Types of Chat Room

There are two major technologies used for Internet chatrooms: web-based and IRC (Internet Relay Chat).

Web Based Chat Rooms

Web-based chat rooms (available at hundreds of websites, including Yahoo and MSN) are very popular as they are easy to use and do not usually require any special software to be installed. However, many of the systems are JAVA based, which means that JAVA must be enabled in your web browser. Although they are very simple to use, web-based chat rooms tend to have fewer features than IRC chats.

Internet Relay Chat

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is the most popular chat service, consisting of various separate networks of servers - machines that allow users to connect to IRC. Users must install special software (an IRC client) to connect to the network, such as mIRC, Pirch, and Virc for Windows and Homer or Ircle for Macs. Once connected to the network, users can join one or more 'channels' and talk with others there.

There is no restriction to the number of people that can participate in a given discussion, or the number of channels that can be formed on IRC. There are thousands of free chat rooms to choose from; for example, EFnet, one of the major servers has over 12,000 channels, each devoted to a different topic.

Before installing an IRC program, do bear in mind that this system has its own specialised language and commands, which many people can find confusing the first time they log on. For a rundown of the most commonly used instructions, check out this handy guide to IRC commands.