![]() ![]() Like message boards, chat rooms are popular spots for so-called flame wars in which two or more users enter into a tirade of insults sparked by a minor disagreement.īut these same factors can also work in your favor. People tend to state their thoughts and opinions more emphatically in chat rooms than they would ever dare in real life. The anonymity of chat rooms also encourages people to share unabashed opinions. It's also possible to IM another user directly, outside of the chat room setting.īut what kind of behavior should you expect (or be expected to tolerate) in a chat room? And what can you do to protect yourself and your kids from abusive or predatory chatters? ![]() AIM chat, for example, allows you to set up audio or video chats with individual members of the chat room. A skilled chatter can maintain several public and private conversations at once.Īs a nod to innovation, several popular chat services have added special features to chat rooms that break from the text-only tradition. Different chat services accomplish this in different ways, sometimes by pressing a special button or tagging the front of the message with the user's name surrounded by the signs. One feature that's been around since the earliest chat rooms is the ability to send a private message to an individual user that can't be seen by the whole group. Or a simpler approach is to type "Hi everyone" and wait for a friendly chatter to respond. Pick one that makes the most sense to you and dive right in. When you read the scrolling chat log closely, you'll begin to make out overlapping conversations between different sets of users. What you need to look for are threads of coherent conversation among what one observer calls the "buzzing confusion". This isn't always easy, especially in a busy chat room. When you first enter a chat room, take time to read what other people are already talking about. Be advised, though, that room topics are mere guidelines, and actual chat conversations frequently drift far from the proposed subject. Many sites will tell you how many people are already in the room, which gives you an idea of the room's popularity before you enter. ![]() Some are very specific ("thirtysomething singles") and some are more open-ended ("technology"). Most chat Web sites and services have many different room options from which to choose. Most chat rooms allow you to sign up as a guest without a password, or change your nickname as many times as you want, even during the same session. If you're using a chat room operated by Yahoo! Messenger or AIM, you can use your existing username and password or you can sign up with an alternate username. To join a chat room, you'll need to pick a nickname or user ID. Search around and try to find one that consistently has a dozen or so people online and actively chatting. There are chats for Alzheimer's caregivers, punk music fans, Austrian mountain bikers and everything in between. There are college basketball chat rooms, car repair chat rooms, tech support chat rooms and emotional support chat rooms. You can also search the Web for chat rooms that fit your interests or needs. Over the years, chat rooms have lost ground to IM and social networks, and have suffered from bad press concerning their safety, especially for teens.īut how do you get started using a chat room? And how do you make sure you and your children have a safe, enjoyable chat room experience? Read on to find out more. But by 2005, those numbers had fallen to 18 percent of teens and 17 percent of adults. According to statistics from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 55 percent of online teens and 28 percent of online adults used chat rooms in 2000. In the late 1990s, AOL's chat rooms were some of the most popular in the world. Q-Link changed its name to America Online (AOL), which still uses the People Connection name for its chat and community services. PlayNet eventually licensed its software to a company called Quantum Link, or Q-Link, which launched a chat room service called People Connection. Users could play chess or backgammon against an opponent and talk trash at the same time. In the mid-1980s, a company called PlayNet began tinkering with the combination of real-time chat and online games. Users could exchange real-time messages (loaded with lots of CB slang) on 40 different channels, which later evolved into the concept of rooms. Launched to the public in 1980, the CB simulator capitalized on the explosive (if short-lived) popularity of citizen's band radio culture in American country music and movies. But the CompuServe CB simulator is widely regarded as the first real-time chat room. ![]()
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