the chatterbox is similar to an irc channel. it is also nicknamed the catbox. it appears as a panel on the right side of the page that logged-in users can use to read conversations and participate in them. the site's administrators used to have the ability to "borg"—prevent from using the chatterbox or message system—those users whose behavior violated the unwritten standards of politeness and decorum. this was done through a bot called edb (short for "everything death borg"), which announced when it had "swallowed" a user. this silencing lasted for five minutes, though persistent trolls were silenced for a longer period—sometimes permanently. , the edb was no longer much used, only making mostly token appearances for humorous effect. noders who consistently cause trouble (usually by trolling) can be silenced permanently and can be forbidden from noding altogether, though this is rarely done. this would be initiated by a chanops, (a staff member with a + by his or her username that monitors potential abuse ). there is also a utility called 'chatterlight', which provides the chatlog / message buffer with a larger portion of the screen.