Using Local Chat

Many EVE players will tell you that the local chat window is one of the most important things to have on your screen. The reason being is in various circumstances you want to know what is going on in your system, especially if you're in a hostile environment; where it could be low to null security space, or even in high security space during a war. The Local chat window is an invaluable tool for making sure you know the situation of your present location with little effort.


General Setup

First off always make sure your local window is separate from all others, and in a spot you can see easily.  Second always make sure you have your local chat set to use the compact member list. You can do this by clicking the member list settings at the top of the chat window . By doing so you can see a lot more in your local window than you could with the portrait mode. With PvP this is mandatory as you might see a couple enemies, and then later have reinforcements show up. While keeping an eye on the local count can accomplish this as well, it's much easier to see unfriendly colors shown in the member list at a glance while in a middle of a fight.


Adding Tags

Even in high security space pilots will want to see their foes while out in space. Maybe you're a miner that has had issues with a certain corporation coming and running suicide gank runs, or maybe you're a mission runner who has a constant problem with ninja looters. Regardless it's best you add these pilots or corporations to your contact list. When adding the contact set a standing that sets them apart from the rest of local, as this will show on local. Normally setting to bad or terrible is a good practice. After adding contacts you will now be able to see if there are any threats in local quickly and easily.


Easy Local Watching

One of the best ways to watch local efficiently is highlighting the memberlist. You can do this by clicking on the member list and pressing "Ctrl-A", or "Option-A" for OSX. By doing this you select all the members in the list, and any pilot that enters the system will not be highlighted. By doing this you can easily determine who has come in, and if by a gate that just went off you know exactly who came through.

In the screenshot you can see the pilot who just recently entered the system, and can quickly select that pilot to get any information on them. After doing so select all the members again, so that you can see any new locals without error.

This method is extremely helpful when in wars, or in 0.0 security space. No matter what you can easily determine the situation by doing so.

Once again, I hope that this has been useful for someone out there, and hope that it has proven useful. Enjoy and fly safe. o/