Online Chat
Online chat refers to the simultaneous text communication between two or more people via computer. It is synchronous---one person types a message on his keyboard, and the people with whom he is chatting see the message appear on their monitors and can respond almost immediately.
Online chat requires each user to have a computer connected to an electronic network. The network might be a local area network within a business, or it might be the Internet. Users also need a chat system, the software that controls the connection between the computers of the people who are chatting.
There are many chat systems. Most of them are free. The different systems are very similar, but users can generally only chat with other people who are using the same system.
Each chat system may have thousands of users spread throughout hundreds of chat rooms. Chat rooms are a feature of the system’s software that allows people with similar interests to send messages to one another without receiving messages from all of the other people using the system.
Chat rooms vary in topic and in level of conversation. Usually a chat room’s name describes the topic people in it are supposed to discuss. Most chat systems have both predefined and user-created chat rooms. When people connect to a chat system, they can choose to participate in the rooms they find interesting or useful.
Chat rooms are usually dedicated to a particular group of people, such as teens, or to discussions limited to a single subject area, such as politics. Some chat rooms cover technical topics, and others focus on aspects of popular culture. Chat rooms dedicated to topics such as computer trouble-shooting can be useful sources of information, for many people with expert knowledge enjoy helping others online. Some systems also provide special chat rooms, particularly for chats with celebrities. Many systems have chat room operators who may remove people from the chat room if they do not obey the room’s rules.
Chat has its own jargon. They are easy to type and make the communication more efficient. People who chat commonly use abbreviations. BRB, for example, means “be right back.” IMHO means “in my humble opinion.”
