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  Start using bots : what you need to know...
 
If you want to start using bots , this is what you need to know first.
 
1. Paying credits (per simultaneous bot use )
In Activeworlds you need to pay credits for using a bot. For this you need to click upon the dollar-icon in the toolbar ,where a menu will appear. First you need to purchase credits and with those credits you can buy 1 or several bots.. If you have bought a world, then there is no bot included , most world owners use a bot for making a backup of their worlds. If you buy 1 bot then you can use all bot programs with it . If we speak about buying 2 bots, then we mean for using the 2 bots simultaneously, with the bot program of your choice for each bot. The credits that you pay is a 1 time fee, you don't need to pay for it year after year. Prices (in credits) in 2015 , indicated as "bot limits":
1 bot 210 credits
2 bots 400 credits
3 bots 570 credits.
For this go to this webpage and scroll down :
activeworlds.com/pricing.php
 
2. Citizen number and Privilege password.
Go in the AW menu to Options - Citizen. Here you can find your citizen number. And here you can also enter your privilege password. For most bot programs, this password is required when starting up the bot.
The privilege password is also used for Caretakers.For instance as a teacher in AWSchool , citizens can log in with that privilege password and cleaning up the teaching area.And a world owner , if you give other people your privilege password , then those people get the same rights as the world owner. But be careful to who you give it !! The privilege password has nothing to do with bot rights : if someone wants get bot rights in your world, then he/she does not need your privilege password for that.
 
3. Port number of the universe
If you want to start up a bot, then you need to type the port number of the universe. This port number is different for every universe and galaxy. For Activeworlds, in a lot of cases , you don't need to enter the port number for most bot programs, but in some cases it is needed.
universe port number
Activeworlds 6670
4. Compatibility of the bot
You have to check the compatibility of the bot : not all bots are compatible with the Activeworlds version 6.2 used nowadays, but can still be used in universes with an older version (3.6 - 4.2 - 5.0 ) . Sometimes there is a small .dll file to be downloaded and installed so that you can use the bot for this version.

See also it in the AW forum : http://forums.activeworlds.com/read.php?20,361420. In any case, we will talk about this for each bot program , if the bot is compatible or if an upgrade file is needed

In any case, you need to install the most recent aw.dll -file (replacing the old one), this is often sufficient to keep the bot running in the most recent AW version.
 
5. World name length
For a few bot programs,( like for instance for the Stachelbot ), the world name length is maximum 8 characters. But fortunately this is not the case for most of the bots programs.
 
6. Using bots in other worlds : World rights
You can use your bot in someone else's world, if you have the permission of world owner of that world. In this case the world owner adds your citizen number for "bot rights" in the world rights window of his/her world.
You can also use the bots in public worlds , as long as Activeworlds gives the permission to do that.