To talk privately with another user you can send a message using Dragon's messaging system.
 
For that you only need to know the recipients user-id, which can be found in the "Userid"-row on the user info page.
On same pages there are also direct links to open the page to send a message to a particular user.
 
For other ways to communicate, see: How can I communicate with other users?

The message folders enable you to organize messages according to your needs. You can move messages between folders as you like.
 
Dragon provides these message folders by default:

• All received: List of all received messages.
  
• Main: List of read received messages.
  
• New: List of unread received messages.
  
• Reply!: List of messages which require a reply.
  
• Trashcan: List of messsages marked for deletion.
  
• Sent: List of messages you have sent.
  

You can create additional message folders via the "edit folders" link at the bottom of the Message list page. If you use all the blank ones provided by the server, the server will add more blank ones next time you access the Edit folders page.

The Messages page shows some colored lines with the standard and your additional message folders. Selecting one folder allows you to browse the messages that are stored within the selected folder.
 
The messages are shown in a table listing with the following briefly explained columns:

• Folder: The folder of the message.
  
• From or To: The message correspondent (sender or recipient). Click on the user to show the message.
  
• Subject: Subject of the message.
• Column with message icon: There are four different icons, that are also shown on the page showing a single message, allowing to walk the message thread chain. The meaning of the message icons are:
  
  • (envelope without arrows): Message starting a thread with no follow ups. Icon linked to current message.
    
  • (envelope with arrow on the left): Message is an answer and has no follow up. Icon linked to parent message.
    
  • (envelope with arrow on the right): Message started a thread and has a follow up message answering it. Icon linked to answer message(s).
    
  • (envelope with arrows on left and right): Message that is an answer and has a follow up message. Icon linked to current message.
    
  
  
• Date: Message creation date.
  
• Mark: A checkbox that allows to select a message to perform some action on it (like moving it to another folder with the buttons below the table).
  

The button "Marks toggle" allows to toggle all the selected and unselected "marks" in the message list. If a message is selected, the "Marks toggle" switches it to be unselected and vice versa.

When viewing a single message, there are several fields presented to you:

• Date: The message creation date.
  
• From or To: The message correspondent (sender or recipient).
  
• Subject: Subject of the message.
  
• Message: The main text body of the message.
  
• Folder: The current folder the message is stored in.
  

Below the "Message" header, there are none, one or two icons shown, that allow you to walk within the message chain:

• If there is no icon shown, then the message has neither previous nor next message in the message thread.
  
• Clicking on the envelope icon with an arrow from the left, you go to the previous message.
  
• Clicking on the envelope with an arrow from the right, you go to the next message.
  

There's a selectbox below the message that allows you to move the message into another folder.
 
To send an answer (reply) to the current message there's a form at the page bottom with an additional Subject and Message input field. After writing your reply, you can preview how the message looks like (with all the HTML and special Dragon tags) without sending it. When you are done with checking your message, you can send it with a click on the "Send reply" button.

This is because Dragon protects your opponent's (and your) privacy.
 
If you would like know more than your opponents have already provided in their user profiles, you may ask, but users are not obliged to give personal information.