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Practical guides about chatting safely online, the Persian language, and Persian culture, written by the Asal Chat team for Persian speakers abroad and for anyone curious about Persian.
Chatting safely
- How to Stay Safe in Online Chat RoomsA practical safety checklist for chat rooms: what to keep private, how to recognise risky behaviour early, and what to do when something feels wrong.
- How to Spot Scams and Fake Profiles in Chat RoomsThe most common chat room scams, the warning signs they share, and simple checks that expose a fake profile before it costs you anything.
- Protecting Your Privacy When You Chat With StrangersWhich small details identify you, how photos and links leak information, and the settings and habits that keep your private life private.
- What to Do When Someone Harasses You in a Chat RoomA calm, step-by-step response to harassment: do not engage, keep evidence, block, report, and know when a situation needs help outside the chat.
Chatting well
- Chat Room Etiquette: 12 Habits of People Everyone Likes Talking ToTwelve simple habits that make public chat rooms pleasant: greeting, reading the room, staying on topic, disagreeing politely and more.
- How to Start a Conversation Online and Keep It GoingOpeners that work better than "hi", questions that invite real answers, and how to keep a chat alive without interviewing the other person.
- How to Choose a Good Nickname for a Chat RoomWhat makes a nickname easy to remember and safe to use, what to avoid, and a few ways to find a name you will still like next year.
- Voice and Video Calls: Simple Tips for a Better CallSound, light, connection and manners: small adjustments that make voice and video calls clearer and more comfortable for both sides.
- Chatting Across Time Zones: When Is Everyone Online?How far Tehran, Kabul, Vienna, London, Toronto and Los Angeles are from each other on the clock, and the hours when most of them overlap.
- Guest or Member? How to Get the Most Out of Asal ChatWhat you can do as a guest, what a free member account adds, and a short tour of rooms, private chats, voice messages, stories and calls.
Persian language
- Persian Greetings and Everyday Phrases for ChattingThe Persian greetings, thanks, small talk and goodbyes you will actually see in a chat room, in Persian script with pronunciation and meaning.
- Finglish Explained: How Persian Is Written With Latin LettersWhy so many Persian speakers type in Latin letters, how the informal spelling works, which sounds cause confusion, and when to use Persian script.
- Common Persian Chat Slang and Short FormsFrom "slm" and "mer30" to "damet garm": the short forms and friendly expressions Persian speakers use in chat, and how to read them.
- The Persian Alphabet: A Beginner's OverviewThe 32 letters of Persian, the four that Arabic does not have, why short vowels are usually not written, and how letters change shape in a word.
- How to Type Persian on Your Phone and ComputerAdding a Persian keyboard on Android, iPhone, Windows and Mac, plus the half-space and the common typing mistakes that make Persian text look wrong.
- Persian, Farsi, Dari, Tajik: What Is the Difference?One language with three standard forms and two alphabets: where each name comes from, how well speakers understand each other, and which word to use.
- Keeping Your Persian Alive While Living AbroadRealistic ways for Persian speakers abroad, and their children, to keep speaking, reading and writing the language in everyday life.
Persian culture
- Taarof: Understanding Persian PolitenessWhat taarof is, why an offer may be refused three times, how it sounds in conversation, and how to respond without causing offence.
- Nowruz: The Persian New Year ExplainedWhen Nowruz begins, what goes on the haft-sin table, and the customs around it, from spring cleaning and fire-jumping to the thirteenth day outdoors.
- Yalda Night: The Longest Night of the YearWhy Persian speakers stay up on the winter solstice, what is eaten and read on Yalda night, and how families abroad keep the tradition.
- The Persian Calendar ExplainedHow the Solar Hijri calendar works: the twelve months, why the year starts in spring, and a quick way to convert a year to the Gregorian calendar.
- Tea, Guests and Hospitality in Persian CultureWhy tea is offered before anything else, how it is served and sweetened, and what a guest can expect, and should do, in a Persian home.