Chat Room

A chat room is an online site in which people can chat online (talk by broadcasting messages to people on the same site in real time). Sometimes these venues are moderated either by limiting who is allowed to speak (not common), or by having moderation volunteers patrol the venue watching for disruptive or otherwise undesirable behavior.

Chat systems come in a variety of styles ranging from text only messaging systems to fully immersive 3D environments. By far the most common form in recent times is instant messaging (ICQ, AIM, MSN, Jabber, etc). Some would argue that these are not truly chat rooms as they are characterized by being one on one conversations with people in a users "buddy list". However as the popular media has confused the issue, this brief description is included here. Recently these systems have started to incorporate the ability to chat with multiple people simultaneously, but these are still conversations restricted to the users buddy list, not a cocktail/block party style venue as true chat rooms are.

A notable number of people were introduced to chat rooms from AOL. Games were often played in chat rooms, such as an AOL chatroom game in AOL chat rooms.

Chat rooms are often confused (especially by the popular media) with discussion groups or online forums, which are significantly different, since they do not take place in real time and are usually run over the World Wide Web.

The oldest form of true chat rooms are the text-based variety. The most popular of this kind of chat room is Internet Relay Chat (or IRC). However, there are also talkers and havens. The popularity of these kinds of chat rooms have waned over the years, but IRC's popularity still remains strong.

At the next level are the 2D visual chat rooms. These are characterized by using a graphic representation of the user (avatar) that can be moved about a graphic background of the "room". These environments are capable of incorporating elements such as games and educational material most often developed by individual site owners, who in general are simply more advanced users of the systems. Some visual chat rooms also incorporate audio and video communications, so that users may actually see and hear each other. This is particularly popular with those keeping in touch with far-flung family members.

Finally, there are the 3D chat rooms. These are similar to the 2D variety except that they utilize 3D graphics. This allows a user a more realistic interaction with the environment. The most popular environments allow users to create or "build" their own spaces. However, some find these types of environments cumbersome to use and actually an impediment to chatting.

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