name of a graphical online environment. Palaces can have any shape: a bar, a beach, a book store -- the possibilities are endless. Take a meeting in a virtual conference room. Or take a break in a virtual cafe.

At The Palace, your "face" is any graphical character you choose. They're called avatars. You can customize one of ours, or create your own using any picture you want.

You don't just take in the view at The Palace -- you're a part of it. Each time you visit a palace, your avatar is visible to everyone there. Got something to say? Just type it in and press "enter." Your words will instantly appear in a talk balloon next to your avatar.

After you have the Palace Client program installed on your computer and entered your REGISTRATION CODE, use it to connect to:

If you really get into using the Neurology Palace rooms, I can set you up with the ability to express your artistic side and let you design brand new rooms on your own! Such users are called "Wizards," and they have the ability to create brand new rooms as well as "moderate" things in the rooms (kick out unruly users, etc.). If being a Wizard sounds like something you'd like to try out, please let me know.

Finally, if you'd like to read an interesting paper about the psychology of the Palace interface, be sure to check out this research paper on The Palace.

I hope you enjoy interacting in this new world!

-John Lester