Chat
Chat rooms are a mode of communicaton which is considered real time. Like instant messenger, replies are expected to be made immediately or as quickly as possible depending on your internet connection. Because messages (posts) are sent instantly, chat rooms have a quick refresh rate – the time it takes to show new messages – and older messages are lost more quickly thus chat rooms are not efficient for saving information for longer than a few minutes.
Unlike IM, chat rooms are geared toward talking to many people so you will have to search the screen for messages to you or stick to private messages. Discussions in chat rooms, especially HTML based chat rooms, can sometimes feel like multitasking as you try to keep up with all the messages posted.
Chat can be accessed either by programs or by browser. Chat appplications are probably less common than browser-based chat. They include Internet Relay Chat, or IRC and various other chat programs like VirtualPlaces or The Palace. With IRC you can access chatrooms hosted on a variety of servers, and each room is run independently of the others. VP and The Palace work in a similar manner although their chat programs are more graphically interfaced and they are on a small scale.
There are two differen types of browser-based chat: HTML and Java. Both chat styles look and act significantly different but have the same basic purpose. Java chat automatically refreshes and tends to have a more sterile institutional look. While users may have options such as avatars or font colours, their are often limitations: long messages look busy and messy, rooms cannot be customized, profiles can look institutional and be difficult to use as well, avatars – if any – are usually supplied by the chat program/site and are not as personal. Also, Java chat tends to be riddled with “robots” – programs designed to spam the room – and real users have to wade through the ‘bots to find real people.
I personally find Java chat to be rather impersonal (as well as small and cramped), although I recognize that some Java chat sites are extremely customizeable and chat systems like Yahoo! or MSN allow you to use fully customizeable profiles rather than profiles that just go along with a Java chat applet. There are many individual chat sites which just run a Java chat applet and this makes it (more) difficult to integrate those memberships into the entire site.
Also, because Java chatrooms depend on Java technology, not all browsers or computers are able to run Java chat rooms successfully so some people only have the option of using HTML based chat rooms. HTML based chatrooms like quite different from Java based rooms and chatters may have a bit of difficulty transitioning, especially from Java to HTML rooms. HTML rooms, had a wider variety of looks which (seem) to be easier to manipulate by the owners and sometimes even users.
In some HTML based chatrooms, users are able to use HTML to display custom nicknames and chat pictures – known as icons or avatars – and give their posts specific appearances. However, faulty code is often accepted and this can not only give the room a messy experience, but actually interupt the functionality of the room. Rooms which tend to accept HTML from users also tend to generally appear sloppy, even without HTML modifications made by chatters.
Chat rooms and sites similar to the ones described above often allow users to chat without a registered account to HTML must be used in order to achieve the desired look, but these settings are not saved unless you purchase a paid account. Unlike Java chat rooms which have little room for upgrading your account, HTML based chat rooms tend to have memberships levels you can purchase so you can enjoy more features and options. While paying for an upgraded account is common, these low end, crude chat rooms often don’t have any free, basic membership so you cannot save any information or settings within a free acount.
Higher end HTML chat tends not to allow HTML and generally looks cleaner although they may allow certain “Pseudo-HTML” which is similar to the codes used on some forums. These chat rooms are also tend to have a free membership level, that allots you certain benefits, as well as one or more paying membership levels. Depending upon your membership, you generally have more control over your chat experience and settings in sophisticated chat rooms. Sophisticated HTML chat rooms and sites also tend to have more in depth profiles options and integrate more services, such as forums, pagers/inboxes, “public” icon, official and freelance iconeers (chat picture makers) et cetera into their communities.
HTML based chat rooms tend to be more graphical in layout than Java chat rooms. They also tend to give the user more space to function, which works better for longer chat messages and mutiple messages per post, and feel friendlier. Although some can appear extremely messy and amateur, the sophisticated chat rooms tend to have limits in place, especially regarding chat pictures (sizes and dimensions, sometimes content), which help the room to feel more uniform. Sophisticated HTML based chat rooms tend to be more developed and all-inclusive than crude chat rooms. Transitioning from a crude to a sophisticated HTML based chat room can also be difficult if a chatter is not used to limits.
While sophisticated chat rooms still have a lot of adult topics and cybersex going on, they are not geared toward the adult industry as the crude chat rooms tend to be. While this means you may not be barraged with advertisments while visiting a sophisticated chat room, the crude chat rooms still tend to be very popular because people are looking for anonymity in the adult underworld of the internet.
Sophisticated HTML based chat rooms tend to be continually developing and see more participating from an active administrative and moderation team as well as a stronger community basic. Sophisticated HTML chat rooms tend to become more a part of a community or a family and less anonymous. It’s not unusual to find events, parties, featured members, trivia and contests happening which are sponsored by site staff or chatters.
To read reviews and see a lot of HTML based chat rooms, click here.
Some popular Java based chat rooms are:
You can find a list of IRC channels (rooms) at any of these sites:
